SYNOPSIS
As president of HBO Documentary Films for more than 30 years, Sheila Nevins has rightfully been credited as being the force behind the renaissance of documentary films we’re currently enjoying. Now, the multiple award winning producer finally steps out from behind the camera with a new book: You Don’t Look Your Age … and Other Fairy Tales. Join her for an evening of hilarity, wisdom and inspiration as she talks with the actor, comedian and TV personality Rosie O’Donnell about the book; about the real-life challenges of being a woman in a man’s world; about what it means to be a working mother; what it’s like to be an older woman in a youth-obsessed culture; and about what being a feminist really means.
PANELISTS
Sheila Nevins is a true legend in television. She has won nine Oscars, 13 Primetime Emmys, 22 News and Documentary Emmys and 18 George Foster Peabody awards for HBO. She also received a personal Peabody award. In 2005, she was given the Documentary Emmy for Lifetime Achievement as well as another Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Documentary Associate. She is in the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. Sheila began her career with the U.S. Information Service after attending Barnard and Yale. She has been a producer for ABC and CBS, a writer for Time-Life Films and worked for the Children’s Television Workshop. Sheila joined HBO in 1979 and has gone to glory for this unique network time after time. Now she is the president of Documentary and Family Programming for HBO and Cinemax. She is married and has one child. She is flamboyant, glamorous, terribly funny and she always cleans her plate.
Rosie O'Donnell
Through the years Rosie O’Donnell has served as America’s best friend and a special inspiration to people of all ages. She was host and executive producer of the critically acclaimed and multiple Emmy Award winning nationally syndicated talk/variety series The Rosie O’Donnell Show, did two co-host stints on ABC’s The View and hosted the critically acclaimed Sirius/XM show, Rosie Radio.
On the big screen, Rosie has starred in A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Another Stakeout, The Flintstones, Exit to Eden, Now and Then, Beautiful Girls, Harriet the Spy and Wide Awake, to name a few. Her stage credits include the Broadway productions of Grease, Seussical, Fiddler on the Roof, Love, Loss and What I Wore, and the Encores! production of No, No, Nanette. Rosie produced the musical Taboo on Broadway. She most recently produced the stage show, MotherStruck! at the Lynn Redgrave Theater.
O’Donnell has been featured on several prominent TV series including: Will & Grace, Curb Your Enthusiasm, All My Children, Suddenly Susan, Spin City, Sesame Street, Queer as Folk, The Nanny, The Larry Sanders Show, Nip/Tuck, Happily Divorced and Web Therapy to name a few. In 2009, Rosie executive co-produced, co-wrote and starred in the Lifetime Original Film, America. Rosie currently has a reoccurring role as Foster Care mentor, Rita Hendricks on ABC Family’s The Fosters and most recently appeared on the hit CBS show, Mom.
With a strong passion for documentary storytelling and the never-ending search for truth, Rosie has partnered with HBO on several projects. She was the co-executive producer of Rosie’s Family Cruise and A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration and Don’t Divorce Me. Rosie received critical acclaim with her 2015 HBO documentary, Rosie O’Donnell: A Heartfelt Stand Up, in which she took a light hearted approach to sharing personal details of her heart attack and recovery, raising awareness for the rarely discussed, yet massive issue of women’s heart health.
Rosie has also shared her gift for writing with the release of her books: Find Me (2002), Celebrity Detox: (The Fame Game) (2007) and Rosie O’Donnell’s Crafty U (2008).
As a tireless crusader for children, she established the ROSIE’S FOR ALL KIDS FOUNDATION, which has awarded more than $30 million dollars in grants to over 1,500 child-related non-profit organizations to benefit low income families across the country. ROSIE’s THEATER KIDS provides free in-school, after-school and summer instruction in musical theater to the public school children of New York. Rosie received an incredible milestone in philanthropy when she was awarded the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 2014 Tony Awards for her dedication, commitment and unconditional generosity towards arts education and New York City’s public schools. Rosie’s Theater Kids just received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award at the White House, given by First Lady Michelle Obama.
