Will Packer Bio
William Packer (born April 11, 1974) is an American film producer and the founder of Will Packer Productions and Will Packer Media. Over the course of his career, Packer has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, including 10 films that have opened at number one. He has produced more than 30 features, including big-screen comedies such as Think Like a Man (2012), Ride Along (2014), and Girls Trip (2017).
A graduate of Florida A&M University with a degree in electrical engineering, Packer began his career in the early 1990s and went on to co-found Rainforest Films before launching his own production banners. He is widely recognized as one of the most prolific hitmakers working in mainstream American comedy and entertainment today.
Early Life and Background
William Packer was born on April 11, 1974, in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was also raised. He graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1991 and began attending Florida A&M University that same fall. Growing up in Florida, Packer developed an early interest in storytelling and film, an interest that would soon shape the rest of his professional life.
At Florida A&M University, Packer pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and graduated magna cum laude in 1996. While on campus, he began experimenting with filmmaking alongside classmate and future business partner Rob Hardy during an internship with veteran producer Warrington Hudlin. That hands-on training gave him his first real introduction to the world of movie production. On October 29, 2021, Florida A&M University personally honored Packer by renaming its amphitheater the Will Packer Amphitheater, and he also received the university’s Meritorious Achievement Award, the highest honor the school bestows.
Path to Producer
In 1994, while still a student at Florida A&M University, Packer and Hardy produced their first film, Chocolate City, for $20,000, and Packer helped broker a small distribution deal with Blockbuster Video. After graduating, the pair moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and co-founded Rainforest Films, a company built on the vision of creating genre films that would appeal to Black audiences who had rarely seen themselves portrayed in major studio releases.
Their first theatrical release, Trois, arrived in 2000 and grossed more than $1.2 million, becoming the fastest million-dollar grossing film independently distributed by African Americans at the time. Trois landed in the Top 50 Highest Grossing Independent Films of the year according to Daily Variety, and Rainforest Films was ranked number 34 on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of Top 100 Film Distributors of 2000. In 2001, Packer helped broker a deal with Sony to produce and distribute urban films, paving the way for titles such as The Gospel, This Christmas, Stomp the Yard, Obsessed, and Takers.
Will Packer Career
Early Career (1994–2010)
Will Packer began his career in 1994 when he co-founded Rainforest Films with Rob Hardy after producing their debut feature, Chocolate City. Throughout the 2000s, Packer produced and oversaw a steady stream of self-financed and studio-financed projects through Rainforest, building a reputation for smart, character-driven films aimed at underserved audiences.
During this period, Packer produced five number-one films with Rainforest: Stomp the Yard, Obsessed, Takers, Think Like a Man, and Ride Along. Think Like a Man grossed more than $96 million worldwide following its April 2012 release, while Ride Along brought in box office receipts totaling nearly $150 million as of April 2014, establishing Packer as a major force in mainstream comedy.
Breakthrough (2013–2019)
In 2013, Packer launched Will Packer Productions. That July, he signed a two-year deal with Universal Television to develop new projects for the studio, and later that year he signed a three-year deal with Universal Pictures. Films produced under the new banner included number-one openers Ride Along 2, No Good Deed, and Think Like a Man Too, along with The Wedding Ringer and Girls Trip.
Girls Trip became the highest-grossing live-action comedy of 2017 and the first film written, directed, produced, and starring African Americans to gross more than $100 million, finishing its run with $140 million on a $19 million budget. Packer also served as executive producer on the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton and the 2016 television mini-series Roots.
He continued to deliver hit comedies with Night School (2018), starring Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, What Men Want (2019), starring Taraji P. Henson, and Little (2019), starring Marsai Martin and Regina Hall. He followed those with The Photograph (2020), starring Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield, and Beast (2022), starring Idris Elba. In 2017, Packer launched Will Packer Media, a branded content and digital production company, in partnership with Discovery Communications and Universal Pictures.
Notable Works and Milestones
Will Packer has produced more than 30 features, with major hits including Think Like a Man, Ride Along, Girls Trip, Night School, What Men Want, Little, The Photograph, and Beast. He produced the 94th Annual Academy Awards, which aired on March 27, 2022, marking his first live television production credit on a major network. The ceremony was the highest-rated entertainment special in primetime on any network in two years.
Will Packer Award Nominations
Will Packer received an Emmy Award nomination for his work as executive producer on the remake of Roots. In addition to his Emmy nomination, Packer was the producer of the 94th Annual Academy Awards in 2022, a high-profile broadcast role that highlighted his standing in the entertainment industry.
Will Packer Awards Won
Will Packer has been recognized in several high-profile industry lists, including The Hollywood Reporter’s “40(ish) Most Powerful People in Comedy,” GIANT magazine’s “The GIANT 100,” Jet magazine’s “Who’s Hot To Watch in 2008,” and Black Enterprise’s “Most Powerful Players Under 40.” Florida A&M University honored him with the Meritorious Achievement Award, the highest honor the university bestows, and renamed its amphitheater the Will Packer Amphitheater in his honor in 2021. His company’s WP Narrative_ division has also collected honors, including a 2018 Webby Award and a 10th Annual Shorty Award for its #TakeAKnee campaign.
Will Packer Family
Will Packer is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, having been inducted into the Beta Nu chapter at Florida A&M University. He married his first wife, Nina Packer, who served as general manager of Bryant Management and director of operations for Blueprint Group, the artist management firm for Lil Wayne and his YMCMB label from 2007 to 2014. The couple divorced in February 2009.
Packer has four children: a son named Dominique, two daughters named Maya and Nija from his earlier relationship, and a son named Zion with his second wife, Heather Hayslett. He proposed to Hayslett live on stage at the 2013 Essence Music Festival, and the two were married in August 2015 in Georgia.
Personal Life
Will Packer married Heather Hayslett in August 2015 in Georgia after proposing to her live on stage at the 2013 Essence Music Festival. Together with Hayslett, he has a son named Zion, and he also has a son, Dominique, and two daughters, Maya and Nija, from his previous marriage to Nina Packer, which ended in divorce in February 2009.
In 2024, Packer became a limited partner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He is a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, inducted into the Beta Nu chapter at Florida A&M University, and remains closely connected to his alma mater, which honored him by renaming its amphitheater the Will Packer Amphitheater in 2021.