Kathleen Kennedy (producer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kathleen Kennedy CBE
Kennedy in 2015
Born	(1953-06-05) June 5, 1953 (age 72) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Alma mater	San Diego State University
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1979–present
Title	President of Lucasfilm (2012–present)
Spouse(s)	Frank Marshall ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	2

Kathleen Kennedy (born June 5, 1953) is an American film producer. She has been the president of Lucasfilm since 2012.

In 1981, Kathleen helped start a company called Amblin Entertainment. She founded it with Steven Spielberg and her husband, Frank Marshall. Her first movie as a producer was E.T. in 1982. Later, she worked with Spielberg again to produce the Jurassic Park movies. The first two Jurassic Park films were among the biggest movies of the 1990s. In 1992, she and Marshall started their own company, The Kennedy/Marshall Company.

In 2012, Kathleen Kennedy became the president of Lucasfilm. This happened after The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm. As president, she has been in charge of many exciting projects. These include the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019). She also oversaw Star Wars standalone films like Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018). She also produced the fifth Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny (2023).

Kathleen Kennedy has also produced many Star Wars TV shows for Disney+. These include The Mandalorian (which started in 2019), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Andor (2022), and Ahsoka (2023).

Movies she has produced have earned over $11 billion around the world. Five of these movies are among the top fifty highest-grossing films ever. She has also been nominated eight times for the Best Picture Academy Award.

Early Life and Education

Kathleen Kennedy was born on June 5, 1953, in Berkeley, California. Her father, Donald R. Kennedy, was a judge. Her mother, Dione Marie, was an actress. Kathleen has two sisters. Her twin sister, Connie, works in film production too. Her other sister, Dana, is a television host.

Kathleen finished high school in Redding, California, in 1971. She then went to San Diego State University. There, she studied telecommunications and film. In her last year of college, she got a job at a local TV station, KCST. She worked in many different roles there. She was a camera operator, a video editor, and a news production coordinator.

Career in Film

Starting in Movies (1978–2011)

After working at the TV station, Kathleen moved to Los Angeles. She got her first movie job as an assistant to John Milius. He was working on Steven Spielberg's movie 1941 (1979).

While working on 1941, Steven Spielberg noticed Kathleen. He liked how she could come up with great ideas. Spielberg asked her to be his secretary. She quickly took on bigger roles in making movies. She was an associate to Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Then, she was an associate producer on Poltergeist (1982).

Kathleen Kennedy at a movie premiere in Paris, 2011

Kathleen Kennedy started getting credit as a producer with Spielberg on the huge hit movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). She continued to produce most of his films for the next thirty years. In 1982, she helped start Amblin Entertainment with Spielberg and her future husband, Frank Marshall.

She also produced Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). She even appeared briefly in the movie as a dancer! After working on the Indiana Jones films, she became one of the top producers in Hollywood. With Amblin, she produced the Back to the Future movies. She worked with famous directors like Martin Scorsese and Robert Zemeckis.

In 1991, she and Marshall started The Kennedy/Marshall Company. She kept working with Spielberg. She produced Jurassic Park (1993) and was an executive producer for Schindler's List (1993). She also produced other popular movies like Twister (1996) and The Sixth Sense (1999).

Kennedy produced Spielberg's films War of the Worlds and Munich (both 2005). Munich earned her an Academy Award nomination. She and Marshall also produced the U.S. versions of two animated movies from Studio Ghibli: Ponyo (2009) and The Secret World of Arrietty (2012). She also produced Spielberg's Lincoln (2012).

Leading Lucasfilm (2012–Present)

In May 2012, Kathleen left The Kennedy/Marshall Company. Frank Marshall became the only head of their film company. The next month, Kathleen became co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. with George Lucas. On October 30, 2012, George Lucas sold his company to Disney. Kathleen was then promoted to president of Lucasfilm.

She played a very important part in bringing Star Wars back to life. She oversaw the new Star Wars movies, starting with The Force Awakens in 2015. She also helped expand the Star Wars story into TV shows. These include popular series like The Mandalorian and Andor.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer

Producer

Associate producer

Co-executive producer

Co-producer

Television

Producer

Executive producer

Awards and Recognition

Kathleen Kennedy has been nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Five of these nominations were for movies directed by Steven Spielberg. These include E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Munich (2005), War Horse (2011), and Lincoln (2012).

She is one of the top producers in terms of how much money her movies have made. In 2019, she received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. This is a special award from the Academy Awards for great producers. In the same year, she was given an honorary award from the Order of the British Empire for her work in film in the United Kingdom. She also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2020.

In 1995, she received the Women in Film Crystal Award. This award honors women who have helped expand the role of women in the entertainment industry. In 1996, she and Frank Marshall received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. She has also helped guide new filmmakers and executives.

See also

In Spanish: Kathleen Kennedy para niños