David Ellison Bio
David Ferris Ellison, born on January 9, 1983, is an American film producer, media proprietor, and former actor. He is the founder of Skydance Media, a film and television production company he launched in 2006, and currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance Corporation following its formation in August 2025. The son of Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, he has built a career that bridges independent film production and large-scale media ownership.
Under his leadership, Skydance produced major titles including Terminator Genisys, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Life, and Top Gun: Maverick, with the last earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2025, Ellison completed a merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global, creating one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the industry. He is recognized for combining blockbuster film production with strategic media consolidation.
Early Life and Background
David Ferris Ellison was born on January 9, 1983, in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation, and his third wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father, who is of Italian and Jewish heritage, was not a regular presence in his early upbringing. Ellison was raised in Woodside, California, primarily by his mother, who nurtured his early love for cinema and storytelling.
Ellison grew up alongside his sister, film producer Megan Ellison, who later founded Annapurna Pictures. He attended Pepperdine University and later enrolled at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He left USC without completing his degree in 2005 to finance his first major acting project, a decision that marked the beginning of his shift from academia to the entertainment industry. Ellison has cited the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, a close friend of his father, as a major influence on his approach to building a media company.
Path to Chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance
Ellison’s entry into the entertainment business began with acting. He appeared in films including Little Fish, Strange Pond, and Hole in One before taking the lead role in Flyboys, a World War I drama that was widely regarded as a box-office failure. Despite the setback, the experience gave him direct exposure to large-scale film financing and production logistics, lessons that informed his later business strategy.
In 2006, Ellison founded Skydance Media, attracting substantial investment from his father Larry Ellison. He structured the company to focus on high-concept action films and franchise properties, securing co-production and co-financing deals with major studios. Over the following decade, Skydance expanded into television, animation, and interactive media, establishing Ellison as a significant dealmaker in Hollywood. In January 2024, reports surfaced that Ellison was pursuing a merger with Paramount Global, a transaction that would ultimately redefine his role from studio founder to conglomerate leader.
David Ellison Career
Early Career (2005–2010)
Ellison’s professional career began in 2005 when he left USC’s film school to produce and act in Flyboys. The film underperformed commercially, prompting him to transition from on-screen work to producing and financing films. He founded Skydance Media in 2006 and quickly secured partnerships with major studios by offering co-financing for tentpole releases.
During these formative years, Skydance contributed to action and adventure features including Star Trek Into Darkness, True Grit, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Jack Reacher, and World War Z. Ellison was named to Variety’s Dealmaker list in 2010 and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2011, signaling his rising influence in the entertainment industry.
Skydance Breakthrough (2013–2022)
In 2013, Ellison expanded Skydance into television, launching a dedicated division that produced series such as Altered Carbon and Grace and Frankie. He later founded Skydance Animation in 2017 in partnership with Spain’s Ilion Animation Studios, hiring former Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter to lead the unit in 2019. In 2014, he also launched a menswear line called the LANAI Collection.
Ellison oversaw the production of major film releases including Terminator Genisys, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Life, and Annihilation. The studio’s most prominent success came with Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, a film that earned Ellison a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture and became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. This period established Skydance as a reliable supplier of blockbuster content.
Paramount Era (2025–Present)
In July 2025, the Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance’s merger with Paramount Global under the second administration of President Donald Trump. The merger was completed on August 7, 2025, forming Paramount Skydance Corporation, with Ellison serving as chairman and chief executive officer of the combined entity. The merger marked his transition from independent producer to head of a major media conglomerate.
Following the merger, Ellison restructured editorial leadership at CBS News, appointing conservative commentator Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief and acquiring her newsletter, The Free Press. He later pursued the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, working with sovereign wealth funds and Jared Kushner to finance a competing bid against Netflix. In February 2026, after raising his offer, Paramount signed a definitive merger agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, with Ellison set to remain chairman and CEO of the combined company.
Notable Events and Milestones
Ellison’s career-defining moments include the 2022 Academy Award nomination for Top Gun: Maverick, the 2025 completion of the Skydance-Paramount merger, and the announcement of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger in early 2026. His appointment of Bari Weiss to lead CBS News and his bid to reshape CNN through the WBD acquisition have positioned him as one of the most consequential figures in contemporary American media.
David Ellison Family
Family Background and Media Lineage
David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation, and his third wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father, of Italian and Jewish heritage, is one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a major investor in Skydance Media. His sister, Megan Ellison, is the founder of Annapurna Pictures, a respected independent film production company, making the Ellison siblings one of the most influential sibling duos in modern entertainment.
Personal Life
Ellison married actress and singer Sandra Lynn Modic on October 1, 2011, in Palm Springs, California. The couple has two children. Ellison is a licensed pilot with multiple aviation ratings, including helicopter, aerobatics, commercial, fixed-wing, and multi-engine certifications, and in 2003, he performed with Sean D. Tucker’s Stars of Tomorrow aerobatic team at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. He is also a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy.