Boston U: Hollywood's Secret Female Training Ground
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WOMEN IN ENTERTAINMENT 12 Tassler (left) and Davis met as sophomores. Says Davis: “It’s amazing to be that close to somebody who has just known you from practically minute one.” They were photographed on Dec. 2 at the William Turner Gallery in Santa Monica. BOSTON U: HOLLYWOOD’S SECRET FEMALE TRAINING GROUND Dozens of top execs and talents call BU their alma mater, as alumnae from Geena Davis and her college roommate Nina Tassler to Nancy Dubuc gather to honor the college that puts the ‘B’ in showbiz BY BRYN ELISE SANDBERG 10 7 3 LOS ANGELES 5 The women were photographed on Dec. 2 at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. 4 1 8 11 6 9 2 1 Madeline 2 Michaela 3 Corinne 4 Ashley Williams 5 Judy Smith The 6 Krista Vernoff 7 Nina Tassler The 8 Debbie Liebling 9 Lauren Shuler 10 Brooke Karzen 11 Bonnie Arnold 12 Geena Davis Di Nonno The CEO of Watkins The co-creator Brinkerhoff The The How I Met Your crisis manager, who The co-exec producer CBS Entertainment chair Formerly a Universal Donner The X-Men The senior vp alternative The How to Train Your The Academy Award- the Geena Davis Institute of USA’s Benched, a Jane the Virgin co-exec Mother actress and 2001 got her communications of Shameless and former survived the school’s Pictures exec, the 1981 franchise producer programming at Dragon and Over the winning actress attended on Gender in Media member of Groundlings, producer got her grad was a year ahead and public relations Grey’s Anatomy EP ultracompetitive theater broadcast and film and 1971 grad studied Warner Horizon TV Hedge producer got the college of fine received her bachelor’s got her fine arts degree master’s in television of actress Uzo Aduba degree in 1980, inspired graduated with a theater program but chose major now heads Red film and TV in the college graduated with a her master’s in broadcast arts’ theater program, in English in 1982. in 1994. from BU in 2004. in the theater program. Scandal’s Olivia Pope. degree in 1993. an off-camera career. Hour Films’ TV division. of communication. theater degree in 1984. journalism in 1978. graduating in 1979. PHOTOGRAPHED BY Austin Hargrave HAIR AND MAKEUP UP BY CAITLIN WOOTERS AT EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS FOR ORIBE HAIRCARE AND KEVYN AUCOIN AND JUAN ANTONIO AT EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS FOR ORIBE HAIRCARE AND TOM FORD. RAVER HAIR BY JONATHAN MASON. RAVER MAKEUP BY LORI HAMLIN PENSKE. WOMEN IN ENTERTAINMENT 1 2 4 carried over into her professional Uzo Aduba life. Adds A+E Networks’ Nancy The Emmy-winning actress, 33, studied Dubuc, 46, “You had to forge your classical voice 3 way to either create your own at the fine arts village or stand out in some way.” college while also on an athletic No wonder the school churns out scholarship — she so many women who’ve succeeded ran track and field. at Hollywood’s zero-sum game — 4 2 Ginnifer and are eager to help other BU Goodwin 5 grads do the same. “There seems to The Once Upon a 1 be a generosity among the alumni Time actress, 36, who graduated in to want to support and give access,” 2001, performed says Warner Horizon Television’s at a professional 3 Brooke Karzen, 54, who was a year theater in Boston as behind Julianne Moore in the fine an undergrad. arts college. Among them: Nine Yunjin Kim years ago, Tassler became involved The Lost actress, with the newly established BU in 41, earned her bachelor’s in L.A. program, a “semester abroad” drama from BU for undergrads that offers industry in 1993. She also internships. She is now an honorary studied at the British Academy dean of the program with Seinfeld of Dramatic Arts. star Jason Alexander. Before BU in L.A. was launched, Julianne Moore some students took advantage of The Still Alice star a spring break alumni-networking got her BU drama trip — that’s when TV writer Corinne degree in 1983 and scored a 1 Davis and Tassler (second and third from left) Brinkerhoff, 34, visited David E. performed in the musical Knickerbocker Holiday, Daytime Emmy for based on a Washington Irving story, in 1977. Kelley Productions. She’d later As the World Turns 2 Dubuc on graduation day, 1991. ”There was just five years later. a competitive nature to the university but in become BU alum Kelley’s assistant a nurturing, collegiate environment,” she says. 3 Vernoff (left) with her sister Kaili, an actress and eventually earn a seat in his Rosie and 1991 BU college of