Rebecca Eaton

Rebecca Eaton (born November 7, 1947) is an American television producer and film producer best known for introducing American audiences to British costume and countryside dramas as executive producer of the PBS Masterpiece series.

In 2011, she was named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Early life Eaton was born in Boston and raised in Pasadena, California, her father a Caltech English literature professor and her mother, Katherine Emery, an actress both on Broadway (in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour) and in film. Eaton recalls visiting New York every summer to see Broadway shows as well as spending her junior high school days lost in Jane Eyre.

Education Eaton attended Polytechnic School, graduating in 1965, and then Vassar, graduating in 1969 with an A.B. in English literature. Her senior thesis was on James Joyce's Dubliners. In 1969–70 she was a production assistant for the BBC World Service in London. Returning to the U.S., she was in 1972 hired by WGBH in Boston, there producing Pantechnicon (a radio arts magazine) and the television programs Zoom and Enterprise.

On November 21, 2019 WBGH Boston announced that Eaton would retire and take the position of Executive-Producer-at-Large. Susanne Simpson succeed Eaton as Executive Produce of Masterpiece. As Executive-Producer-at-Large she developed new drama projects and fundraised for the Masterpiece Trust. In November 2024 she retired from the position of Executive-Producer-at-Large of Masterpiece.

Personal life In 1984, Eaton married sculptor Paul Robert Cooper. Their daughter was born shortly before Eaton was named executive producer of Masterpiece. She credits her husband's willingness to stay at home with having advanced her career. In 2011 she was one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Television series Since becoming executive producer of Masterpiece in 1985, Eaton is credited with producing for American audiences series that include: Prime Suspect Bleak House The Lost Prince (WGBH) Inspector Morse Agatha Christie's Marple House of Cards Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, and A Thief of Time The Complete Jane Austen Cranford (WGBH) Wallander Little Dorrit Sherlock Downton Abbey (WGBH) Upstairs, Downstairs (remake) Endeavour