Dawn Steel

Dawn Leslie Steel (August 19, 1946 – December 20, 1997) was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising and production to head Columbia Pictures.

Early life

Steel was born in the Bronx, New York to Nathan "Nat" Steel (ne Spielberg), a zipper salesman to the military and semi-professional weight lifter called the "Man of Steel," and Lillian Steel (née Tarlow), also an electronics executive. She grew up in Manhattan and in Great Neck, New York, according to her autobiography. She had one sibling, a brother, Larry Steel.

Both of her parents were of Russian Jewish descent. When she was 9 years old, Steel's father suffered a nervous breakdown, so her mother was the family's sole support.

Steel attended the School of Business Administration at Boston University from 1964 to 1965, but left due to money problems. She attended New York University from 1966 to 1967, studying marketing, but did not graduate.

Career

In 1968, Steel worked as a sportswriter for Major League Baseball Digest and the NFL in New York.