Nancy Utley

Former Chairman, Searchlight Pictures

Nancy Utley was appointed Chairman of Searchlight Pictures in 2018. She jointly managed all aspects of the company including production, acquisitions, marketing and distribution alongside fellow Chairman Stephen Gilula. Ms. Utley oversaw many of Searchlight’s most successful films to date, with a total of 122 Golden Globe® and 165 Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture winners “Nomadland,” “The Shape of Water,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Recent releases included “The Personal History of David Copperfield” and “Nomadland,” and the company had upcoming releases including “Summer of Soul,” “The Night House,” “The French Dispatch,” and “Nightmare Alley.” Past successful films include “Jojo Rabbit,” “A Hidden Life,” “The Favourite,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “The Old Man & The Gun,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Super Troopers 2,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Shape of Water,” “Gifted,” “Jackie,” “Brooklyn,” “Birdman,” “Wild,” “12 Years A Slave,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “The Descendants,” “The Tree of Life,” “Black Swan,” “127 Hours,” “Crazy Heart,” “500 Days of Summer,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Wrestler,” “Juno,” “Once,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “Sideways” and “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Prior to joining Searchlight in 1999, Ms. Utley served in a variety of capacities for Twentieth Century Fox Film where she developed campaigns for films such as INDEPENDENCE DAY, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, MRS. DOUBTFIRE and THE STAR WARS TRILOGY. In her role as Executive Vice President of Marketing, she oversaw all aspects of media, research, publicity and promotion for Twentieth Century Fox’s theatrical releases. She also held posts as Vice President of Media, Senior Vice President of Media and Research, and Executive Vice President of Marketing, Media and Research.

Ms. Utley holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and has been inducted into the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement.