Jessica Elbaum

Jessica Elbaum is an American film producer and the founder of Gloria Sanchez Productions, a company dedicated to developing female-driven comedy and genre content. A longtime collaborator of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, she has produced numerous acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Booksmart, Hustlers, and The Last Duel. Elbaum's work has earned her nominations for prestigious awards such as the Academy Award and the Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life and education

Born in Los Angeles, she is the daughter of veteran Hollywood producer Donald L. Elbaum. Growing up in the entertainment industry, she developed an early interest in film production. She pursued her higher education at the University of Southern California, where she studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, one of the nation's most prestigious film schools. Her academic background provided a formal foundation for her subsequent career in the competitive landscape of American cinema.

Career

Elbaum began her professional career as an intern at Gary Sanchez Productions, the production company founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. She quickly ascended through the ranks, becoming a producer and a key creative executive at the company. In 2014, leveraging her experience and identifying a market gap, she founded Gloria Sanchez Productions as a female-focused label under the Gary Sanchez banner. The company's mission is to champion stories by and about women, often within the comedy and genre spaces. A significant early success was serving as an executive producer on the hit comedy Daddy's Home, starring Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. She cemented her reputation as a producer of high-quality, critically praised work with Olivia Wilde's directorial debut Booksmart and Lorene Scafaria's crime drama Hustlers, the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Her producing portfolio expanded to include major studio projects like the historical epic The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott, and the Netflix comedy The Bubble, directed by Judd Apatow. She has also produced television series, including the Hulu comedy Life & Beth starring Amy Schumer.

Filmography

A selected list of her producing credits includes Daddy's Home (2015), The Boss (2016), Booksmart (2019), Hustlers (2019), The Last Duel (2021), The Bubble (2022), and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023). On television, she has served as an executive producer for series such as The Other Two on Comedy Central and later HBO Max, and Life & Beth on Hulu. Her work demonstrates a consistent collaboration with major studios and streaming platforms like MGM, STX Entertainment, 20th Century Studios, and Netflix.

Personal life

In 2022, she married Ben Asher, a creative executive. The couple resides in Los Angeles. She maintains a relatively private personal life, with her public profile primarily centered on her professional achievements within the film industry.

Awards and nominations

Her production of Hustlers was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. The film also garnered nominations from the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the Hollywood Critics Association. For her work on Booksmart, she and the producing team were nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Her television work on The Other Two earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2022.

Category:American film producers Category:21st-century American businesswomen Category:University of Southern California alumni