Karen Rupert Toliver
{{short description|American film producer}}
Karen Rupert Toliver is an American film producer. Toliver has worked as an executive at Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation, and has supervised the production of films such as Ferdinand, Curious George and Meet the Robinsons. She is the executive vice president of creative development at Sony Pictures Animation. Toliver is best known for co-producing the short film Hair Love, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/sony-pictures-animation-karen-rupert-toliver-executive-vice-president-promotion-1202653048/|title=Sony Pictures Animation Ups Karen Rupert Toliver To Executive VP Of Creative|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=2019-07-24|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2020-02-11}}
Career
Toliver began her career as an assistant at Walt Disney Pictures, where she worked on The Mighty Ducks film series.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2007/digital/markets-festivals/toliver-new-prod-n-vp-at-fox-animation-1117967959/|title=Toliver new prod'n VP at Fox Animation|last=Gilstrap|first=Peter|date=2007-07-02|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12}} She was later hired as a production executive at Walt Disney Animation Studios and worked on movies such as Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. After developing Curious George for Universal Pictures, Toliver then joined 20th Century Fox Animation and did production and development work for the Rio and Ice Age franchises, as well as Ferdinand, all of which were produced by Fox's Blue Sky Studios division.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/02/03/how-hair-love-went-beloved-kickstarter-project-an-oscar-nominated-animated-short/|title=How 'Hair Love' went from a beloved Kickstarter project to an Oscar-nominated animated short|last=Butler|first=Bethonie|date=|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
After ten years at Fox, in 2017 Toliver moved to Sony Pictures Animation as a senior vice president of creative development. Two years later she was promoted to executive vice president of creative, where she recruits talent and creative material.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/hair-love-director-matthew-a-cherry-karen-rupert-toliver-oscars-animated-short-interview-1202837524/|title=Director Matthew A. Cherry Earns First Oscar Nomination For 'Hair Love,' Aiming To 'Normalize' Black Families With 2D Animated Short|last=Grobar|first=Matt|date=2020-01-22|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12}} Shortly before she changed jobs, she was approached by Matthew A. Cherry for production help with Hair Love.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/10/hair-love-oscars-crown-act/|title=Oscar-winning 'Hair Love' director calls attention to efforts to ban race-based hair discrimination|last=Mcgregor|first=Jena|date=2020-02-10|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
After her promotion, Toliver assisted Cherry as a side project, and arranged for the film to be shown in theaters ahead of The Angry Birds Movie 2. In an interview with WBEZ she stated, "I've been in animation for many years and have never been able to work on something so personal to me and about the black family that ... hasn't really been represented in animation."{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/02/06/802739449/animated-short-hair-love-brings-diverse-storytelling-to-the-oscars|title=Animated Short 'Hair Love' Brings Diverse Storytelling To The Oscars|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-02-11}} Toliver stated that her own mother had lupus during Toliver's high school years and lost her hair as a result of the illness.{{Cite web|url=https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/from-kickstarter-to-kickin-it-at-the-oscars-matthew-a-1841461506|title=From Kickstarter to Kickin' It At the Oscars: Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver Talk Hair Love|website=The Grapevine|date=5 February 2020 |language=en-us|access-date=2020-02-12}} Toliver received a 2020 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for Hair Love, shared with Matthew A. Cherry,{{Cite web|last=Di Nunzio|first=Miriam|date=2020-02-09|title=Matthew Cherry feels the 'Love' with Oscar win|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/2/9/21130569/matthew-cherry-oscar-best-short-film-hair-love-hollywood|access-date=2020-02-11|website=Chicago Sun-Times|language=en}} becoming the first African-American woman to win in that category.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
Accolades
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{imdbname|2702123|Karen Rupert Toliver}}
- [https://www.sonypicturesanimation.com/our-team/executives/karen-toliver Karen Rupert Toliver] on Sony Pictures Animation
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award
Category:American women film producers
Category:African-American film producers
Category:American animated film producers
Category:Sony Pictures Animation people
Category:Netflix Animation people
Category:20th Century Animation people
Category:Blue Sky Studios people
Category:Universal Animation Studios people
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people