Hollywood’s Most POWERFUL Woman on Overcoming Self-Doubt | Sherry Lansing

Description

Before Sherry Lansing became the first woman to run a major Hollywood studio and a legendary force behind some of cinema's most iconic films, she was an insecure young woman convinced she had to hide her ambition, terrified of judgment, and struggling to believe in herself. Then she met Dr. Joshua Hoffs, a therapist who gave her something she'd never experienced before: a space where she could be vulnerable without shame, ambitious without apology, and herself without fear. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the trailblazing studio executive sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the man who believed in her when she couldn't believe in herself. Sherry opens up about growing up with a mother who escaped Nazi Germany and wanted nothing more than for her daughter to get married and join the country club, even though that same mother became Sherry's first role model when she took over the family real estate business after Sherry's father died when she was just nine years old. She talks about her first therapist, who told her that when he was done with her she wouldn't want to work, she'd just want to bake pies, and how that experience nearly broke her. She shares what it felt like to walk into Dr. Hoffs' office for the first time and realize within the first hour that this was different, that he wasn't there to judge her or change her, but to help her become the best version of herself. When Dr. Hoffs asked her a question that changed everything: Why can't you be the head of the studio? Sherry talks about her decades long marriage to Academy Award winning director William Friedkin, the only person who ever gave her unconditional love, and why losing him was the hardest chapter of her life. She shares why she believes therapy taught her to understand people in a way that made her a better executive, why she never craved power, and why the only thing that lasts forever is the movies. She reflects on greenlighting Titanic, Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and Fatal Attraction,