Gale Anne Hurd


Gale Anne Hurd is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment, and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America.

Early life

Hurd was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. Her father was Jewish, and her mother was Roman Catholic. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1973. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in economics and communications, and a minor in political science, in 1977.

Film career

She joined New World Pictures as executive assistant to Roger Corman, the company president. She worked her way up through various administrative positions and eventually became involved in production. She formed her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, in 1982 and went on to produce a number of box-office hits including the James Cameron films The Terminator, Aliens, and The Abyss.
In 1998, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal 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.
In 2003, she was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology at Telluride, Colorado, along with Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
In 2010, the drama series she produced, The Walking Dead, began airing on AMC.
Hurd became a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2011.
On October 3, 2012, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2013, Hurd was awarded the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Athena Film Festival, at Barnard College in New York City. The award honors her as a woman in the film industry whose leadership demonstrates vision and courage and sets a standard for other women to emulate.
Hurd was awarded the Fangoria Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her body of work in the horror and science fiction genres.

Personal life

Hurd was married to James Cameron from 1985 to 1989; to director Brian De Palma from 1991 to 1993, with whom she had one daughter, Lolita de Palma, in 1991; and to screenwriter/director Jonathan Hensleigh since 1995.

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1981Smokey Bites the DustCharles B. GriffithCo-producer
1984The TerminatorJames CameronAlso screenwriter
1986AliensJames Cameron
1988Bad DreamsAndrew Fleming
1988Alien NationGraham Baker
1989The AbyssJames Cameron
1990DowntownRichard BenjaminExecutive producer
1990TremorsRon UnderwoodExecutive producer
1991'James CameronExecutive producer
1992The WaterdanceNeal Jimenez
Michael Steinberg
1992Raising CainBrian De Palma
1994No EscapeMartin Campbell
1994Safe PassageRobert Allan Ackerman
1996The Ghost and the DarknessStephen Hopkins
1997The RelicPeter Hyams
1997Dante's PeakRoger Donaldson
1998ArmageddonMichael Bay
1999VirusJohn Bruno
1999DickAndrew Fleming
2002ClockstoppersJonathan Frakes
2003HulkAng Lee
2003'Jonathan MostowExecutive producer
2004The PunisherJonathan Hensleigh
2005Æon FluxKaryn Kusama
2007Welcome to the JungleJonathan Hensleigh
2008The Incredible HulkLouis Leterrier
2008Lexi Alexander
2013Very Good GirlsNaomi Foner
2018Hell FestGregory Plotkin

Television