Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director, producer and actor. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the mo ...

. Her films have grossed about $5.5 billion worldwide including major contributions from the ''X-Men'' film series.Hollywood Star Walk: Lauren Shuler Donner
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Early life

Donner was born and raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. She studied film at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, specializing in production and editing. Following the advice of a teacher, she moved to Los Angeles in hopes of entering the entertainment industry.

Career

As Donner worked in Los Angeles as an assistant editor of educational and medical films, a chance meeting at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

headquarters led her to leave her data there. After being taught about cameras by the crew of ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', Shuler asked NBC to work on the local news. Afterwards she freelanced on

Metromedia Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio station, radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in ...

, working on rock concert shoots, sitcoms and TV movies. Donner was a rare camerawoman in a male-dominated field, being the first woman admitted to the IATSE Electrical and Camera Guild #659.Mr. Mom Press Kit
Eventually Donner decided to work as an associate producer, in 1976 joining ''

ABC's Wide World of Entertainment ''ABC's Wide World of Entertainment'' is a late night television block of programs created by the ABC television network. It premiered on January 8, 1973, and ended three years later. The title was based on the long-running broadcast ''ABC's Wid ...

''. After a traffic accident that had her hospitalized for months, Donner started working with screenwriter friends and became a creative executive/story editor on Motown Productions.Interview with Producer Lauren Shuler Donner (Part 1 of 2)
/ref> Her input on the script of '' Thank God It's Friday'' (1978) led her to become an associate producer for that film. Next she made her television producing debut in 1979 with the acclaimed ''Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill'', a television film written and directed by

Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designe ...

in the style of

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's ''

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

''. She got the job by directly asking NBC programming director Charles Engel.

Feature film production career

While working at Motown, Donner became a personal friend of '' National Lampoon'' writer John Hughes, and convinced him to write a script that would become her feature film producing debut, the 1983 comedy hit '' Mr. Mom'', starring

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

. The following year she persuaded

to direct '' Ladyhawke'', and the two fell in love, marrying a year after the film was released, 1985. She produced only two more of her husband's movies, '' Radio Flyer'' (1992), and ''

Timeline A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing t ...

'' (2003). She said their professional relationship helped her learn how to work on action films: "if I hadn't seen how he did action movies, I wouldn't have had the wherewithal to even pursue an ''X-Men'' or a ''Constantine''."Longwell, Todd
Icons: The Donners
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''; October 15, 2008 Her experience with Schumacher and Hughes led them to invite her to produce '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) and ''

Pretty in Pink ''Pretty in Pink'' is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. The film stars Molly Ringwald, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, a ...

'' (1986), both seminal films of the Brat Pack period. Donner had a particularly successful year in 1993 overseeing two solid hits: '' Dave'', a homespun political comedy, and ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by ...

'', a family film about a boy and his whale. The last X-Men films Donner solo produced were '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'' and ''Deadpool'';

Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He wrote and produced a number of films in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film franchise for 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Fox, and had produced a number of other projec ...

took over the later films so Donner could instead make the TV show '' Legion'', with Donner only receiving producer credit due to contract terms. She produced the 2024

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

film ''

Deadpool & Wolverine ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed ...

'' alongside former intern and assistant

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...

, star and writer

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

and director

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (; born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian and American filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwid ...

, with Kinberg among the film's executive producers.

Personal life

Donner has liberal political views and likes to work on movies that express her beliefs – ''Dave'' for politics, ''Free Willy'' for marine life and '' Hotel for Dogs'' for animal rights. She donates yearly to Canine Companions. She has served on the advisory boards of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

and TreePeople. She is a long time board member of LupusLA. Donner recently joined the Board of the MPTF, (Motion Picture Film Television Fund). She also supports Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and UCLA Hospitals, as well as Boston University.

Awards and honors

Donner has received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

in 2008. In 2006, Donner was awarded the

Women in Film Women are involved in the film industry in all roles, including as film directors, actor, actresses, cinematographers, film producers, film criticism, film critics, and other film industry professions, though women have been underrepresented in ...

Crystal Award along with

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

and

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three consecutive ''Billboard'' Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year from 19 ...

. She received an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters degree from

in 2019 and was the Commencement Speaker for COM at Boston University. She and Richard Donner were honored by The

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

in 2006. The Donners were given The Loop Award by LupusLA in 2008. The Donners were also given a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Ojai Film Festival in November 2008. In 2013, the Donners were honored by The Women's Guild of Cedar Sinai Medical Center. In 2020, Shuler Donner was awarded The Golden Eddie b
The American Cinema Editors
(ACE). Her husband

died on July 5, 2021, at the age of 91.

Filmography

Producer * '' Thank God It's Friday'' (1978) (associate producer) * ''Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill'' (1979) (TV movie) * '' Mr. Mom'' (1983) * '' Ladyhawke'' (1985) * '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Three Fugitives'' (1989) * '' Radio Flyer'' (1992) * '' Dave'' (1993) * ''

'' (1993) * '' The Favor'' (1994) * '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' (1995) * '' You've Got Mail'' (1998) * ''

Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...

'' (1999) * ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' (2000) * '' X2'' (2003) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Constantine'' (2005) * ''

She's the Man ''She’s the Man'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy teen sports film directed by Andy Fickman and starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, and David Cross. Loosely inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Twe ...

'' (2006) * '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006) * ''

Unaccompanied Minors ''Unaccompanied Minors'' (also known as ''Grounded'' in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is a 2006 Christmas comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly ...

'' (2006) * '' The Secret Life of Bees'' (2008) * '' Hotel for Dogs'' (2009) * '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009) * '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'' (2009) * '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011) * '' The Wolverine'' (2013) * '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'' (2014) * '' Deadpool'' (2016) * '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016) * '' Logan'' (2017) * ''

Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. It is the sequel to ''Deadpool (film), Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film series. The film wa ...

'' (2018) * '' Dark Phoenix'' (2019) * ''

The New Mutants The New Mutants may refer to: *''New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teena ...

'' (2020) * ''

'' (2024) Executive producer * ''

'' (1994) (TV series) * '' Assassins'' (1995) * ''

Volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

'' (1997) * '' Free Willy 3: The Rescue'' (1997) * ''

Bulworth ''Bulworth'' is a 1998 American political satire black comedy film co-written, co-produced, directed by, and starring Warren Beatty. It co-stars Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah Washington. The ...

'' (1998) * '' Out Cold'' (2001) * '' Just Married'' (2003) * '' Semi-Pro'' (2008) * '' Legion'' (2017–2019) (TV series) * '' The Gifted'' (2017–2019) (TV series) Acting credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donner, Lauren Shuler 1949 births 21st-century American women American animated film producers American film production company founders American people of Jewish descent American women company founders American women film producers American women television producers Boston University College of Communication alumni Businesspeople from Cleveland Film producers from Ohio Filmmakers from Cleveland Living people People with lupus Television producers from Ohio