Kerstin Emhoff
Born
Kerstin Mackin

(1967-03-18) March 18, 1967 (age 57)[1]
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1992; div. 2008)​
Children2, including Ella Emhoff
AwardsNews & Documentary Emmy Award (2012)

Kerstin Emhoff (née Mackin; born March 18, 1967) is an American film producer and the co-founder and CEO of the commercial production company Prettybird and creative studio Ventureland.[2] She is a member of the DGA, PGA, and Television Academy.

Under her leadership, Prettybird has won multiple Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, Cannes Lions, and Ad Age’s Production Company of Year in 2015 and 2021. She personally won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in 2012. As the CEO of Ventureland, Emhoff has executive produced documentaries including The Deepest Breath, Bobi Wine: The People's President, If These Walls Could Sing, and AKA Jane Roe. Her former husband Douglas Emhoff later married Kamala Harris.

Career

After film school, Emhoff moved to Los Angeles, where she got a job at a small production company and "was immediately hooked into the world of short form."[3] By 2002, Emhoff was a principal (and executive producer) at HSI Productions.[4] HSI creatives at that time included Paul Hunter, Hype Williams, and Diane Martel.[5]

Prettybird

In 2007, Emhoff, together with Hunter, left HSI to co-found the production company Prettybird.[6] Emhoff is Prettybird's CEO.[7] Prettybird has won multiple Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, Cannes Lions,[3][better source needed] Clios, AICPs, and MTV’s Video of the Year. Ad Age named Prettybird as Creativity's Production Company of the Year twice, in 2015[8] and 2021.[9]

She served as executive producer of Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden (2013), which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special; and produced Emmy Award-winning The Tillman Story. [10]

Ventureland

In 2020, she joined with two of her Prettybird partners (Ali Brown and Paul Hunter) and long-time collaborator John Battsek[10] to co-found Ventureland,[11] a multi-platform entertainment company. Based in Los Angeles and London, Ventureland produces documentaries, scripted content, podcasts, and branded entertainment.[12] As the CEO of Ventureland, Emhoff has executive produced documentaries including The Deepest Breath, Bobi Wine: The People's President, If These Walls Could Sing, and the 2020 documentary AKA Jane Roe.[13][14][15].

Pipelines

In 2016, she founded the non-profit Pipelines,[16] a not-for-profit initiative to increase opportunities in advertising for diverse young people.[3] In 2024, Pipelines is scheduled to launch its mobile app, designed to connect companies looking for diverse talent with young people looking for jobs in tech and entertainment.[17] This initiative lead to Emhoff, together with Prettybird President Ali Brown, being named as a finalist for Creativity’s Diversity & Inclusion Champions of the Year for 2021.[18]

Emhoff served on the board of directors of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) for over ten years, and was the AICP President for Western United States.[19] In 2015, she chaired the AICP annual show "The Art & Technique of the American Commercial."[20] In 2020, she served as President of the Film Craft jury at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.[21]

When Ava DuVernay partnered with Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, Netflix, HBO and others to set up the Evolve Entertainment Fund (EEF), Emhoff was named to its first Advisory Board.[22] According to Billboard, "The EEF is a public-private partnership between the City of Los Angeles, industry leaders in entertainment and digital media, non-profit organizations and educational institutions which is dedicated to building career pathways into film, television and music for women, people of color and low-income Angelenos through paid internships, focused mentoring and an ongoing series of workshops and panels."[23]

Personal life

She was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has mainly Swedish ancestry. In 1992, she married Douglas Emhoff, with whom she has two children, Cole and Ella. They divorced 18 years later. She chose to retain her married name, legally and professionally.[24] Emhoff's ex-husband later married Kamala Harris.[25]

Kerstin Emhoff's two children have described the coparenting relationship between Emhoff and their stepmother, Kamala Harris, as "very healthy".[26] She attended the 2021 presidential inauguration, where Harris was sworn in as vice president of the United States.[26]

