SUZANNE DE PASSE

CO-CHAIR DE PASSE, JONES ENTERTAINMENT
FORMER PRESIDENT, MOTOWN PRODUCTIONS

An entertainment industry dynamo for close to 50 years, de Passe got her start at Motown Industries. She nurtured the careers of the music industry’s biggest superstars like Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. She was instrumental in developing epic productions found on the small and big screen, including the iconic movie Lady Sings The Blues—making history as the only African American woman to receive an Oscar nomination for best screenplay—and Emmy-nominated Lonesome Dove, among others. Through her own production company, she has offered decades of memorable entertainment, racking up multiple Emmy wins and nominations, Peabody and NAACP Awards, and developing multicultural talent in front of and behind the screen. Her current company, De Passe Jones Entertainment, has been responsible for $2 billion in entertainment revenue.

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