Carol Ann Abrams ( Kelvin; September 23, 1942 – June 3, 2012) was an American television and film producer. She and her husband, television producer Gerald W. Abrams, are the parents of film director and producer J. J. Abrams and screenwriter Tracy (née Abrams) Rosen. Abrams died from cancer.

Early life

Born Carol Ann Kelvin in New York City to Lee (1915–2008) and Harry Kelvin (1911–1986), she earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

with honors from

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. After marrying Gerald Abrams and having two children, Abrams obtained a real estate license, specializing in properties in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...

and nearby Bel Air. She entered Whittier Law School when she was 39 years old and graduated

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of her class. Her professors included lawyer-turned-celebrity journalist and

TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...

founder, Harvey Levin. She worked as a professor at

Whittier College Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

for five years before entering the

entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

Career

She developed and executive produced '' The Ernest Green Story'', a 1993 television film which aired on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

. The film following the true story of Ernest Green, played in the film by actor

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films such as ''G.I. Jane'', ''The Brothers (2001 film), The B ...

, one of the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering th ...

during the 1957 forced integration of

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Little ...

. The film premiered at Little Rock Central High School with an introduction by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, who was the

President-Elect of the United States The president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has presumptively won the United States presidential election and is awaiting inauguration to become the president. There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to wh ...

at the time. It aired on the Disney Channel in January 1993 and won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. She produced two television movies for CBS, ''Second Honeymoon'' in 2001, and ''Two Against Time'' in 2002. She later began a writing career, authoring two books, ''Grandparents & Grandchildren'' and ''Teen Knitting Club''.

References

External links

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Listing with the California Bar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Carol Ann 1942 births 2012 deaths American women film producers American women television producers California lawyers Deaths from cancer in California Whittier College faculty Whittier Law School alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni Television producers from New York City Film producers from New York City