Women have held very prominent positions in the entertainment industry for some time. Check out this article on Suzanne Celeste de Passe an American Businesswoman, television, music, and film producer. Suzanne was born July 19^th, 1946, in New York to a Harlem born mother from Jamaican descent, and a father of Haitian and French descent. Suzanne grew up in Harlem. She attended Manhattan High School, and later graduating from Syracuse University. Suzanne started her career at Cheetah night club in New York. Suzanne’s friend Cindy Birdsong who had just joined the Supremes in 1967, after Florence Ballard left the group. Suzanne worked under the Motown founder Berry Gordy as one of his Star Executives. Her starting position there was Creative Assistant to Gordy. Suzanne’s first act was Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. She oversaw developing them as artists. Suzanne managed their grooming, wardrobe, and took their act to the road.  Growing with steady experience and drive Suzanne rose to the rank of Motown’s CEO. Suzanne was the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies:  “Suzanne de Passe and Motown Productions” and “De Passe Entertainment”, Suzanne has lectured at the Harvard Business School on a few occasions. Her career is so huge and vast with so many accomplishments. Look at her interview with Josh Flagg. She shares so many great moments with us.

See all of Suzanne’s achievements over the years.

• The Temptations, NBC, four hours, 1998, de Passe Entertainment. NAACP Image Award Winner for Best Miniseries. (Nominated for six Emmy Awards, including Best Mini-Series and won an Emmy for Best Director.) Also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Producers Guild Award; Directors Guild Award; and Prism Award. Starring: Leon, Charles Malik Whitfield, DB Woodside, Terron Brooks and Christian Payton.
• Dead Man’s Walk (miniseries), ABC, five hours, 1996, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: Edward James Olmos, Keith Carradine, Brian Dennehy and F. Murray Abraham.
• Buffalo Girls, CBS, four hours, 1995, de Passe Entertainment. Nominated for eleven Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries and Best Actress. Starring Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, Reba McEntire, Sam Elliott and Jack Palance.
• Streets of Laredo (miniseries), CBS, five hours, 1995, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: James Garner, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard and Sonia Braga.
• Return to Lonesome Dove, CBS, four hours, 1993, Motown Productions. Starring: Jon Voight, Barbara Hershey, Rick Schroder and Louis Gossett Jr. and William Petersen.
• The Jacksons: An American Dream, ABC, five hours, 1992, Motown Productions. Nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries. Starring: Angela Bassett, Billy Dee Williams, and Vanessa Williams as Suzanne.
• Lonesome Dove (miniseries), CBS, eight hours, 1989, Motown Productions. Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody Award-winning miniseries. Named “Outstanding Program of the Year” by Television Critics Association, Best Miniseries in TV Guide Annual Readers Choice Awards, D.W. Griffith Award by National Board of Review. Among other honors, the success of this landmark western resulted in de Passe’s induction into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. “Lonesome Dove” was based on Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Starring: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and Anjelica Huston.
• Small Sacrifices, ABC, four hours, 1989, Motown Productions. Nominated for three Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries and two Golden Globe Awards. Winner of the Peabody Award. Based on Ann Rule’s best-selling book. Starring: Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O’Neal and John Shea.

Series

• Producer King: The upcoming DreamWorks motion picture on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with Steven Spielberg and Madison Jones.
• Executive Producer, the upcoming series, Becoming KK Jones, Fox Television Network
• Executive Producer, Life Changerstelevision series with superstar music producer, Rodney Jerkins (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé)
• Producer, Humpty Dumpty

Television movies

Network

• The Loretta Claiborne Story– Two-hour, 2000, Disney/ABC Sunday Night, de Passe Entertainment.
• Someone Else’s Child– Two-hour, 1998, ABC, de Passe Entertainment.
• The Last Electric Knight– (AKA Sidekicks) – Two-hour, 1989, ABC, Motown Productions.
• Bridemaids– Two-hour, 1989, CBS, Motown Productions.
• Happy Endings– Two-hour, 1983, CBS, King Entertainment, Motown Productions.

Cable

• Zenon: Z3– Two-hour, 2004, The Disney Channel, de Passe Entertainment.
• Zenon: The Zequel– Two-hour, 2001, The Disney Channel, de Passe Entertainment. When it aired, the movie had the highest-ever rating for a Disney Channel original movie. Premiered January 2001 with 3.3 rating/6 share.
• Cheaters– Two-hour, 2000, HBO Films, de Passe Entertainment.
• Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century– Two-hour, 1999, The Disney Channel, de Passe Entertainment.

Specials

• Executive Producer, Commander In Chief’s Inaugural Ball for President Barack Obama.
• 70th Anniversary Tribute to the Apollo Theatre: Two-hour, 2004, NBC, de Passe Entertainment.
• Motown 40: The’
• ‘Music is Forever, Four-hour documentary 1998, ABC, de Passe Entertainment. Executive Producer & Writer.
• Motown 30: What’s Goin’ On, Two-hour, 1990, CBS, Motown Productions, and Emmy Award Nominee. Executive Producer & Writer.
• Motown: Merri X-Mas, One-hour, 1987, ABC, Motown Productions.
• Motown Returns to the Apollo, Three-hour, 1985, NBC, Motown Productions. Emmy Award winner for best variety Program. NAACP Image Award winner. Executive Producer & Writer.
• Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, Two-hour, 1983, NBC, Motown Productions, Emmy Award winner for best variety program. Winner of NAACP Image Award and Peabody Award. Executive Producer & Writer.
• Motown on Showtime: – Smokey Robinson – One-hour, 1990, Showtime, Motown Productions. – Comedy on Campus – One-hour, 990, Showtime, Motown Productions. – Michael Jackson – One-hour, 1988, Showtime, Motown Productions. – Marvin Gaye – One-hour, 1987, Showtime, Motown Productions. – Temptations and Four Tops – One-hour, 1986, Showtime, Motown Productions

