Bonnie Curtis was born in Texas and graduated as Valedictorian from Abilene Christian University with a BA in journalism. She moved to Los Angeles with her first love in mind: film.
Curtis immediately found production work on the films “Dead Poets Society” and “Arachnophobia” before being hired as Steven Spielberg’s assistant in 1990 embarking on what would become a 15-year professional relationship with the acclaimed director. After the films “Hook” and “Jurassic Park,” Curtis became a Production Associate on “Schindler’s List” and served as Associate Producer on “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” and “Amistad.” In 1998 she Co-Produced the epic blockbuster “Saving Private Ryan,” for which she received the Producer of the Year award from the Producers Guild of America. Next came “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” followed in 2002 by “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise.
Fulfilling a longtime desire to work with a first-time filmmaker, Curtis produced “The Chumscrubber” with Lawrence Bender (“Good Will Hunting,” “An Inconvenient Truth”) for first-time director Arie Posin in 2005. The film starred Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes and Jamie Bell, was an official selection for both the Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest Film Festival, and won the “Audience Award for Best Film” at the Moscow Film Festival.
Next up was “Albert Nobbs,” starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Brendan Gleeson, which Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”) directed in Dublin, Ireland. She produced the film with Close, Garcia’s longtime producer Julie Lynn and Alan Moloney (“Breakfast on Pluto”). The film received three Academy Award nominations.
Following “Albert Nobbs,” Curtis partnered with Lynn under Lynn's production company label: Mockingbird Pictures. They have gone on to produce ten films and currently have a first look deal at Skydance Media for both features and television.
Recent productions through Mockingbird’s first-look deal with Skydance include the well-reviewed Tim Miller-directed “Terminator: Dark Fate,” as well as the AMC television series “Dietland,” created by Marti Noxon and based upon the novel by Sarai Walker, and Daniel Espinosa’s Sony feature “Life.”
Mockingbird productions include Marti Noxon’s “To the Bone,” Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield,” Rob Spera’s “The Sweet Life,” Rodrigo Garcia’s “Last Days in the Desert,” Vic Levin’s “5 to 7,” Mr. Garcia’s “Albert Nobbs,” and Arie Posin’s “The Face of Love.”
Curtis and Lynn are currently in post-production on Rodrigo Garacia’s “Raymond and Ray” for Apple+. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Ethan Hawke, Maribel Verdu, and Sophie Okonedo.
Mockingbird is in production on its first animated film: “My Father’s Dragon,” based upon the beloved children’s book by Ruth Stiles Gannett Kahn, which will be directed by Cartoon Saloon’s Nora Twomey for Netflix. Curtis and Lynn are in pre-production for director Tom Harper’s “Heart of Stone,” starring Gal Gadot for Skydance Media and Netflix.
In 2002 Curtis was featured as one of 30 “Great Women of Film” in Helena Lumee’s best-selling book from Watson Guptill Press. In 2004 she was the recipient of the Women in Film Topaz Award from the Dallas chapter. She has co-chaired GLSEN’s (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) Respect Awards and has served as an Honor Society Member for the organization since 2005 and currently serves on the organization’s National Leadership Council. In March 2015, Curtis was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas.
Curtis lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Kim Lincoln, and their daughter Maggie.