Dawn Hudson (born January 4, 1956) is an American actress and movie executive. She served as the former chief executive officer of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

from 2011 to 2022. She was succeeded by current chief executive officer Bill Kramer in June 2022.

Early life

Dawn Hudson was born in 1956 in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. She attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, but took a hiatus to work for Democratic Senator

John Little McClellan John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) fr ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, until she returned to college and graduated. She attended graduate school at the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and the

Grenoble Institute of Political Studies The Grenoble Institute of Political Studies (French: ''Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble'', IEP), also known as ''Sciences Po Grenoble'', is a French "grande école" of political science and more broadly of social sciences located in the c ...

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Career

Hudson served as the Executive Director of

Film Independent The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

, where she produced the Spirit Awards and the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

. Hudson served as the chief executive officer of the

from 2011 until 2022. She was succeeded by current chief executive officer Bill Kramer in June 2022. In 2015, she suggested that the new Academy membership rules were not a matter of political correctness. Hudson is a board member of the

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a museum in Los Angeles, California constructed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which is devoted to the history, science, and cultural impact of the film industry. It is the f ...

References

External links

* Living people 1950s births Actors from Hot Springs, Arkansas People from Los Angeles Harvard University alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences American women chief executives {{US-film-bio-stub