Kathleen Kennedy (producer)

Kathleen Kennedy (born June 5, 1953) is an American film producer and businesswoman. She is the president of Lucasfilm and a key figure in the modern Star Wars franchise.

Kennedy began her career in film as a secretary for John Milius and later worked as an associate to Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. She steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a producer on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and other Spielberg films.

In 1982, Kennedy co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Spielberg and Frank Marshall. During her tenure at Amblin, she produced numerous commercially and critically successful films including the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List.

In 1992, Kennedy and Marshall formed The Kennedy/Marshall Company, an independent film production company. Their collaborations included films like The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

In 2012, Kennedy was appointed president of Lucasfilm Ltd. by George Lucas when he sold the company to The Walt Disney Company. As president, she has overseen the production of the Star Wars sequel trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker), the Star Wars anthology films (Rogue One, Solo), and subsequent Star Wars projects including the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka.

Kennedy is one of the most successful and influential producers in Hollywood history, having been nominated for eight Academy Awards for Best Picture. She has received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her consistent high quality of motion picture production. Her work has contributed significantly to the landscape of contemporary cinema.