Sophie Watts
Sophie Watts is a British-born entrepreneur, serial investor and media executive. She was the founding President of the global movie and TV studio STX Entertainment. Watts is notable for being the only female media executive in history to have built a Hollywood film studio from the ground up, a company that was valued at over US $2.5 billion at her departure.
Personal life
Watts was born in London, England, the daughter of music video and music film producer Tessa Watts - one of the pioneers of the music video industry at Virgin Records - and rock journalist and newspaper editor Michael Watts. She grew up in London and Bedfordshire and attended Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge. She graduated with First-Class Honours in History, and was awarded recognition as a Senior Scholar of her college, with a thesis in economic history.Early career
Early in her career, Watts worked in music film, videos and programming with artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, U2, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Mariah Carey. She has estimated to have worked on over 100 live shows. She moved to Los Angeles in 2007, where she was a producer and financier on film projects including the documentary Bully. The film was awarded the Producers Guild of America Stanley Kramer award in 2013, honoring productions and individuals that “illuminate and raise public awareness of important social issues.” By 2014, the film had been viewed by over 3.5 million secondary students across the United States.STX Entertainment
Origins
In 2011, Watts started working with Robert "Bob" Simonds to build a next-generation film and television studio that would “make, market and distribute star-driven, commercial" content. Incubated with capital from private equity firm TPG Growth, the company grew to secure capital from investors including private equity company Hony Capital, Chinese streaming giant Tencent, the Hong Kong communications and technology company PCCW, and the world's largest international cable company Liberty Global. In 2014, STX announced that it had secured over $1 billion in financing. During Watts's tenure, STX Entertainment grew from inception into a media conglomerate which, based on preliminary paperwork for its planned initial public offering, valued the company at over US$2.5 billion.STXfilms
In 2014, Simonds and Watts hired a series of film executives under the Corporate team, including former Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson. The studio announced that it would make at least 10 “commercial” movies a year and that it would function as a next-generation, fully integrated film studio. The studio also signed a multiyear television output agreement to release its films exclusively to Showtime Networks, and entered into a multiyear partnership with Universal Studios Home Entertainment.While Watts was at STX, the studio's projects included Bad Moms, Golden Globe nominee Molly's Game, Jackie Chan-starrer The Foreigner, and The Gift. In 2016, STXfilms became the fastest studio that year to hit $100-million at the domestic box office with Bad Moms, earned a People's Choice award winner for best comedy for the film, garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen, and procured DGA Best New Director nominations for multiple films. Under Watts, the studio worked with talent including Julia Roberts, Mila Kunis, Amy Schumer, Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Gerard Butler, Guy Ritchie, Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Chastain, Will Smith, and Jennifer Lopez. To date, STX has produced, marketed and distributed over 75 movies.