Mark Burnett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Burnett
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Burnett in 2025
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| United States Special Envoy for the United Kingdom | |
| Assumed office 20 January 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Mark Burnett
17 July 1960 London, England |
| Citizenship |
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| Spouses |
Kym Gold
(m. 1988; div. 1989)Dianne J. Valentine
(m. 1992; div. 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Television producer, media proprietor, author |
James Mark Burnett is a famous British television producer born on July 17, 1960. He has won many awards for his work, including thirteen Emmy Awards. These include ten Primetime Emmys, one Sports Emmy, and two Daytime Emmys. He also has five Producers Guild of America Awards and many other honors. From 2013 to 2017, he was named one of the 500 most important business leaders in the global media industry by Variety500.
Burnett was the President of United Artists from 2014 to 2018. He also led MGM Worldwide Television Group as chairman from 2018 to 2022. He is known for creating and producing many popular TV shows. These include The Apprentice, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, Shark Tank, Survivor, and The Voice.
He joined MGM in 2013. Later, as chairman, he helped the company grow by adding more cable TV shows. He also co-created Christian TV series like The Bible and A.D. The Bible Continues. He produced movies such as Son of God and Ben-Hur. Mark Burnett has produced over 3,200 hours of TV shows that are shown in more than 70 countries.
Variety magazine has called Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, "trailblazers." The Hollywood Reporter also named them among the "Most Influential People."
Contents
Mark Burnett's Early Life
Mark Burnett was born in London, England, on July 17, 1960. He was the only child of Archie and Jean Burnett, who both worked in a Ford Motor factory. He grew up in Dagenham, Essex. When he was 17, he joined the British Army. He became a Section Commander in the Parachute Regiment. From 1978 to 1982, he served in the army and was involved in the Falklands War and in Northern Ireland.
How Mark Burnett Started His Career
In October 1982, Burnett moved to the United States. He first worked as a nanny and chauffeur for a family in Beverly Hills. Later, he moved to Malibu, California, and took care of two boys. He then worked in an insurance office.
One weekend, he started selling T-shirts at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. He realized he could make more money doing this, so he left his insurance job.
In 1991, Burnett took part in an adventure race in France called the Raid Gauloises. He saw a chance to create similar competitions. He bought the rights to the idea and brought a show called Eco-Challenge to America. This show helped Mark Burnett start his successful career as a television producer.
Mark Burnett's Famous TV Shows
Mark Burnett first produced the adventure race show Eco-Challenge in 1995. This led to the very popular reality show Survivor, which started in the summer of 2000. Survivor became the most-watched summer series since Sonny & Cher. In 2009, Entertainment Weekly called Survivor the best reality series ever.
In 2004, NBC launched The Apprentice. This reality show featured contestants competing for a job with businessman Donald Trump, who later became the U.S. President.
Burnett has produced many other well-known TV shows. These include Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, Shark Tank, The Voice, and Beat Shazam.
He and his wife, actress Roma Downey, also produced The Bible. This was a ten-hour drama series for the History Channel based on stories from the Bible. The Bible was the most popular new series on cable TV in 2013. More than 100 million people watched it.
After The Bible was a big hit, Burnett and Downey created more faith-based shows. A.D. The Bible Continues started on NBC in 2015.
In 2015, Burnett became the president of MGM Television and Digital Group. He signed a five-year agreement. Under his leadership, MGM Television grew to include many popular shows. These included The Voice (NBC), Survivor (CBS), Shark Tank (ABC), and Fargo (FX). In June 2018, he was named Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television.
As of 2024, Mark Burnett is still an executive producer for several network TV shows. These include Generation Gap (ABC), Beat Shazam (FOX), Shark Tank (ABC), Survivor (CBS), and The Voice (NBC).
Mark Burnett's Family Life
Mark Burnett has been married three times. His first marriage to Kym Gold lasted about a year. He then married Dianne J. Valentine in 1992. They had two sons together, James and Cameron. In 2014, when Cameron was 17, he had brain surgery for a tumor and had to learn to walk again. He received a Courage Award in 2015.
Mark and Dianne divorced in 2006. In 2004, Burnett started dating Roma Downey. They got married on April 28, 2007, at their home in Malibu.
Awards and Recognition
Mark Burnett has received many awards and honors for his work in television. In 2004, Time magazine named him one of the "Most Influential People in the World Today." He was also named "Philanthropist of the Year" for his charity work.
He has won the "Marketer of the Year Award" and the "Norman Lear Award" from the Producers Guild of America. In 2007, he was added to the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame. In 2009, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Many of his shows have won awards. For example, The Bible received the Parents Television Council Seal of Approval in 2013. Shark Tank, The Voice, and Survivor have all won or been nominated for major awards like the Critics' Choice Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards multiple times.
In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter named Burnett the "Number 1 Reality Producer." He and his wife, Roma Downey, also received the Anti-Defamation League's Entertainment Industry Award. They are very involved with charity groups like Operation Smile and Compassion International. They also started the Cradle Fund to help Middle Eastern minorities who were forced to leave their homes.
Selected Awards and Nominations
Mark Burnett has won many awards for his television shows. Here are some of the highlights:
- Emmy Awards: He has won 13 Emmy Awards, including for Survivor, The Voice, and Shark Tank.
- Producers Guild of America Awards: He has won several of these, including for Survivor and The Voice.
- People's Choice Awards: His shows like Survivor and The Voice have won "Favorite Reality Based Television Program" or "Favorite Competition TV Show" many times.
- Critics' Choice Television Awards: Shark Tank and The Voice have won "Best Reality Series – Competition" or "Best Structured Reality Show."
- Other Awards: He has also won awards from the Sports Emmy Awards, GLAAD Awards, Family Television Awards, and Teen Choice Awards for his various productions.
Published Works
- Mark Burnett; Martin Dugard (2000). Survivor: the Ultimate Game. New York: TV Books, L. L. C. ISBN: 9781575001432.
See also
- List of television producers
