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Teddy Schwarzman

b. 1979

American film producer and former lawyer

Film producer Lawyer Corporate lawyer
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About Teddy Schwarzman

Born 1979. Teddy Schwarzman is an American film producer, lawyer and corporate lawyer, known for Black Bear Pictures.

Edward Frank "Teddy" Schwarzman (born May 29, 1979) is an American film producer and former corporate lawyer. He is the founder and CEO of Black Bear Pictures, whose productions include Train Dreams and The Imitation Game, for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture.

Early life and education Teddy Schwarzman was born in 1979 in New York City, to Stephen A. Schwarzman, a co-founder, chairman, and CEO of The Blackstone Group, and Ellen Katz (née Philips), a trustee of Northwestern University and the Mount Sinai Medical Center. His sister is a writer and podcaster, Zibby Owens. His family is Jewish. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English before completing a J.D. degree from the Duke University School of Law.

Career Schwarzman was a corporate lawyer at Skadden, a New York-based firm, where he specialized in real estate and corporate restructuring. He left Skadden to work in the film industry; his first job was as a personal assistant on The Other Woman, which was produced in 2009 and released in 2010. He later said of the experience: "It was one of those situations that you had to prove that you actually want to be in this business." His fifth film was The Imitation Game, a 2014 biopic about Alan Turing. He acquired the screenplay after a competition with 30 other interested producers. Schwarzman was nominated in the Best Picture category from both institutions. ]. Since then, Black Bear and Schwarzman have been behind Academy Award nominees Mudbound, Nyad, and Sing Sing.

Schwarzman received his second Best Picture Academy Award nomination for the 2025 film Train Dreams, which Black Bear produced and fully financed, selling it to Netflix after its Sundance world premiere. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and four Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning Spirit Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. It was named one of the ten best films of 2025 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review.

Personal life Schwarzman married Ellen Marie Zajac, a New York City lawyer whom he met at Duke, in November 2007 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They have three children and live in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography Producer

At Any Price (2012) Broken City (2013) A.C.O.D. (2013) All Is Lost (2013) The Imitation Game (2014) Barry (2016) Gold (2016) Suburbicon (2017) Ben Is Back (2018) Light of My Life (2019) Our Friend (2019) The Rental (2020) I Care a Lot (2020) Dumb Money (2023) Nyad (2023) The Marsh King's Daughter (2023) Immaculate (2024) Relay (2025) Christy (2025) Tuner (2025) The Rivals of Amziah King (2025) Train Dreams (2025) I Want Your Sex (2026)

Executive producer

Knock Knock (2015) Mudbound (2017) The Last Word (2017) The Happytime Murders (2018) The Operative (2019) I Carry You with Me (2020) Little Fish (2020) Memory (2022) Somebody I Used to Know (2023) Sing Sing (2023) Longlegs (2024) Monsieur Spade (2024) Goodrich (2024) On Swift Horses (2024) The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) Shell (2024) Shelter (2025) A Working Man (2025) The Monkey (2025) October 8 (2025)

Thanks

Crisis (2021)

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
Black Bear Pictures
Education
University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Duke University School of Law
Employers
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Awards
Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
Also known as
Edward Frank Schwarzman, Edward Schwarzman

Family & relationships

Parent
Stephen A. Schwarzman

People in Teddy Schwarzman's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Teddy Schwarzman's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Teddy Schwarzman?

American film producer and former lawyer

When was Teddy Schwarzman born?

Teddy Schwarzman was born on 29 May 1979 in New York City.

What is Teddy Schwarzman's occupation?

Teddy Schwarzman is a film producer, lawyer and corporate lawyer.

What is Teddy Schwarzman known for?

Teddy Schwarzman is known for Black Bear Pictures.

What nationality is Teddy Schwarzman?

Teddy Schwarzman is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Teddy Schwarzman

· Wikidata: Q19309867

· DBpedia: Teddy Schwarzman

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Teddy Schwarzman. https://biography.guide/teddy-schwarzman/

MLA: "Teddy Schwarzman." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/teddy-schwarzman/.

Chicago: "Teddy Schwarzman." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/teddy-schwarzman/.

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