Charlize Theron ©Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com | Sheryl Sandberg ©Rachel Murray / gettyimages.com | ©Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
Whether it’s starting a billion-dollar makeup empire or breaking the record as the first female boss in their field, these women have no shame of being the driving force behind their brilliantly thriving businesses.
The ladies listed here have truly done it all, and we’re in awe of them for turning their passions into empires worthy of recognition. In this article, we take a look at some of the most famous female CEOs who are single-handedly reshaping the business world as we know it.
Company: Simpson Street
Position: Founder/CEO
Net Worth: $25 million*
Actress Kerry Washington launched her film company, Simpson Street, a few years back. In 2016, Simpson Street signed a deal with ABC Studios and ABC Signature to develop cable and digital projects only for those two parties. The deal lasted for two years. Washington’s company, after that deal was done, signed on with Hulu to produce the streaming service’s new hit show Little Fires Everywhere.
Simpson Street is named after the street on which Kerry Washington’s mom grew up in New York City (the Bronx, specifically). The first project that Simpson Street did was Confirmation, which looked in-depth at the nomination of Justice Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
Company: LuckyChap Entertainment
Position: Co-founder
Net Worth: $22 million*
Margot Robbie, star of the Suicide Squad movies, along with Sophia Kerr, Josey McNamara, and Tom Ackerley, founded LuckyChap Entertainment, a production company. The company was officially founded in 2014 and hit the ground running. The film credits for the company include I, Tonya, which was released in 2017 and starred Robbie.
The movie won an Oscar (out of four nominations). LuckyChap Entertainment also has produced Terminal, Dreamland, Birds of Prey, Promising Young Woman, and Dollface (a TV show). LuckyChap has three movies (Barbie, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and Tank Girl) and one TV show (The Wildest Animals in Griffin Park) currently in the works.
Company: Vikarious Productions
Position: Co-Owner/CEO
Net Worth: $8 million*
Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander decided to add yet another hyphenate to her very impressive resume. The Tomb Raider actress, shortly after finding out she snagged the role as Lara Croft, founded Vikarious Productions, a production company. She founded Vikarious with Charles Collier, her agent from London.
Vikarious’ first movie, Euphoria, starred Eva Green and Alicia Vikander, and it had a female director, Lisa Langseth, at the helm. Vikander founded her own production company to give female voices a stronger role in movies. She and her company were planning to release at least one new title per year. Vikander herself has a few new movies coming out in the second half of 2020.
Company: NBCUniversal Content Studios
Position: American network and studio executive
Net Worth: $1.93 Million*
Prior to being the Vice President of Original Programming at the Sci-Fi Channel, Hammer is now the current Chairman of NBCUniversal Cable, overseeing the most well-known cable brands including USA, SyFy, E!, Bravo, and Oxygen.
Hammer began her career working at a public television station in Boston. In 1989, her career peaked, and Hammer enrolled at Universal Television as a programming executive, until she was made the president in 2001. After Universal merged with NBC, Hammer landed the long-sought-after role as president of USA Network, alongside Sci-Fi. During the six years that she managed the network, Sci-Fi’s audience doubled in figures, and has remained one of the most-watched channels of the company to date!
Company: handsomecharlie Films
Position: Founder/CEO
Net Worth: $62 million*
Natalie Portman named her production company, handsomecharlie Films, after her late dog. Portman’s company has gone on to produce or co-produce several blockbuster hits, as well as well-rated indie movies. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Other Woman, Hesher, Eating Animals, Foxy Trotter, No Strings Attached, and more are all products of handsomecharlie Films.
Portman founded her company after she sat on the jury of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Her first-ever directorial debut was Eve, a short film that opened at the 65th Venice International Film Festival’s short-film screenings. As of 2020, there are three more films in the works for handsomecharlie Films.
Company: IBM
Position: Senior Vice President
Net Worth: $19 Million*
Bridget van Kralingen rose to her leadership position at IBM after toiling away for 14 years at Deloitte, working her way to the top of that company as well. In doing so, she has repeatedly garnered spots on Fortune’s list of 50 most powerful women.
Van Kralingen was born in England but spent her formative years in South Africa, receiving her education from both University of Witwatersrand and University of Johannesburg. She earned both degrees in business and psychology, priming her for success in the global business world.
Company: Ventanarosa Productions
Position: Founder/CEO
Net Worth: $115 million*
Actress Salma Hayek founded Ventanarosa, a production company, in 1999. In English, the name translates to “rose-colored window.” Ventanarosa’s first movie was El Coronel No Tiene Quien le Escriba, which was based on a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The movie was Mexico’s official selection for the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Film category.
