Lauren Shuler Donner

American film producer Lauren Shuler produced the globally successful "X-Men" film franchise. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Shuler fell in love with movies at a very young age. She would often sneak off to the theater with her cousin to see the newest release. Growing up in the Midwest was like being a million miles away from Hollywood. But even as a little girl, Shuler had big dreams of making movies one day. Thus, when it came time to enter college, Shuler attended Boston University, where she studied film production and editing. After college Shuler moved to Los Angeles to launch her film career. She quickly made a name for herself as an editor, and later as a camera operator for sitcoms, the latter of which was a field largely dominated by men in the 1970s. However, Shuler longed to be producing movies - she just needed a way in. Her opportunity came in 1978 when, after giving some creative advice on the script, she was credited as an associate producer on the 1978 disco comedy "Thank God It's Friday." Her work on the film opened up a numerous doors for Shuler, and in 1983 she produced her first feature film "Mr. Mom" (1983), which was successful at the box office. Shuler would go on to produce several more successful films throughout the 80s and 90s, including "Pretty in Pink" (1986), "Free Willy" (1993), "Bulworth" (1998), and the romantic comedy "You've Got Mail" (1998). Then in 2000 Shuler, along with her husband, director Richard Donner, produced the big screen adaptation of the popular comic book "X-Men" (2000). The film was a huge success at the international box office, and spawned numerous X-Men sequels and spin-offs, including 2017's "Logan," to become one of the most successful franchises in movie history. In addition to movies, Shuler also produced the television shows "The Gifted" (Fox, 2017-) and "Legion" (Fox, 2017-), both of which premiered in 2017.