Irena Medavoy

Irena Medavoy is an American philanthropist, activist, and entrepreneur.

Early life

Fluent in Russian and English, Irena Medavoy was born Irena Vladimir Gerasimenko to Russian immigrant parents,^[1] and while she was still in high school she worked for Tichi Wilkerson Miles, the first female editor of The Hollywood Reporter.^[2] On July 22, 1984 she married Harris Katleman, President and CEO of 20th Century Fox Television.^[3]

Career

^[4] As Irena Gerasimenko she worked as a model for Sports Illustrated. Along with her roommate, a fellow Sports Illustrated model, Bernadette Leonard, (who is the daughter of Paul Robi, the singer for The Platters, and wife of Sugar Ray Leonard), Donna Estes Antebi and Jennifer Flavin (wife of Sylvester Stallone), Medavoy serves as Vice Chairman and collaborated to create a charity, C.O.A.C.H. for Kids and their Families which is a community outreach assistance for children's health.^[5][6][7]

She started acting with two small roles in the television movies, one with Ted Danson in Once Upon a Spy and playing the lead Blue Eyes with O. J. Simpson in Cocaine and Blue Eyes. She also had a recurring role in the Dallas television series where she played Bobby Ewing's first girlfriend after Victoria Principal left .^[8] She had a series regular role on Cover Up ^[9]

She played a Russian immigration officer on Night Court guest starring in an Emmy nominated episode entitled "Russkie Business".^[10][11]

In 1991, Medavoy founded Phoenix Enterprises with Pirie Jones and together with American Telecast produced 'product marketing television programs like the hair care series Beverly Hills Beauty.^[1] Her all-female direct marketing company sold on QVC where Medavoy invented, manufactured and sold beauty, health, fitness and self-help products for women. Her electronic response firm called High Heels and Loafers with partner Pirie Jones created a company at King World to direct response sales.^[12] Medavoy produced infomercials for golfers called "The Cricket".

She is a contributing writer for the Huffington Post^[13] on topics including President Barack Obama^[14] (for whom she held an election fundraising campaign with her friend Ambassador Nicole Avant),^[15] Oprah Winfrey,^[16] female body images in the media which she regards as unrealistic and harmful,^[17] and her experiences with botox.^[18]

Awards and recognition

• In 2008 Sean Penn presented the Medavoy family with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian award from UNICEF.^{[19][20][21][22]} Penn also spoke at Mike Medavoy's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star unveiling.^[23]
• The Women's Image Network Awards (2015) Woman of the Year Honoree.^[24][25][26]

Personal life

Irena Medavoy is married to film producer Mike Medavoy.^[27] They have one teenage son Nick, who stands 6'8" and plays basketball and who, when he was born his father sang him Singin' in the Rain.^[28]

She is a founding board member of Truth In Advertising Alliance, which works to fight anorexia and bulimia and pass legislation to outlaw excessive photo shopping models.^[29]

Medavoy is the co-founder of Team Safe-T which teaches disaster preparedness in California public schools.^[30][31]

Irena served on the Advisory Board of the charity A Sense of Home, ASOH, ^[32] which offers safety and community to children who age out of the foster care system at age eighteen.^[33] Founded by Georgie Smith, ASOH founder Smith said of Medavoy and her charity, "ASOH began as a random act of kindness when I responded to a cry for a help from a young man who had aged out of foster care, and who had secured an apartment but had no means to obtain a solitary item that might make it feel like home. {Smith's] partner Melissa Goddard and [Smith] couldn’t help but notice the great void in our community. All foster youth who age out of the system, having never been adopted, are all alone in the world, without family members to offer them hand me downs let alone the helping hand it requires to source, collect, install and make a space feel like home: Home is the foundation we all need to thrive. Each year, 35,000 young people age out in the US. Statistics predict they are the least likely to succeed. Fifty percent of foster children will experience homelessness.^[34]

When Irena Medavoy learned these facts, rallied her friends to donate household items and urged us to build a nonprofit modeled after the original act of kindness. Every day since then Irena has championed us forth. Connecting us with people who can help us financially, guide us and offer the youth better career prospects. We ran towards a crisis, into unfamiliar terrain and figured it out as we went along. It was absurdly daunting and exhausting. Meeting this goals of our new charity would have been entirely impossible without Irena standing shoulder to shoulder with us rallying support and goodwill. In just over one year we have created 70 homes and placed 110 youth in their own beds. 110 young people can go to bed at night knowing they have an angel in Irena Medavoy".^[34][35]

References