Debra Martin Chase (born October 11, 1956) is an American film, television, and theater producer.
Early life and education Chase was born in Great Lakes, Illinois, but moved with her family as a child to Pasadena, California. She earned her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1977 and J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1981.
Legal career Chase met with the general counsel at Columbia Pictures production company through a good friend's sister. Later she met with and became the executive assistant to Frank Price, chairman of Columbia Pictures. Chase worked with Price for a year. After Sony brought Mark Canton in for the top job and Price gained a spot for Chase on the creative staff, before he left the company.
Career In 2000, she started Martin Chase Productions and made a landmark deal with Disney, a partnership lasting 15 years before starting an new overall deal with Universal Television, a now division of Universal Studio Group. Prior to that, Chase ran Whitney Houston's BrownHouse Productions from 1995 to 2012 and Mundy Lane Entertainment, Denzel Washington’s production company, from 1992 to 1995.
Chase's 1996 film Courage Under Fire made her the first Black woman to produce a film that grossed over $100 million. Chase and Houston's first collaboration was on the 1997 TV film re-adaptation of Cinderella, which produced the biggest ratings of a Disney-themed film in over a decade with over 60 million viewers tuning into the film, later earning Chase and Houston an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series. In 2001, the duo co-produced The Princess Diaries, based on the novel of the same name. They partnered again three years later with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, in 2004.
Houston and Chase also co-produced two of the first Cheetah Girls TV films. Houston and Chase's last production together was 2012's Sparkle, in which Houston played a co-starring role in and was her final film before her death in February 2012. The film was later released that August and became a modest success. She currently executive produces The Equalizer TV series starring Queen Latifah for Universal Television and CBS which is in its fifth season. Chase produced True True Spirit which debuted on Netflix in February 2023.
In 2022, Chase co-produced, in partnership with Marc Platt, the Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical A Strange Loop which won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book. She also produced the 2022 Broadway revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog alongside Platt, which won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play. In 2024, Chase co-produced two plays – the original musical The Outsiders, based upon the beloved novel by S.E. Hinton and the cult classic movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical and Illinoise which was nominated for Best Musical and won the Tony for Best Choreography.
Other ventures Chase serves on the board of directors of B&G Foods, an American holding company for branded foods which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, where she chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee; Bridge Investment Group, a publicly traded alternative asset management company; and Gaming and Leisure Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust.
She is a member of the Motion Picture Academy, where she serves on the Producers Executive Committee, the Television Academy, and the Broadway League, where she serves on the Tony management committee.
Personal life Chase was raised Catholic, stopped practicing as an adolescent, and later was married in the Church. She began attending Mass again some years later, identifying as Catholic in 2005.
Chase is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Producer credits She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film Year Film Credit Notes 1996 Courage Under Fire Executive producer The Preacher's Wife Co-producer 2001 The Princess Diaries 2004 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 2005 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2008 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 2009 Byou 2 Direct-to-video 2010 Just Wright 2012 An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars Direct-to-video Sparkle 2015 An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success Direct-to-video 2016 An American Girl: Lea to the Rescue Direct-to-video 2019 Harriet 2023 True Spirit Netflix 2023 Being Mary Tyler Moore Documentary
Television Year Title Credit Notes 1997 Cinderella Executive producer Television film 2003 The Cheetah Girls Executive producer Television film 2003−06 Missing Executive producer 2006 The Cheetah Girls 2 Executive producer Television film 2008 The Cheetah Girls: One World Executive producer Television film 2011 Lemonade Mouth Executive producer Television film 2013 Lovestruck: The Musical Executive producer Television film An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky Executive producer Television film 2014 Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B Executive producer Television film 2016 Zoe Ever After Executive producer 2018 Get Christie Love! Executive producer Television pilot 2021–2025 The Equalizer Executive producer 2027 The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen Executive producer Television film; filming
Theater Year Title Credit Notes 2022 A Strange Loop Co-producer Broadway 2022 Topdog/Underdog Co-producer Broadway 2024 The Outsiders Co-producer Broadway 2024 Illinoise Co-producer Broadway 2024 Death Becomes Her Co-producer Broadway
Further reading Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Dell Books. May 23, 2006 Cabot, Meg (2001). The Princess Diaries. New York, New York. HarperTrophy. . George, Alexander. Why We Make Moves: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema. Harlem Moon. 2003
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References
External links
Biography at The HistoryMakers Chasing Hollywood - Mount Holyoke College "For 'Princess' producer, movie dreams really do come true" - USA Today