Background and career
Suzanna Celeste de Passe (born July 19, 1946, 1947 or 1948) is an American businesswoman, television, music and film producer. De Passe serves as the co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group.
De Passe was born in New York City to a Harlem born mother of Jamaican descent and a father of Haitian and French descent. Raised in Harlem, De Passe attended New Lincoln School and graduated from Syracuse University in 1968.
De Passe began her career in show business at the Cheetah nightclub in New York City. Through her friendship with Cindy Birdsong, who replaced Florence Ballard as a member of the Supremes in 1967, she began working at Motown as creative assistant to company founder Berry Gordy. Early in her career, de Passe developed the Jackson 5's wardrobe and the act they took on the road. She was instrumental in taking the record label to television with a host of notable specials, including Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever produced while she was president of Motown Productions. When Motown was sold, she partnered with her mentor in Gordy/de Passe Productions and subsequently established de Passe Entertainment in 1992. De Passe's association with Gordy was featured in the December 2008 issue of Vanity Fair: Motown the Untold Story, The Labels Greatest Legends, In Their Own Words with photography by Annie Leibovitz. The subject of two Harvard Business School case studies: "Suzanne de Passe and Motown Productions" and "de Passe Entertainment", de Passe has lectured at the Harvard Business School on several occasions. In 2002, de Passe was named Time Warner Visiting Professor to the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communications, a post she held for the requisite 3 years. During Howard University's 138th Charter Day celebration in March 2006, de Passe received an honorary doctorate degree of Doctor of Humanities. De Passe is currently serving as the Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College, School of the Arts in Boston. She also served as the Emerson College 2007 Balfour Distinguished Lecturer. De Passe served as executive producer of the half-hour situation comedies Sister, Sister and Smart Guy, both of which aired on The WB and were produced in association with Paramount and Disney Television, respectively. From 2002 until 2008, de Passe served as executive producer of Showtime at the Apollo, a weekly variety program nationally syndicated by Warner Brother/Telepictures. In 2005 and 2006 she co-created, wrote, and executive produced the Black Movie Awards for TNT. Currently, she is developing King, a film on the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2009, De Passe was featured in HBO's The Black List: Vol. 2. This is the second installment of the documentary including other prominent African Americans such as filmmaker Tyler Perry, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Pastor T.D. Jakes. In 2024, de Passe was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for non-performers.
The Temptations, NBC, four hours, 1998, de Passe Entertainment. NAACP Image Award Winner for Best Miniseries. (Nominated for six Emmy Awards, including Best Mini-Series and won an Emmy for Best Director.) Also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Producers Guild Award; Directors Guild Award; and Prism Award. Starring: Leon, Charles Malik Whitfield, DB Woodside, Terron Brooks and Christian Payton. Dead Man's Walk (miniseries), ABC, five hours, 1996, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: Edward James Olmos, Keith Carradine, Brian Dennehy and F. Murray Abraham. Buffalo Girls, CBS, four hours, 1995, de Passe Entertainment. Nominated for eleven Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries and Best Actress. Starring Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, Reba McEntire, Sam Elliott and Jack Palance. Streets of Laredo, CBS, five hours, 1995, de Passe Entertainment. Starring: James Garner, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard and Sonia Braga. Return to Lonesome Dove, CBS, four hours, 1993, Motown Productions. Starring: Jon Voight, Barbara Hershey, Rick Schroder and Louis Gossett Jr. and William Petersen. The Jacksons: An American Dream, ABC, five hours, 1992, Motown Productions. Nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries. Starring: Angela Bassett, Billy Dee Williams, and Vanessa Williams as Suzanne. Lonesome Dove, CBS, eight hours, 1989, Motown Productions. Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody Award-winning miniseries. Named “Outstanding Program of the Year” by Television Critics Association, Best Miniseries in TV Guide Annual Readers Choice Awards, D.W. Griffith Award by National Board of Review. Among other honors, the success of this landmark western resulted in de Passe's induction into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. “Lonesome Dove” was based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Starring: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and Anjelica Huston. Small Sacrifices, ABC, four hours, 1989, Motown Productions. Nominated for three Emmy Awards, including Best Miniseries and two Golden Globe Awards. Winner of the Peabody Award. Based on Ann Rule's best-selling book. Starring: Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O’Neal and John Shea.
Producer King: The upcoming DreamWorks motion picture on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with Steven Spielberg and Madison Jones. Executive Producer, the upcoming series, Becoming KK Jones, Fox Television Network Executive Producer, Life Changers television series with superstar music producer, Rodney Jerkins (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé) Producer, Humpty Dumpty
The Loretta Claiborne Story – Two-hour, 2000, Disney/ABC Sunday Night, de Passe Entertainment. Someone Else's Child – Two-hour, 1998, ABC, de Passe Entertainment. The Last Electric Knight – (AKA Sidekicks) – Two-hour, 1989, ABC, Motown Productions. Bridemaids – Two-hour, 1989, CBS, Motown Productions. Happy Endings – Two-hour, 1983, CBS, King Entertainment, Motown Productions.
