David Geffen

David Geffen
Born	David Lawrence Geffen 21 2, 1943
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Film producer, record executive, media proprietor
Known for	Co-founding DreamWorks SKG, founding Asylum Records, Geffen Records
Education	Santa Monica College (no degree)
Awards	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (2010)

David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor whose career spans more than five decades at the intersection of music, film, theater, and philanthropy. Rising from modest beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, Geffen built a series of entertainment enterprises that reshaped the American music and film industries. He co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971, launched Geffen Records in 1980, and in 1994 co-founded DreamWorks SKG alongside Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, establishing one of the first major new Hollywood studios in decades. Beyond his business ventures, Geffen has become one of the most significant philanthropists in American cultural life, with major gifts to medical education, the arts, and civic institutions. His donation to the UCLA medical school led to its renaming as the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced in 2026 that its new David Geffen Galleries would open on April 19 of that year, marking the culmination of a two-decade campus transformation. Geffen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a non-performer, in recognition of his transformative influence on the recording industry.

Early Life

David Lawrence Geffen was born on February 21, 1943, in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York City. He grew up in a Jewish family of modest means. His mother, Batya, was an immigrant who operated a corset and brassiere shop, and his father, Abraham, held various jobs. Geffen has spoken publicly about growing up in Brooklyn and the formative influence of his mother's entrepreneurial drive on his own ambitions.

From an early age, Geffen demonstrated an interest in the entertainment world. He was drawn to music and show business, though his academic record was unremarkable. After graduating from high school in Brooklyn, Geffen moved to Los Angeles, where he briefly attended Santa Monica College but did not obtain a degree. His lack of formal academic credentials would later become a notable element of his biography, as he built one of the most significant careers in American entertainment without a college diploma.

Geffen's early years in Los Angeles were characterized by ambition and resourcefulness. He sought entry into the entertainment business and eventually secured a position in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency, one of the most prestigious talent agencies in Hollywood. This entry-level job provided Geffen with his first exposure to the inner workings of the entertainment industry and the professional relationships that would shape his career for decades to come.

Education

Geffen attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn before relocating to California. He enrolled at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles but did not complete a degree program. Despite his lack of formal higher education, Geffen's career trajectory demonstrated an acute understanding of the music and film industries that he developed through practical experience rather than academic study. His later philanthropic contributions to educational institutions, including a transformative gift to UCLA's medical school, stand in contrast to his own abbreviated academic career.

Career

Early Career in the Music Industry

Geffen's professional career began at the William Morris Agency, where he started in the mailroom — a traditional entry point for aspiring talent agents in Hollywood. He quickly distinguished himself and rose through the agency's ranks, developing relationships with musicians and performers that would prove central to his subsequent ventures.

By the late 1960s, Geffen had established himself as a talent manager, representing a roster of artists in the burgeoning California folk-rock and singer-songwriter scenes. His management work gave him an intimate understanding of the recording industry's economics and the creative needs of artists, knowledge that informed his decision to move into record label ownership.

Asylum Records

In 1971, Geffen co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts, a fellow talent manager. The label was conceived as an artist-friendly alternative to the major recording companies of the era, and it quickly became one of the defining labels of the 1970s Southern California music scene. Asylum Records signed and developed a roster of artists who would become among the most commercially and critically successful musicians of their generation, including Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Joni Mitchell.

The label's success was built on Geffen's ability to identify and nurture talent, combined with his shrewd negotiating skills. Asylum Records was eventually merged with Elektra Records to form Elektra/Asylum Records, a division of Warner Communications. Geffen served as head of the combined label before departing to pursue new ventures.

Geffen Records

After a period away from the music business during which he explored other interests, including a brief tenure teaching at Yale University, Geffen returned to the recording industry in 1980 with the founding of Geffen Records. The new label became one of the most important record companies of the 1980s and 1990s, signing acts across a range of genres.

Geffen Records' roster included John Lennon and Yoko Ono, whose album Double Fantasy was released on the label in 1980 — one of the most commercially significant releases of the decade. The label also signed Elton John, Peter Gabriel, and, in the hard rock and heavy metal arena, Guns N' Roses and Aerosmith. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Geffen Records played a central role in the alternative rock movement, signing Nirvana (through its subsidiary DGC Records, founded in 1990) and releasing the band's landmark album Nevermind in 1991, which is credited with bringing alternative rock into the mainstream.

Geffen sold Geffen Records to MCA Inc. in 1990 in a deal that netted him hundreds of millions of dollars and cemented his status as one of the wealthiest figures in the entertainment industry.

Film and Theater

Geffen expanded into film production in 1982 with the founding of the Geffen Film Company (later known as Geffen Pictures). The company produced a number of notable films over the following decade, including Risky Business (1983), Lost in America (1985), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), and Interview with the Vampire (1994). These productions demonstrated Geffen's range as a producer, spanning comedy, horror, and drama.

In Broadway theater, Geffen also made a significant mark. He was a producer of several successful stage productions, including Cats and Dreamgirls, further diversifying his entertainment portfolio.

