Asian American Hollywood executive elected president of Oscars' academy

ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES

Janet Yang takes over helm of Oscars' sponsor.

Hollywood producer Janet Yang, who has been described as “the godmother of Asian Americans in the industry” was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors.

“Janet is a tremendously dedicated and strategic leader who has an incredible record of service at the Academy. She has been instrumental in launching and elevating several Academy initiatives on membership recruitment, governance, and equity, diversity, and inclusion,” noted Academy CEO Bill Kramer.

“I am thrilled that she is taking on the esteemed role of Academy President and look forward to working closely with her on our shared vision to serve our membership, celebrate the collaborative arts and sciences of motion pictures, and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.”

Yang, 66, is beginning her first term as president and her second term as a Governor-at-Large, a position for which she was nominated by the sitting Academy President and elected by the Board of Governors. Gigliotti, Karaszewski, Linde, Mussenden and Thomas were re-elected as officers. It will be the first officer stint for Dorman, Howell Taylor and Taylor-Coleman.

Yang’s extensive film producing credits include “The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Zero Effect,” “High Crimes,” “Dark Matter,” “Shanghai Calling” and the Oscar®-nominated animated feature “Over the Moon.” She won an Emmy® for the HBO film “Indictment: The McMartin Trial.”

Following Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Yang is the second person of color to hold the academy's top job.

The New York City-born daughter of Chinese immigrants has long been a significant figure in Hollywood's Asian American community. She co-chairs the academy's Asian Affinity Group and has served on the academy's board of governors since 2019 as one of three governors-at-large who were added following the 2016 #OscarsSoWhite movement to help boost diversity and inclusion.

After Oscar host Chris Rock used Asian children as props for a not-so-funny racist  joke, Yang was a part of the creatives that included some of the biggest Asian American names in the film industry, who wrote a letter to the Academy expressing their displeasure asking that the Academy initiate more efforts to be more inclusive to include more women and members of color.

The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, brought attention to long-standing racism and bias in awards recognition in Hollywood. Since the 2019 Oscars, the Academy has increased the diversity of its membership by doubling the number of women and minority members, increasing its overall membership from 6,000 to around 10,000.

A member of the Academy’s Producers Branch since 2002, Yang most recently served on the Board as vice president and chair of the Membership Committee and prior to that, the Membership and Governance Committee. She is also co-chair of the Academy’s Asian Affinity Group.

Yang also co-founded Gold House, the collective that aims to lift the voices of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Hollywood. She has been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” by the Hollywood Reporter.

Last June, she was feted at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with a pillar named in her honor. She became the first Asian American woman to have a pillar at the museum.

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