Ventanarosa then, a year later, released In the Time of the Butterflies, which was based on another Latino author’s work. Other credits for Ventanarosa include Frida, The Maldonado Miracle, and Ugly Betty. In June of 2020, Ventanarosa announced that it was signing a two-year first-look contract with HBO Max.
Company: Oracle
Position: Co-CEO
Net Worth: $1.1 Billion*
Safra Catz, Co-CEO of Oracle Corp, tasked with overseeing finance, manufacturing, and legal operations, found herself on the very top of the list of the highest-paid US female executives in 2015. Although it may have been the peak of her career, Catz has had an incredibly inspiring journey to get to where she is today.
Catz didn’t start off at the top, she originally began her career as a banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in 1986. There she served the company as a Managing Director and a Senior Vice President for decades, until finally joining Oracle Corp in 2004, where she evidently made her mark on history.
Company: Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Position: CEO
Net Worth: $1.8 Billion*
Guardian, is a company led by one fierce female CEO, Deanna Mulligan. While under her leadership, the insurer ended 2018 with record capital of $8.5* billion and had 27 million customers. The industry titan previously worked in both strategy consulting and operational management.
She was Principal at McKinsey and Company and held senior management positions at AXA Financial and New York Life Insurance. Now, Mulligan has worked as Guardian’s CEO for eight years and counting. Last year, the company launched its first insurance platform, and along with it, the first TV advertising campaign in its entire history.
Company: Flower Films
Position: Co-founder/CEO
Net Worth: $125 million*
Drew Barrymore is an actress and successful businesswoman, and she has managed to rack up quite a net worth (over $100 million) from her Flower companies, which include a makeup brand, skincare brand, and a production company called Flower Films. Flower Films was founded in 1995.
Barrymore and her business partner, Nancy Juvonen, founded the company in Los Angeles, California. It has some very famous movies and television shows to its name, including Never Been Kissed, Charlie’s Angels (both the old movie and the remake), Donnie Darko, 50 First Dates, Whip It!, Santa Clarita Diet, and more, many of which star Barrymore.
Company: Mylan
Position: CEO
Net Worth: $26.5 Million*
Heather Bresch has been breaking down boundaries her whole career. As CEO of Mylan, she boasts the impressive position of being the first woman in history to lead a pharmaceutical company, a major feat worthy of the utmost respect.
Another member of Fortune’s most powerful women list, Bresch, a West Virginia native, has led the Dutch pharmaceutical company through its fair share of controversies with strength and humor. In addition to holding the title of CEO since 2012, she also champions the teaching of math and science to young girls, ushering in the next generation of female leaders in STEM.
Company: Facebook
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Net Worth: $1.7 billion*
Sheryl Sandberg started out in the tech world, where women are scarce, especially at the top. Now, however, she is also one of the few wealthiest self-made female entrepreneurs in America, and the Chief Operating Officer of one of the most influential companies in the world, Facebook.
Years ago, while working at Google, Sandberg was thinking of moving to The Washington Post, when she found herself in a meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at a Christmas party, leading to Sandberg joining Facebook instead. She got the COO job she always wanted, a highly powerful role in running an up-and-coming tech company primed to take over the world.
Company: Brownstone Productions
Position: Co-founder/CEO
Net Worth: $50 million*
Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman founded their own production company, Brownstone Productions. Banks is a famous actress, and Handelman, her husband, is a sportswriter and movie/TV producer. The two founded Brownstone in Santa Clarita, California, but it ended up partnering with Universal Studios, where it is headquartered.
Brownstone has produced the Pitch Perfect series and co-produced the new Charlie’s Angels movie. The company re-signed a first-look deal with Universal in 2019, as well as a new production deal with Warner Bros. Television. Banks’ company produced all three Pitch Perfect films, all of which she had a main role in as Gail.
Company: CVS Health
Position: President of Aetna, Executive Vice President
Net Worth: $19.5 Million*
Karen S. Lynch has held executive positions in the healthcare industry for decades now, finally culminating in a move to CVS Health when they acquired Aetna, keeping Lynch on as President of the Aetna Business Unit, while also serving as Executive Vice President of the company at large.
Lynch wasn’t always a healthcare titan, however. She began her career as a certified public accountant (CPA) at the previously-mentioned accounting giant Ernst & Young. As a Boston-area native, Lynch attended Boston College for her undergraduate degree and earned an MBA from Boston University.