fine arts grad. Boston Legal writers room. On the O’Donnell 4 Marcus showed her BU Terrier pride in 1991. same trip, she also met Arrow creator The View co-host, 52, briefly studied and BU alum Andrew Kreisberg, drama before OME PEOPLE SAY think we got an F,” recalls Davis) 43, who has been a mentor. “To have dropping out at that their closest friends are from and performing together — again contacts before I even got to L.A. 18 to pursue stand-up comedy. high school or work, but for me, it’s bonnet-clad — in the school’s was priceless,” says Brinkerhoff. Sall about Boston University,” says 1977 production of Knickerbocker Ashley Williams, 36, jokes there’s a actress Geena Davis, 58, who met Holiday. The pair, who branded “BU wink” and credits it with her Marisa Tomei The Oscar-winning the closest of her college friends themselves “Neen-er and Geen-er,” breakout role in the romantic comedy actress, 50, — CBS Entertainment chair Nina have remained best friends. In fact, Something Borrowed — her college spent one year in Tassler, 57 — as an 18-year-old Tassler was Davis’ matron of honor roommate, Ginnifer Goodwin, the theater arts program but left for sophomore. Among the early mem- (twice), and they still take vaca- already was set to star: “I only needed a role on As ories the two theater majors (who tions together with their old theater to email Ginny and let her know that the World Turns. were roommates their senior year) friends — “The Family,” they call I was getting close on the job,” says share: dressing up as Siamese twins themselves. Williams, “and she got in touch with Alfre Woodard with giant baby bonnets and rattles Davis and Tassler are members the director and advocated for me.” The Oscar- in a dance movement class (“I of a larger BU family in Hollywood, “Do I favor them?” says Tassler nominated actress, 62, who co-stars too. The university estimates that of the BU grads who walk into her on State of Affairs, more than 5,000 alums, 54 percent office. “Yes, I do.” (Quips Williams graduated in 1974 of them women, work in entertain- of her CBS role, “That must be how with a bachelor of fine arts in theater. ment. The school has produced an I got on How I Met Your Mother.”) army of female execs, producers, DreamWorks Animation’s Bonnie writers and actors through its rigor- Arnold, 58, notes that there are 35 ous communication and theater or 40 BU grads in her office alone. up the phenomenon in the words programs, the latter so competitive BU in L.A., which started with 20 of her former assistant: “My father that Tassler entered with a class students, has more than 100 enrolled went to Harvard,” the young woman of 60 only to graduate with 20. “One 1 Rikki Klieman The 2 Kim Raver 3 Laura Marcus 4 Hilary Estey 5 Nancy Dubuc for spring 2015, and a remarkable told Liebling of her industry-exec of the things I learned in college NEW YORK CBS News legal analyst The 1991 acting major The vp talent relations at McLoughlin CBS TV The president and CEO 72 percent of the 1,300 students dad. “But every boss he ever had was is that if you’re going to be late for The women were graduated from BU’s was on Grey’s Fox Sports, who became Distribution’s president of A+E Networks, a who’ve completed the program now a woman who went to BU.” photographed Dec. 1 at law school in 1975 after Anatomy from 2009 friends with Di Nonno at of creative affairs and 1991 grad, majored in an audition, don’t go,” she says of Milk Studios in New York. are employed in the industry. Red Woodard in a production of the Greek earning a theater degree to 2012, overlapping BU, got her broadcasting former Telepictures chief mass communications comedy Thesmophoriazusae in 1974. the make-or-break mentality that’s from Northwestern. with Vernoff. and film degree in 1983. is a 1984 grad. with a history minor. Hour Films’ Debbie Liebling sums Additional reporting by Ashley Lee HAIR AND MAKEUP BY ERIKA PARSONS AND LEIANE TAYLOR AT CELESTINE AGENCY. TASSLER HAIR AND MAKEUP BY TRACY DAVIS. KNICKERBOCKER, THESMOPHORIAZUSAE: BOSTON 36 | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | DECEMBER 2014 PHOTOGRAPHED BY Matt Furman UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY. DUBUC, MARCUS, VERNOFF: COURTESY OF SUBJECT. ADUBA, TOMEI: EVAN AGOSTINI/INVISION/AP. GOODWIN: DAN STEINBERG/INVISION/AP. KIM: ANNIE I. BANG/INVISION/AP. MOORE: JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP. O’DONNELL: BEIMAGES/CAROLYN CONTINO. WOODARD: DAVID CROTTY/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM/SIPA USA..