Lisa Bruce is an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

known for the 2014 film '' The Theory of Everything''.

Early life and education

Bruce was born in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under b ...

, to Mary Ann and George W. Bruce. She is one of five children. When she was in middle school, her family moved from Monterey to Coronado, California, because of her father's job with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a commanding officer of the USS ''Ticonderoga'' and USS ''St. Louis''. As a teenager, Bruce worked at a local movie theater, where her brother paid her a dollar per hour to mop the floor; she has joked that it was her "first job in the movie business". Bruce attended Coronado High School, where she began creating short films and was elected senior class president. She attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

and graduated in 1983 with an undergraduate degree in film, sociology and politics. She later attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's graduate film school where she received a Master's degree.

Career

Bruce began working as a film producer in 1992, when she and Robert Nickson—Bruce's NYU professor and mentor—founded the production company Orenda Films and produced ''Pen Pals''. Orenda Films later produced ''

The Search for One-eye Jimmy ''The Search for One-eye Jimmy'' is a 1994 comedy film written and directed by Sam Henry Kass. Synopsis Set in Brooklyn, New York, the movie is the story of a California film student Les (Holt McCallany) who returns to the town in which he grew ...

'' (1994), ' (1994), and '' No Way Home'' (1996). In 1999, Bruce co-produced the independent film ''

Tumbleweeds A tumbleweed is a kind of plant habit or structure. Tumbleweed, tumble-weed or tumble weed may also refer to: Films * ''Tumbleweeds'' (1925 film), William S. Hart film * ''Tumbling Tumbleweeds'' (1935 film), Gene Autry film * ''Tumbleweed'' (1 ...

'', which won numerous awards and accolades. She went on to executive-produce '' The Emperor's Club'' (2002), '' A Lot like Love'' (2005), '' Fighting'' (2009), ''

Case 39 ''Case 39'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed by Christian Alvart, and starring Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane. Plot Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is a social worker living in Oregon who i ...

'' (2009), and '' Arthur Newman'' (2012). Working with HBO, she also produced the telefilms '' Walkout'' (2006), about the East L.A. walkouts in 1968, and '' Mary and Martha'' (2013), about two female malaria activists. Bruce was a producer of '' The Theory of Everything'', a film about physicist Stephen Hawking's first marriage to

Jane Wilde Hawking Jane Beryl Wilde Hawking Jones (born 29 March 1944) is an English author and teacher. She was married to Stephen Hawking for 30 years. Early life and education Jane was born to George and Beryl Wilde (). She grew up in St Albans, Hertfordshire ...

that was released in 2015. Bruce first became involved with the project in 2009 when she joined New Zealand filmmaker Anthony McCarten, who had first begun his attempts to produce the film in 2004. ''The Theory of Everything'' was widely praised and received nominations for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, four

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, and ten

British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

References

External links

*
Focus Features biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Lisa Living people Film producers from California People from Coronado, California People from Monterey, California American women film producers American film producers University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)