Producer Kathleen Kennedy, 59, has worked on such films as The Bridges of Madison County, E.T. and Lincoln. As recently named head of Lucasfilm, Kennedy might not be spending much time in her office at Kennedy/Marshall Co. in Santa Monica during the next five years (the length of her deal).
Katheleen Kennedy and husband Frank Marshall formed Kennedy/Marshall in the '90s. The company has had a hand in such hit films as The Sixth Sense and Seabiscuit.
In June, Kathleen Kennedy was named head of Lucasfilm as the founder's handpicked successor. If that wasn't enough on her plate, the producer has wooed J.J. Abrams to direct the next Star Wars film and has been busy in the midst of a grinding awards campaign for Lincoln. The period piece about Abraham Lincoln's fight to abolish slavery is the eighth of Kennedy's films to be nominated for best picture, but she has, shockingly, never won.
Kathleen Kennedy is one of the most accomplished women in the industry, but she has flown under the radar. "I'm not great at talking about myself," she confesses. "I don't analyze things all the time, I just do them."
Kathleen Kennedy has worked along side director Steven Spielberg for 35 years. Her first film as a full-fledged producer was the 1982 blockbuster E.T. In fact, it was Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind that made Kennedy want to work in the movie business. "I know that sounds made up, but it's true," Kennedy said.
George Lucas (center) has known Kathleen Kennedy since they worked together on Raiders of the Lost Ark. "George actually asked for her hand in business," says Steven Spielberg of old friend Lucas luring Kennedy away to run Lucasfilm. "I wasn't going to stand in her way."
Film giant Clint Eastwood calls Kennedy "a terrific filmmaker." They worked together on 1995's The Bridges of Madison County.
Kathleen Kennedy started as a production assistant for John Milius, who she met through college roommate Mary Ellen Trainor's boyfriend Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future). Zemeckis was co-writing 1941, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg later stole Kennedy away to be his secretary/assistant.
Kathleen Kennedy met husband Frank Marshall while she was working on Raiders of the Lost Ark. Steven Spielberg asked her to get in touch with the director for the film. "I'm looking out this window, and this little teal blue Porsche drives up, and this really cute guy in a cable-knit sweater jumps out, and I'm like, 'Well, hell-o, Mr. Marshall!' " Kennedy recalls. The pair married in 1987 and have two daughters.
Kathleen Kennedy has known director J.J. Abrams since he was 14. Steven Spielberg read an article about Abrams winning a Super 8 moviemaking contest and hired him to restore his own childhood Super 8 films. As head of Lucasfilm, Kennedy almost immediately set to convincing Abrams to direct the next Star Wars film. "I learned firsthand how incredible and persuasive she is," said Abrams.