Suzanne de Passe has succeeded in a male-dominated industry

A much admired woman of color who has held her own in an industry that has been dominated by men is Suzanne Celeste de Passe. She was portrayed by actress Vanessa Williams in the made for television movie about the life of the Jackson 5. In that film, de Passe's role was traveling with and shaping the Jackson brothers for fame. She also assisted the famous siblings in choosing their wardrobes. Suzanne is an American businesswoman, television, music, and film director. She was born in New York City in either 1946, 1947, or 1948. Her father was Haitian and French, and her mother of Caribbean descent. In 1978 de Passe married actor Paul Lematt and they had 2 children prior to divorcing.

De Passe's career in show business began at the Cheetah nightclub in New York City. She is proof of the old adage that it's not what you know but who you know as her friendship with Cindy Birdsong, launched her Motown career. In 1967, Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard as a member of The Supremes. This led to Suzanne getting a job as a Creative Assistant to the company founder. Berry Gordy. Early in her career, de Passe was instrumental in taking the Motown record label to television with a host of critically acclaimed and highly rated specials.

Suzanne was behind Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever which won critical acclaim and numerous awards and was produced while she was the President of Motown Productions. After Motown was sold, de Passe partnered with Berry Gordy and the two developed Gordy/de Passe Productions. In 1992 de Passe Entertainment was established. In the December 2008 issue of Vanity Fair the featured article was: Motown the Untold Story, The Labels Greatest Legends, In Their Own Words with photography by Annie Leibovitz. Suzanne de Passe's long association with Berry Gordy was emphasized in the publication.

"Suzanne de Passe and Motown Productions" and "de Passe Entertainment", were the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies. On several occasions, de Passe has lectured at the Harvard Business School and in 2002, she was named Time Warner Visiting Professor to the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communications. In March 2006, during Howard University's 138th Charter Day celebration, de Passe received an honorary doctorate degree of Doctor of Humanities.

The entertainment mogul is currently serving as the Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College, School of the Arts in Boston and she was also the Executive Producer of the popular half-hour sitcoms Smart Guy, aand Sister, Sister which aired on The WB network. Her television work includes Lonesome Dove, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Streets of Loredo, Return to Lonesome Dove, Small Sacrifices, Dead Man Walking, The Temptations. Zenon, Zenon the Zequel and Z3. From 2002 until 2008 de Passe served as Executive Producer of Showtime at the Apollo, and in 2005 and 2006 she co-created, wrote, and was executive producer for the Black Movie Awards for TNT.

In 2009, De Passe was featured in HBO's The Black List: Vol. 2 documentary that included other prominent African Americans such as Pstor TD Jakes and Tyler Perry. At this present time she is developing King, a film on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I admire this woman of color because she has withstood the test of time. She has been in the entertinment industry for more than 50 years and has remained relevant by producing quality work in every decade. Some people fade away and make comebacks, but Suzanne dePasse has remained on the sceneand neither her race nor her gender hindered her.