Megan Ellison

Megan Ellison
Born	(1986-01-31) January 31, 1986 Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Film producer, businesswoman
Years active	2005–present
Known for	Founder of Annapurna Pictures; producer of Zero Dark Thirty, Her, American Hustle, Phantom Thread

Margaret "Megan" Elizabeth Ellison (born January 31, 1986) is a prominent American film producer and businesswoman, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison. In 2011, she established Annapurna Pictures and has since produced several critically praised films including Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Her (2013), American Hustle (2013), and Phantom Thread (2017), each earning her nominations for the Oscar. In 2014, Time recognized her as one of the most influential figures. Additionally, she secured a Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical A Strange Loop.

Early life and education

Born in Santa Clara County, California, Megan Ellison is the daughter of Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corporation, and Barbara Boothe Ellison. Her father’s heritage includes Jewish and Italian roots. She has a brother, David Ellison, who is also a film producer and founder of Skydance Media. Megan completed her studies at Sacred Heart Preparatory in 2004 and pursued film studies at the University of Southern California for one academic year.

Early film involvement

Ellison’s initial film credit dates back to 2005 when she served as a boom operator on the short thriller When All Else Fails, directed by her brother David. She began supporting low-budget projects such as Waking Madison and Passion Play. Her executive producer role on the Coen Brothers’ commercially successful and critically acclaimed 2010 western remake True Grit significantly enhanced her reputation within the industry.

Shift toward production

From 2006 onwards, Ellison invested in filmmaker Katherine Brooks’ work, including funding Waking Madison with an estimated $2 million budget. The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2011 before its DVD release. She also backed films like Main Street and Passion Play, although both did not achieve commercial success. In contrast, her involvement with True Grit proved financially rewarding.

Following this achievement, Ellison gained access to greater capital from her father and collaborated with Michael Benaroya to produce and cofinance movies such as the thriller Catch .44, featuring Bruce Willis and Forest Whitaker, as well as John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era crime drama Lawless.

Establishment and growth of Annapurna

Ellison launched Annapurna Pictures in 2011 with the goal of financing original films driven by auteur visionaries often neglected by cautious studios. Annapurna supported acclaimed works including Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, Spike Jonze’s Her, and David O. Russell’s American Hustle. The company receives funding from Ellison’s billionaire father and takes its name from the Annapurna Circuit trek in Nepal.

Ellison explored developing a project about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange alongside writer Mark Boal; however, it was not produced under her banner, with DreamWorks releasing The Fifth Estate in 2013 instead. In 2011, she outbid Lionsgate for control over the Terminator franchise rights and later partnered with her brother David’s Skydance Productions on Terminator Genisys, where she was credited as an executive producer.

In 2014, Ellison became the first woman to secure two simultaneous Best Picture nominations for Her and American Hustle. That same year, she appeared on The Advocate's "40 Under 40" list and received the Woman in Motion Award at Cannes Music Festival in 2018.

After several projects underperformed financially, Ellison reduced her Hollywood involvement by 2019, transferring much of Annapurna’s leadership responsibilities to Nathan Gary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she relocated to Lanai, Hawaii. Early in 2021, she revived Annapurna Animation by acquiring the nearly abandoned LGBT-themed project Nimona, which was completed by DNEG Animation and released on Netflix in 2023.

In October 2024, Ellison was announced as executive producer for both the film I Love Boosters and the television series Who Is Maud Dixon?.

Personal life

Ellison is openly lesbian and is an enthusiast motorcyclist. She also competes in equestrian sports; having trained at Wild Turkey Farm in California, she participated in the North American Young Rider Championships in 2004.

Filmography

Producer

Year	Title	Director
2010	Waking Madison	Katherine Brooks
	Main Street	John Doyle
2011	Catch .44	Aaron Harvey
2012	Lawless	John Hillcoat
	The Master	Paul Thomas Anderson
	Zero Dark Thirty	Kathryn Bigelow
2013	Her	Spike Jonze
	American Hustle	David O. Russell
2014	Foxcatcher	Bennett Miller
2015	Joy	David O. Russell
2016	Wiener-Dog	Todd Solondz
	Everybody Wants Some!!	Richard Linklater
	Sausage Party	Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
	The Bad Batch	Ana Lily Amirpour
	20th Century Women	Mike Mills
2017	Detroit	Kathryn Bigelow
	Phantom Thread	Paul Thomas Anderson
2018	The Ballad of Buster Scruggs	Coen brothers
2018	Vice	Adam McKay
2019	Booksmart	Olivia Wilde
TBA	The Invite

Executive producer

rowspan="2" style="white-space: nowrap;"| 2023

Year	Title	Director	Notes
2010	Passion Play	Mitch Glazer
	True Grit	Coen brothers
2012	Killing Them Softly	Andrew Dominik
	Spring Breakers	Harmony Korine
	The Grandmaster	Wong Kar-wai
2015	Terminator Genisys	Alan Taylor
2017	What Remains of Edith Finch	Ian Dallas	Game published by Annapurna Interactive
	Downsizing	Alexander Payne
2018	The Sisters Brothers	Jacques Audiard
	If Beale Street Could Talk	Barry Jenkins
2019	Wounds	Babak Anvari
	Where'd You Go, Bernadette	Richard Linklater
	Hustlers	Lorene Scafaria
	Bombshell	Jay Roach
2020	Kajillionaire	Miranda July
2021	House of Gucci	Ridley Scott
2022	She Said	Maria Schrader
" Landscape with Invisible Hand	" Cory Finley
" Nimona	" Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

Accolades

Ellison has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer for films including American Hustle, Her, Phantom Thread, and Zero Dark Thirty. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy with her production of American Hustle. Moreover, she has received five Golden Globe nominations for Foxcatcher, Her, Joy', Zero Dark Thirty', and 20th Century Women.

Her projects have also earned nominations from the Producers Guild of America Awards for Best Theatrical Motion Picture such as American Hustle', Foxcatcher, Her and Zero Dark Thirty. Additionally, she garnered BAFTA nods for Best Film with Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle as well as a Gotham Award nomination for Best Feature with The Master.