Lynette Howell Taylor elected new president of the motion picture academy
Producer Lynette Howell Taylor has been elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group's board of governors announced Thursday, becoming the 37th person to hold the post in the academy's 97-year history.
Howell Taylor, a member of the organization's producers branch since 2014, succeeds Janet Yang, who was elected in 2022 and is stepping down after three consecutive one-year terms. Howell Taylor takes the helm alongside CEO Bill Kramer as the organization continues to confront a rapidly shifting landscape for the Oscars and the broader film industry.
An academy member since 2014 and, at 46, the youngest president named to the post in decades, the British-born Howell Taylor brings both deep production experience and long-standing involvement in academy leadership.
Over the past two decades, she has produced more than 25 films, including 'A Star is Born,' which earned her a best picture nomination in 2019. Her other credits include 'Captain Fantastic,' 'Blue Valentine,' 'The Place Beyond the Pines' and the upcoming 'Roofman.' In 2020, she co-produced the 92nd Oscars ceremony with Stephanie Allain, receiving an Emmy nomination for the broadcast that was capped by a historic win for Bong Joon Ho's 'Parasite.'
Within the academy, Howell Taylor served three years as vice president and chair of the powerful awards committee, where she played a key role in shaping the Oscars' direction in a time of institutional change.
In a meeting at the academy's Beverly Hills headquarters, the 55-member board also elected a slate of officers for the 2025–26 term. Composer Lesley Barber, producer Jennifer Fox, documentary filmmaker Simon Kilmurry, actor Lou Diamond Phillips and screenwriter Howard A. Rodman will serve as vice presidents, with Kilmurry also taking on the role of treasurer and Rodman serving as secretary. Barber and Rodman are returning officers; the others are serving in officer roles for the first time.
As president, Howell Taylor will be expected to help steer the organization through a period of reinvention and uncertainty not just for the academy but for the industry as a whole. The academy continues to wrestle with declining Oscars viewership — this year's telecast averaged 19.7 million viewers, up from the previous year but still less than half what the show pulled in at its peak in the 1990s. The presidency is an unpaid, largely ceremonial role but it has taken on added weight in recent years amid growing scrutiny of the academy's decision-making, including, most notoriously, in the aftermath of Will Smith's 2022 Oscars slap.
'Lynette has been a vital part of the Academy Board of Governors for many years, most recently revitalizing our awards work as chair of the board's Awards Committee,' Kramer said in a statement. 'I so look forward to working with her as our new Academy President, as well as with these incredibly dedicated and strategic board officers. This is an exceptional group of Academy members who will advance the Academy's mission, support our membership around the world, ensure our long-term financial stability, and celebrate the achievements of the global filmmaking community.'
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