Selected filmography

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Kerstin Emhoff". United States Public Records, 1970–2009.
  2. ^ "Kerstin Emhoff". PRETTYBIRD.co. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Capper, Addison (2020). "5 Minutes with… Kerstin Emhoff". Little Black Book. Retrieved August 15, 2020. The co-founder and executive producer of Prettybird is Kerstin Emhoff. Under her guidance the company has picked up Grammys, Emmys, D&ADs, Cannes Lions, Clios and more. It bagged the first ever Music Grand Prix at Cannes in 2016 for Beyonce's 'Formation', directed by Melina Matsoukas. What's more, Kerstin recently launched Pipelines, a not-for-profit initiative that's geared towards increasing opportunities in adland for diverse, young people
  4. ^ "HSI, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, FOUNDED 1986". Ad Age. September 1, 2003. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Principals: Stavros Merjos, CEO, Billy Sandwick, Executive Producer NY, Kerstin Emhoff...Roster HSI: Arni & Kinski, Lenny Bass, Peter Berg, Irv Blitz, Benny Boom, Kevin Bray, Scott Burns, Gerard de Thame, F. Gary Gray, Paul Hunter...
  5. ^ "5 Minutes with… Taj Critchlow". Little Black Book. 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2020. we both worked at HSI Productions. It was the Death Star of production companies, the alpha omega...That's where I learned how to multitask, how to hustle, but most importantly how to run a premium production company on that level. If you think about all of the alumni that came out of HSI - Paul Hunter and Kerstin Emhoff, who run Prettybird now, me and X at Popp Rok. Stavros [Merjos, HSI's founder] created this amazing platform from where we just sprung out.
  6. ^ Diaz, Ann-Christine (December 18, 2007). "Paul Hunter and Kerstin Emhoff Launch Prettybird". Ad Age. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Former HSI director Paul Hunter and executive producer Kerstin Emhoff have given flight to Prettybird, a new production company that they say will put a premium on creative fluidity and partnerships while being positioned to address the industry's shifting production needs. 'We came from a very big company where we definitely spent a lot of time crossing over from music videos to commercials or commercials to movies, or print photography to commercials,' Emhoff says. 'It's exciting to start from scratch...'
  7. ^ Del Barco, Mandalit (June 12, 2020). "Cameras Can Roll In Hollywood Again". NPR.org. Retrieved August 16, 2020. Kerstin Emhoff, president of Prettybird, said her production company was able to work remotely throughout the pandemic shutdown, on a documentary, a digital series and commercials (including one for Uber)...'it's going to be slower because you can't have everyone working all at once. But we don't have a choice. We have to make this work.'
  8. ^ Diaz, Ann-Christine (September 28, 2015). "Prettybird is Creativity's 2015 Production Company of the Year". Ad Age. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Founded in 2007 by top director Paul Hunter and industry vet Kerstin Emhoff, it tackled the surliest, most head-scratching production terrain while finessing more traditional, established content forms
  9. ^ Diaz, Ann-Christine (June 7, 2021). "PRETTYBIRD'S TOP TALENTS SHAPED THE YEAR'S BIGGEST IDEAS".
  10. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (January 21, 2020). "Docs Supremo John Battsek Exits Passion Pictures After 20 Years To Set Up LA & London-Based Ventureland With Prettybird Trio". Deadline. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Battsek and Emhoff have previously teamed up to produce Emmy-winning projects Manhunt: The Inside Story Of The Hunt For Bin Laden and The Tillman Story, as well as The Final Year, Sergio and Legion Of Brothers. The duo have worked together on-and-off for more than a decade and the majority of Passion's U.S. productions have been based out of Prettybird's LA facilities.
  11. ^ "Ventureland". Ventureland. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  12. ^ Morgan, Jillian (January 21, 2020). "John Battsek, Prettybird team launch multi-platform prodco Ventureland". Real Screen. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Emhoff, Brown and Hunter, partners at California-based prodco Prettybird, are known for producing music videos and commercials of the last decade with a roster of talent that includes Melina Matsoukas, Tim & Eric, The Daniels, Janicza Bravo and others.
  13. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 4, 2020). "FX Acquires First Documentary Feature 'AKA Jane Roe', Sets Premiere Date For Roe V. Wade Film".
  14. ^ "FX Sets 'AKA Jane Roe' as First Feature Documentary". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 March 2020.
  15. ^ D'Addario, Daniel (May 20, 2020). "'AKA Jane Roe': TV Review".
  16. ^ "About | Pipelines". www.pipelines.pro. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  17. ^ "Meet Shari Holly of Pipelines in Culver City". Voyage LA. March 9, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020. I've been helping Kerstin Emhoff, Founder of PRETTYBIRD build Pipelines since 2016. We started off with a 30 page deck and only an idea when she brought me on lol. I was intrigued by the adventure of building a business; but more importantly, an impactful one that was personal and mattered to me. Now, three years later we have built platform we believe in, are committed to, and are pumped about. Pipelines is a mobile app that connects underrepresented talent to job and training opportunities in tech, creative, and entertainment, and companies to a vast pool of diverse talent.
  18. ^ "CREATIVITY AWARD FINALISTS".
  19. ^ "AICP - Kerstin Emhoff". www.aicp.com. Doubling as a producer and an Executive Producer, Emhoff has been involved in a wide range of PRETTYBIRD's eclectic work including: Intel & Lady Gaga's David Bowie Tribute at the 2016 Grammy Awards... Kerstin has produced over 13 movies and documentaries, including HBO's 2013 Primetime Emmy Award Winner Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden and the Oscar shortlisted documentary The Tillman Story.
  20. ^ "PRETTYBIRD's Kerstin Emhoff Named Chair of 2015 AICP Show". Shoot. December 4, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Kerstin Emhoff, co-founder/executive producer of PRETTYBIRD, will serve as chairperson of the 2015 AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial. As part of her AICP Show Chair duties, Emhoff will preside over AICP Week
  21. ^ "Film Craft Lions | Awards | Cannes Lions 2020". www.canneslions.com.
  22. ^ Patten, Dominic (February 12, 2018). "Ava DuVernay, Netflix, HBO & Dan Lin Partner With City Of L.A. On Inclusion Incentive". Retrieved August 15, 2020. Teaming-up with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Issa Rae Productions, Dan Lin's Rideback, ARRAY, WME, Netflix, HBO, Film Independent, CAA, UTA, Anonymous Content, Lionsgate, Charles D King's MACRO, Oprah Winfrey Network, the Sundance Institute, Shondaland, Ryan Murphy, Innovative Artists and Warner Bros, among others, the EEF intends to raise over $5 million
  23. ^ Mims, Taylor (July 25, 2019). "AEG Partners with Los Angeles Mayor to Launch 2019 Evolve Entertainment Diversity Initiative". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020. The EEF is a public-private partnership between the City of Los Angeles, industry leaders in entertainment and digital media, non-profit organizations and educational institutions which is dedicated to building career pathways into film, television and music for women, people of color and low-income Angelenos through paid internships, focused mentoring and an ongoing series of workshops and panels.
  24. ^ Jessica M. Goldstein (October 5, 2020). "The Good Husband". Marie Claire. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  25. ^ Wright, Jasmine; Stracqualursi, Veronica (January 15, 2021). "Harris and Emhoff recall first date: 'It felt like we had known each other forever'". CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  26. ^ a b Kindelan, Katie (January 20, 2021). "How Kamala Harris' diverse, multicultural family will make history". Good Morning America. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  27. ^ "Winners Announced for the 33rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards | The Emmy Awards - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences". Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-08-13.

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