Betsy Beers (born 1957) is an American television and film producer whose credits include

ShondaLand Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer/producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her first s ...

's ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

,'' ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

,'' '' Private Practice'', ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios ...

'', '' The Catch'', ''

Station 19 ''Station 19'' is an American action- drama television series created by Stacy McKee for ABC that premiered on March 22, 2018. It is the second spin-off of '' Grey's Anatomy'' (after '' Private Practice''). Set in Seattle, the series focuses on ...

'', '' For the People'', and ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American historical- romance streaming television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It revolves around the epony ...

''.

Early life and education

Beers is a 1975 graduate of the

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...

. She went on to graduate from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

where she studied

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and English literature. Beers acted and performed comedy for several years in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to make the transition to producing.

Career

While living in New York City, Beers was producer to the 1999 cult film 200 Cigarettes. The cult favorite had an all star cast that included Courtney Love, Guillermo Diaz, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci and Ben Affleck. 200 Cigarettes is also the first film to star Goldie Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson (who played a very similar role to her real life mother). Beers served as President of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, where she produced the films '' 200 Cigarettes'', starring

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

, Dave Chappelle, and

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

, and '' Best Laid Plans'', starring

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

. She also developed such films as '' High Fidelity'', directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

and starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

, as well as '' Pushing Tin'', starring

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

, Cate Blanchett, and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

. She also served as Executive Producer on the films ''

Safe Passage Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

'', starring

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

, and ''

Witch Hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

'', starring Dennis Hopper, with producer Gale Ann Hurd. She then served as President of the Mark Gordon Company. While there, she oversaw the development and production of its feature film and television projects, including the development of ''

''. Additionally, Ms. Beers produced the feature films ''

The Hoax ''The Hoax'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film starring Richard Gere, directed by Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström. The screenplay by William Wheeler is based on the book of the same title by Clifford Irving. It recounts Irving's elaborate ...

'', starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

, and '' Casanova'', starring

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

; both films were directed by Lasse Hallström. In 2009, Beers partnered with

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

' production company

to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. Beers serves on the

Motion Picture & Television Fund The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

(MPTF) Board of Governors.

Recognition

For her work on ''

'', Beers and her fellow producers were awarded the 2007 Producer of the Year Award from the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...

, the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama, and received the 2006 and 2007 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. Beers has been nominated three times by the

for their Television Producer of the Year Award. In 2014, ''

'' was awarded the American Film Institute's Television Program of the Year Award. as well as a Peabody Award."The Peabody Awards - 2013 Peabody Award Winners." The Peabody Awards - 2013 Peabody Award Winners. 2 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 May 2014. http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/2013-peabody-winners

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beers, Betsy American television producers American women television producers Living people Williams College alumni Milton Academy alumni 1957 births 21st-century American women