Cindy Cowan

Cindy Cowan is basically a powerhouse in the film world—Emmy winner, Oscar nod, the whole nine yards. She kicked off Initial Entertainment Group with Graham King back in '95, and that company just took off, racking up big wins and wild credits. IEG put out stuff like Rent-A-Kid (yeah, Leslie Nielson, classic), and If These Walls Could Talk—think Cher, Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek, Anne Heche, and tons of nominations. They even scored a United Nations Award for Savior with Dennis Quaid. And let’s not forget Traffic, which swept the Oscars for directing, writing, editing, and Benicio Del Toro grabbed Best Supporting Actor. Cowan also produced cult faves like Very Bad Things and Dr. T & the Women (Robert Altman, Richard Gere, a stacked cast). After selling IEG, Cowan didn’t slow down—she launched her own shop and kept the hits coming. Scorched, Red Lights (Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver), Fifty Dead Men Walking, and Smiley (a viral horror flick that blew up online). More recently? She’s behind Arkansas (Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth), the Emmy-winning doc Miracle on 42nd Street, and the short La Ruta, which snagged a Telly Award. Currently, she’s juggling a ton: a wild ’N Sync superfan movie, a paranormal thriller at Sony, a story about the girl who struck out Babe Ruth, and even more female-led action and true crime. She’s also deep into TV, working on Ellis Island with interest from Spike Lee, plus unscripted projects with MGM and a spiritual travel series. On top of all that, she co-founded Omni-Cultural TV Fest and serves on several nonprofit boards. Basically, she never stops.