A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, Barbara Boyle began her career in the entertainment industry as an attorney, and quickly moved into financing and production. She co-founded Sovereign Pictures in 1990, with offices in Los Angeles and London. Sovereign Pictures financed, produced and distributed such films as My Left Foot, Cinema Paradiso, Reversal of Fortune, Impromptu and The Commitments. Her films have been nominated for 22 Academy Awards, winning several. Boyle also served as president of Valhalla Entertainment Group, which produced 22 episodes of Adventure Inc. for television, the award-winning documentary True Whispers, as well as the features Clockstoppers and Hulk, directed by Ang Lee.

Boyle was executive vice president of production for RKO Pictures, which produced Plenty, Half Moon Street and Hamburger Hill. From 1982 to 1986, Boyle's title was senior vice president of worldwide production at Orion Pictures Corp., where she supervised such hits as Desperately Seeking Susan, The Terminator and Robocop. Earlier, she led Roger Corman's New World Pictures as its chief operating officer and executive vice president. There, she was responsible for the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to such landmark films as The Story of Adele H., The Tin Drum, Cries and Whispers and Breaker Morant.

Boyle produced the Sundance-acclaimed feature The Hi Line (2000), which launched the career of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister; Instinct (1999), starring Oscar winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, Jr.; Bottle Rocket (1996), which launched the career of Academy Award-nominated director Wes Anderson; Phenomenon (1996) starring John Travolta; Mrs. Munck (1995) directed by Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd; and Eight Men Out (1988), directed by esteemed independent filmmaker John Sayles.

She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and its Foreign Language committee. She currently serves as a committee board member of Film Independent’s Project Involve Foundation; sits on the UCLA School of Law Entertainment Advisory Council; and is a member of the Women in Film Foundation Committee. Boyle has lectured extensively around the world and served as a jury member for numerous film festivals. She is a past president of both Film Independent and Women in Film. Boyle has received the Alumnus of the Year Award from the UCLA School of Law, the Vision Award from Film Independent, and the Crystal Award from Women in Film.

From 2003 to 2012, she served as chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. She was promoted to Associate Dean of Entrepreneurial Activities and Special Initiatives in July 2012.

Boyle received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the UCLA School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in New York and California.

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