2026 Northwestern Alumni Medalist
Sherry Lansing ’66, ’95 H
Trailblazing film industry leader and philanthropist
During nearly 30 years in the motion picture industry, Sherry Lansing was involved in the production, marketing, and distribution of more than 200 films, including Academy Award winners Forrest Gump, Braveheart, and Titanic. Throughout her career, Lansing earned a reputation as a visionary leader and creative filmmaker.
In 1980, Lansing became the first woman to head a major film studio as president of 20th Century Fox. Later, as an independent producer, she was responsible for such successful films as Fatal Attraction, The Accused, and Indecent Proposal. Beginning in 1992, she served as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures for more than 12 years.
In 2005, Lansing formed The Sherry Lansing Foundation (SLF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer research, public education, and encore career opportunities. Among SLF’s initiatives is the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program, which helps transition corporate professionals into public school math and science teachers. Lansing also cofounded Stand Up To Cancer, which funds cancer research “dream teams.”
Currently, Lansing serves on the Board of Directors of Paramount Skydance and as chair of the Board of Directors of Universal Music Group. She also serves on multiple prominent nonprofit boards—including The Broad Museum, Carter Center, UCLA Health, W.M. Keck Foundation, and Scripps Research—and is a trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.
At Northwestern, Lansing was a life member of the School of Communication’s National Advisory Board from 1989 until its conclusion in 2021 and a volunteer for Campaign Northwestern in the early 2000s; she also is a past member of the Council of One Hundred, a group of distinguished alumni who connect with students and fellow alumni to support their professional success. Lansing received the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the Alumnae of Northwestern University in 1989. She has also been awarded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, among numerous other honors.
Lansing graduated cum laude with a BS in speech from Northwestern’s School of Communication (formerly the School of Speech). She received an honorary doctor of humane letters from the University in 1995.