Dee Mosbacher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dee Mosbacher
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Mosbacher in 2013
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| Born |
Diane Mosbacher
1949 (age 75–76) |
| Education | Pitzer College (BA) Union Institute and University (MA, PhD) Baylor College of Medicine (MD) |
| Occupation | Filmmaker, activist, psychiatrist |
| Years active | 1993–present |
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Notable work
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Straight from the Heart |
| Spouse(s) |
Nanette Gartrell
(m. 2005) |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Robert Mosbacher Jr. (brother) |
Diane "Dee" Mosbacher (born in 1949) is an American filmmaker, an activist for equal rights, and a doctor who specializes in mental health (a psychiatrist). In 1993, she started a non-profit group called Woman Vision.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Dee Mosbacher was born in Houston, Texas. Her mother was Jane Pennybacker Mosbacher, and her father was Robert Mosbacher (1927–2010). Her father was an important person in the government, serving as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1989 to 1992 under President George H. W. Bush. Dee has two sisters and one brother.
Dee and her father had a very close relationship. Even though her father's political party often had views that were not supportive of gay people, they respected each other. In 1992, they both gave speeches on the same day. Dee told a reporter that she started her speech by saying, "Dad and I had breakfast this morning. We looked at each other's speeches. He would have used mine but he's not a lesbian. I would have used his, but I'm not a Republican." Dee spoke out against unfair treatment and negative comments about gay people and women during the 1992 political campaign.
Dee Mosbacher studied psychology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, earning a bachelor's degree. She later earned a doctorate in social psychology from Union Graduate School. She also became a medical doctor after studying at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dee Mosbacher's Career
After medical school, Dee Mosbacher worked as a medical intern and then a psychiatry resident at Cambridge Hospital. This was part of her training through Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 1987.
She became an activist for women's health while in college. She started making documentary films when she was a student at Baylor College and later while training at Harvard Medical School. Her films often showed the unfair treatment that gay and lesbian doctors and patients sometimes faced. She also wrote many articles for doctors and scientists about the experiences of gay and lesbian patients.
Woman Vision: Making Films for Change
In 1992, Dee Mosbacher started a non-profit film company called Woman Vision. She wanted to make films that shared positive stories about LGBTQ+ people and women's rights. This was especially important because some political groups were saying unfair things about these topics at the time.
By 2009, Mosbacher had directed or produced nine documentary films through Woman Vision. Each film focused on issues important to LGBTQ+ people or women's rights. In 1994, she directed and produced a film called Straight From the Heart. This film was even nominated for an Academy Award, which is a very big honor in filmmaking!
Oscar Nomination for Straight from the Heart
In 1995, Dee Mosbacher worked with Frances Reid to direct and produce Straight From the Heart. This documentary showed how parents and their grown-up children, who were gay or lesbian, could have loving relationships. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Documentary (Short Subject).
Training Rules: A Film About Fairness in Sports
In 2009, Mosbacher co-directed and co-produced the documentary film Training Rules with Fawn Yacker. This hour-long movie was about Rene Portland, a women's basketball coach at Penn State University. The film explored accusations that Coach Portland did not allow gay players on her team. It included interviews with former athletes and teachers from Penn State. They said that Portland treated players unfairly if she thought they were gay.
Helping Students and Activism
From 1994 to 2002, Dee Mosbacher was a member of the Pitzer College Board of Trustees. This group helps guide the college. In 2011, she created the Mosbacher Fund for Media Studies at Pitzer College. She also helped establish the Mosbacher/Gartrell Center for Media Experimentation and Activism there. These places help students learn about making films and how to be activists for important causes.
The Last Closet: Ending Homophobia in Sports
In 2012, Woman Vision started a project called The Last Closet. This was a campaign that used videos on the internet to help end unfair treatment of gay people in men's professional sports.
Awards and Recognition
Dee Mosbacher has received many awards for her work:
- 1992: Creating Change Award, from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- 1995: Jerry E. Berg Leadership Award, from the Human Rights Campaign Fund
- 1997: Liberty Award, from Lambda Legal Defense
- 2009: Barbara Gittings Memorial Award, from Equality Forum
- 2014: Mathew O. Tobriner Public Service Award, from the Legal Aid Society (San Francisco), Employment Law Center
In 1991, Dee Mosbacher was the first graduate of Pitzer College to give the main speech at her graduation ceremony. In 2010, she helped create the Mosbacher/Gartrell Center for Media Experimentation and Activism at Pitzer College.
Personal Life
Dee Mosbacher is married to Nanette Gartrell. Nanette is also a researcher, a psychiatrist, and an author.
Films by Dee Mosbacher
Here are some of the films Dee Mosbacher has directed or produced:
- 1985: Closets are Health Hazards: Gay and Lesbian Physicians Come Out - Director/Producer
- 1991: Lesbians on Practice, Patients, and Power - Director/Producer
- 1994: Straight From the Heart - Director/Producer
- 1995: Out for a Change: Addressing Homophobia in Women's Sports - Director/Producer
- 1996: All God's Children - Director/Producer
- 2001: De Colores - Executive Producer
- 2002: Radical Harmonies - Director/Producer
- 2006: No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon - Producer
- 2009: Training Rules - Director/Producer
See Also
- List of female film and television directors
- List of lesbian filmmakers
- List of LGBT-related films directed by women
