Jennifer Siebel Newsom is an award-winning filmmaker, influential thought leader on gender equality, and the First Partner of California. After graduating with honors from Stanford University and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, she wrote, directed, and produced the 2011 award-winning documentary Miss Representation. As a result of Miss Representation’s impact, she launched The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that uses film and media as catalysts for cultural transformation. Her second film as a director, The Mask You Live In, explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men, and society at large. Her third film, The Great American Lie, unveils the underlying cultural causes of inequality in America. Jennifer’s latest film, 2022’s Fair Play, tackles the pressing issue of gender inequality at home and the importance of the care work that is often rendered invisible. She also executive produced the Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated documentary The Invisible War and was an executive producer on the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Hunting Ground.
Jennifer’s films have been seen by over 28 million people worldwide, and The Representation Project’s social action hashtag campaigns have reached more than 830 million people. The Representation Project is responsible for single-handedly shifting the norm of sexist Super Bowl ads with the #NotBuyingIt campaign. Similarly, their #AskHerMore campaign transformed sexist reporting on the red carpet, and empowered women in Hollywood to address inequalities in the industry, giving early momentum to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Since becoming First Partner of California, Jennifer has championed various issues related to gender equity and raising healthy, whole children, launching the initiatives #EqualPayCA, California For All Kids, and California for All Women. Jennifer lives in Sacramento, California with her husband, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and their four young children.
Follow Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Photo by Andrew Paynter