Jeffrey Katzenberg
Photo by Jocelyn Augustino.
Bio
Jeffrey Katzenberg is recognized for lighting up our screens and opening our hearts through animation and cinema. Mr. Katzenberg has embraced new technology to develop the art of storytelling and transform the way we experience film.
Jeffrey Katzenberg was one of the youngest studio heads in Hollywood history when he was named president of Paramount Pictures at age 31. He went on to become chairman of Walt Disney Studios two years later where he fostered the renaissance of feature animation with such classics as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King. He also allied the company with Pixar to put into production the world’s first computer-generated feature animated film, Toy Story. In 1994, Katzenberg co-founded Dream Works SKG. Today, DreamWorks Animation is the largest animation studio in the world with 29 animated feature films, including Shrek. He serves as chairman of the Board for the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation, and sits on the boards of the American Museum of the Moving Image, California Institute of the Arts, Geffen Playhouse, and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he and his wife are the namesake of the Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg School of Animation. Katzenberg was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his tireless dedication to philanthropy at the 2012 Academy Awards.