Martha De Laurentiis ( and credited as such until 1995; July 10, 1954 – December 4, 2021) was an American film producer. De Laurentiis was known for producing films such as ''
Breakdown'', ''
U-571'', ''
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...
'', and ''
Red Dragon'' with her husband
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. H ...
, as well as the television series ''
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...
''.
Biography
Born Martha Schumacher on July 10, 1954, in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...
, she grew up in
Piqua, Ohio
Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
It was founded as the village of Washington in ...
. In 1972, she was crowned Ohio's Junior Miss. She attended
Ball State University and worked as a model in New York, before working in production on films like ''
The Warriors'' and ''
Wolfen''. She also worked in production accounting on various television projects.
In 1980, she joined the
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution studio founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing '' Manhunter'', '' Blue Velvet'', the horror films '' ...
as an assistant production accountant and eventually became the company's chairman.
De Laurentiis was a jury member at the
65th Berlin International Film Festival
The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the President of the Jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The ...
.
On December 16, 2017, she was awarded an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...
of
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...
by Ball State.
She and Dino married in 1990, and they had two daughters, Carolyna and Dina. Dino died in 2010; Martha died from cancer on December 4, 2021, at the age of 67.
References
External links
*
1954 births
2021 deaths
Deaths from cancer in California
American film producers
Martha
Martha ( Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...
People from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Ball State University alumni
People from Piqua, Ohio
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