Series

• Sister, Sister: Half-hour sitcom – 122 episodes completed, 1995–1999, ABC/The WB, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: Tia and Tamera Mowry, Tim Reid and Jackee Harry.
• Smart Guy: Half-hour sitcom – 51 episodes completed, 1996–1999, The WB, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: Tahj Mowry, John Marshall Jones, Jason Weaver, Omar Gooding and Essence Atkins.
• On Our Own: Half-hour sitcom – 19 episodes completed, 1994–1995, ABC, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: The Smollet Family.
• The Motown Revuestarring Smokey Robinson: Six one-hour episodes, 1986, NBC, Motown Productions. Starring: Smokey Robinson.

First-run syndication

• Showtime at the Apollo: 130 one-hour episodes completed, variety program format. 2002–Present. Syndicated through Warner Brothers/Telepictures.
• Lonesome Dove, The Outlaw Years: 44 one-hour episodes completed, western drama, 1994-1996. Starring: Eric McCormack, Scott Bairstow and Paul Le Mat.
• Night Life: (195) half-hour episodes, talk show. 1986-87. Hosted by David Brenner.

Award programs

• 2006 Black Movie Awards: A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present, & Future. A 90-minute special which aired nationally on Turner Network Television (TNT) October 18, 2006. Hosted by Tyler Perry
• 2005 Black Movie Awards: A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present, & Future.A 90-minute special which aired nationally on Turner Network Television (TNT) October 19, 2005. Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer
• 34th NAACP Image Awards, Two-hour special, 2003 FOX, de Passe Entertainment. Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer.
• 2003 Essence Awards, Two-hour special, FOX, de Passe Entertainment.
• 2002 Essence Awards, Two-hour special, FOX, de Passe Entertainment. Hosted by Steve Harvey
• 33rd NAACP Image Awards, Two-hour special, 2002, FOX, de Passe Entertainment. Hosted by Chris Tucker
• 32nd NAACP Image Awards, Two-hour special, 2001, FOX, de Passe Entertainment. Hosted by Chris Tucker
• MUSIC and MORE…Image Awards, One-hour special, 2001, WB, de Passe Entertainment. Hosted by Sinbad and Brandy.^[15]

Awards

The recipient of an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the screenplay Lady Sings the Blues making her the first person of color to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay, as well as the first black woman nominated in any category besides an acting category.^[2] De Passe also won two Emmy Awards and NAACP Image Awards as executive producer of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and Motown Returns to the Apollo. De Passe served as executive producer for the highly acclaimed and multiple award-winning, CBS western miniseries Lonesome Dove, that won both Golden Globe and Peabody Awards and was voted “Outstanding Program of the Year” by the Television Critics Association.

As executive producer of the benchmark NBC miniseries The Temptations, de Passe won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Miniseries and was nominated for both the Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award for Best Miniseries. She also served as Executive Producer for Small Sacrifices, The Jacksons: An American Dream and Buffalo Girls, all of which were nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Miniseries.^[16]

A veteran of over three decades in Hollywood, generating over a billion dollars in revenue in the entertainment industry, and dividing her time and talent between Los Angeles and New York, de Passe has also received countless awards for her contributions to the television, movie and music industries including:

• Essence: Hollywood Women of Power Visionary Award (2008)
• Savannah Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)
• Black Enterprise Top 50 Hollywood Power Brokers (2007)
• The AWRT (American Women in Radio and Television) Silver Satellite Award (1999);
• Revlon Business Woman of the Year Award (1994);
• Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (1990);
• Essence Award (1989); and
• Women in FilmCrystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.^[17] (1988).
• Candace Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 1983 and 1989^[18]Recent community honors include:
• 2010 Recipient The George Arents Award is Syracuse University’s highest alumni honor, presented annually to alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their chosen fields.
• Center for The Advancement of Women: 2007 Changing the Landscape for Women Honoree
• Jackie Robinson Foundation 2006 Trailblazer Award
• Ebony Magazine selected de Passe for its highest honor, presenting her with the 2004 Madame C. J. Walker Award
• 2003 Whitney M. Young Award; Los Angeles Urban League’s highest accolade. (In keeping with tradition, de Passe presented the 2004 award to Magic Johnson.)

In 1978, De Passe married actor Paul Le Mat and they had 3 children together. They have since divorced.

Boards, trade associations and affiliations

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Member
• Alpha Kappa Alphasorority, Honorary Member
• American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Member
• American Film Institute, Trustee
• American Society of Composers and Publishers, Member
• Caucus of Writers, Producers and Directors, Executive Committee
• Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Board Member
• Humanities Prize, Board Member
• Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Former Board Member
• Los Angeles Opera, Board Member
• National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, Member
• National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, Member
• New York City Ballet, Former Board Member
• Producers Guild of America, Member
• Writers Guild of America, Member

Additionally, she has appeared as a speaker before numerous businesses and industry trade groups, including:

• Miller Brewing Company; Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association.
• Burger King Franchise Owners Association
• Chicago Minority Business Development Council.