DreamWorks SKG

In October 1994, Geffen, Steven Spielberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg announced the formation of DreamWorks SKG (the initials standing for Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen), a new film studio that represented the first major new Hollywood studio to be created in decades. The venture attracted enormous attention from the media and the entertainment industry, as it brought together three of the most successful figures in American entertainment.

DreamWorks produced and distributed a wide range of films, including the Academy Award–winning American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000), and A Beautiful Mind (2001). The studio's animation division, DreamWorks Animation, produced the commercially successful Shrek franchise and other animated features. In 1996, Geffen also co-founded DreamWorks Records with Mo Ostin, Michael Ostin, and Lenny Waronker, extending the DreamWorks brand into the music industry.

DreamWorks' live-action film division was sold to Paramount Pictures in 2005, while DreamWorks Animation was eventually acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016. The founding and operation of DreamWorks represented the capstone of Geffen's career as a studio builder and solidified his position as one of the most influential figures in American entertainment history.

Business Acumen and Wealth

Throughout his career, Geffen demonstrated a consistent ability to negotiate advantageous deals and to time the sale of his assets to maximize returns. His sale of Geffen Records to MCA, his share of the DreamWorks transactions, and his investments in real estate and art collectively built a fortune that placed him among the wealthiest individuals in the global entertainment industry.

Geffen has been known as a collector of fine art, and his collection has been valued among the most significant private art holdings in the world. He has also been an owner of significant real estate in Malibu, California, where his property holdings have drawn media attention. Geffen is also known for owning the yacht Rising Sun, one of the largest privately owned yachts in the world, which he acquired from Larry Ellison.

Personal Life

Geffen is openly gay. He came out publicly in 1992, becoming one of the first major Hollywood executives to do so. His openness about his sexuality was considered significant in an industry that had long been reluctant to acknowledge the presence of gay executives and creatives in positions of power.

Before coming out, Geffen had a widely publicized relationship with the singer Cher in the early 1970s. In a 2026 interview, Cher discussed the nature of their relationship, stating, "We had an arrangement," and acknowledged that Geffen later came out as gay.

Geffen was married to Jeremy Lingvall. In 2025, reports surfaced regarding divorce proceedings between the two, drawing attention to legal questions surrounding the division of assets.

Geffen was a donor in opposition to California Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that sought to ban same-sex marriage in California.

Geffen has maintained residences in Malibu and New York City. His Malibu estate, situated on Carbon Beach, has been a subject of media coverage regarding beach access rights and coastal property disputes.

Philanthropy

Geffen has made substantial philanthropic contributions across the fields of medicine, the arts, and education. His most prominent gift was a $200 million donation to the UCLA medical school, which was renamed the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in his honor. In 2026, the United States Department of Justice sought to join a lawsuit alleging that the school illegally considered race in its admissions processes, bringing renewed public attention to the institution.

Geffen has also been a major donor to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The museum's new building, designated the David Geffen Galleries, was announced to open on April 19, 2026, representing the culmination of a multi-decade transformation of the LACMA campus.

In 2012, Geffen donated $100 million to establish the Geffen Scholars program at UCLA, which provides full-tuition scholarships and other support to students from underserved backgrounds.

Other beneficiaries of Geffen's philanthropy have included Lincoln Center in New York City, where he made a significant donation to the renovation of David Geffen Hall (originally known as Avery Fisher Hall), and numerous organizations focused on HIV/AIDS research and advocacy.

Recognition

Geffen's contributions to the entertainment industry have been acknowledged through numerous honors. In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, recognizing his impact on the recording industry through his founding of Asylum Records and Geffen Records and his support of generations of recording artists.

The naming of major institutions in his honor reflects the scope of his influence and generosity. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA each bear his name, a distinction shared by few living Americans across multiple fields.

Geffen has been the subject of extensive media coverage throughout his career, including a detailed profile in The New York Times Magazine in 1993 titled "David Geffen, Still Hungry," which examined his career arc and his reputation as one of the most driven figures in the entertainment world.

Legacy

David Geffen's career is notable for the breadth of its impact across multiple segments of the entertainment industry. In music, his founding of Asylum Records in 1971 helped define the sound of the Southern California singer-songwriter movement, while Geffen Records and DGC Records played central roles in the alternative rock revolution of the early 1990s. In film, his production companies contributed a string of commercially and critically successful films, and DreamWorks SKG represented a rare attempt to build a new major studio from scratch in the modern era.

Geffen's career has also been examined for its broader implications regarding the entertainment industry's power structures, the economics of record labels, and the role of individual impresarios in shaping cultural tastes. His rise from the mailroom of the William Morris Agency to the co-founding of a major Hollywood studio is frequently cited as one of the most remarkable ascents in American business history.

His philanthropic legacy, particularly in the areas of medical education and the visual arts, has extended his influence beyond the entertainment industry. The opening of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA in 2026 represents one of the most significant additions to the American museum landscape in recent years.

As an openly gay man who came out publicly in the early 1990s — at a time when few figures of his stature in the entertainment industry had done so — Geffen's personal story has also been cited in the broader history of LGBT rights and visibility in American corporate and cultural life.