Helene Hahn Lloyd, a former executive vice president at Disney and one of the founding executives of DreamWorks, has died at 78, her management team confirmed. She died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in Park City, Utah, where she had lived since leaving DreamWorks in 2004. She shared that home with her husband of more than two decades, Charles “Chuck” Lloyd Jr., who died this July.
From New York to Hollywood
Born July 13, 1948, in Westbury, New York, Lloyd graduated from Hofstra University in 1970 before heading to Los Angeles. There she took a temporary job at Paramount Pictures while enrolled at Loyola Law School, from which she graduated in 1975. Her early exposure to the studio system would set the course for a career defined by sharp dealmaking and high-level studio strategy.
In 1977, Lloyd returned to Paramount as a senior vice president, building a reputation for her negotiating acumen. That skill set soon drew attention across the industry.
A Historic Rise at Disney
Lloyd joined Disney in 1981 as executive vice president, a role reported at the time to be the highest position held by a woman in Hollywood. During her tenure, she worked alongside Jeffrey Katzenberg and played a key part in solidifying the studio’s landmark partnership with Pixar, a relationship that would reshape animation in the decades that followed.
Her time at Disney coincided with a period of significant expansion and creative reinvention for the studio, and her contribution to its strategic alliances left a lasting mark on the company’s trajectory.
Building DreamWorks
In 1994, Lloyd became one of the first executives hired to build DreamWorks, the new studio venture that would soon become a major force in film and animation. She eventually rose to chief operating officer, overseeing operations until her departure in 2004. Her role in assembling and running the fledgling company placed her at the center of one of the most ambitious studio launches of the era.
After leaving DreamWorks, Lloyd moved to Park City, Utah, where she and her husband embraced a life rooted in the outdoors and in community.
A Legacy of Leadership
Lloyd’s career spanned pivotal moments in modern Hollywood, from the dealmaking corridors of Paramount to the executive suites of Disney and the foundational days of DreamWorks. Her rise to the upper ranks of studio leadership came at a time when few women held such positions, and her work helped shape the partnerships and structures that defined the industry.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in memory of Helene and Chuck to U.S. Ski & Snowboard, honoring their shared love of skiing and their support for the next generation of athletes. The couple’s connection to the sport was a central part of their lives together in Utah.
Lloyd is remembered by those who knew her as a pioneering executive whose influence extended far beyond the boardroom, and whose legacy endures in the studios she helped build and the partnerships she forged.
