Kathleen Kennedy

Kathleen Kennedy is an American film producer whose credits span the Spielberg era of Amblin Entertainment, the Jurassic Park series, and the modern Star Wars franchise. Born on June 5, 1953, in Berkeley, California, Kennedy studied film and telecommunications at San Diego State University before entering the screen industry. In the 1970s, she worked at San Diego television station KCST and became an assistant to screenwriter-director John Milius, whose work introduced her to Steven Spielberg. Spielberg hired Kennedy as an assistant on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and her first producing credit was as associate producer on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, released in 1982. In 1980, Kennedy, Spielberg, and Frank Marshall established Amblin Entertainment, the company behind films including Gremlins, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Her film credits during this period include The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Always, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, all directed by Spielberg. She also produced Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future trilogy and Spielberg’s 1993 Jurassic Park, adapted from Michael Crichton’s novel, while continuing a long collaboration with both filmmakers. In 1992, Kennedy and Marshall founded The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which produced titles such as The Sixth Sense, The Bourne Identity, Seabiscuit, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Her work has received multiple Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, including E.T., The Color Purple, The Sixth Sense, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Lincoln, War Horse, and The Fabelmans. In October 2012, George Lucas selected Kennedy as president of Lucasfilm, shortly before The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of Lucasfilm. Under her leadership, Lucasfilm released Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, reviving the saga with director J.J. Abrams and returning performers Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. She subsequently produced Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Last Jedi, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, and the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, created by Jon Favreau. Kennedy has also produced the Indiana Jones sequels Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In 2019, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Kennedy and Marshall the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, honoring creative producers whose work reflects consistently high quality. Kennedy was the first woman to receive the award, a distinction announced at the Academy’s Governors Awards ceremony. Her films have ranged from family adventures to dramas.