Variety’s Publisher and Co-President Dea Lawrence Sets Her Agenda

Dea Lawrence has assumed the top business role at Variety, succeeding Michelle Sobrino Stearns as publisher and also becoming co-president (a role she’ll share with Ramin Setoodeh, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief). Lawrence is already in the trenches. Here she outlines her plan to take Variety into its next 120 years as Hollywood’s magazine of record.

What was the publication that got you hooked on media as a kid?

 Ms. Magazine. That was a huge influence for me. I devoured every fashion magazine growing up, laying out in the sun with my girlfriend Kathy. I was very active growing up. I was the morning announcement girl, head of the drama club and editor of the school paper — which nobody read. It was white stapled pages, and you had to pay for it. Even then, I instinctively knew we had to give it away for free and sell ads. I found a printing press in Glastonbury, Connecticut. I knocked on the dry cleaner’s door and raised the ad money myself.

Then you went to Broadway.

I starred in two Off Broadway shows, including Charles Busch’s “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.” I toured and did many Equity plays.

Legend has it you read for the part of Samantha Jones in the “Sex and the City” pilot.

I did, but so did half the city. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get the part. I shot a pilot for Fox with Shelley Long that didn’t get picked up. I did print work, signed to an agency called Parts, where I was a leg, mouth and hand model. I played Loni Anderson’s legs in a L’eggs pantyhose commercial. But I’ve always been a hustler. I did makeup in a department store for a long time. The women at those counters are still the best transactional sellers I’ve ever met. I learned how to suck people in. If the customer said the face cream was too expensive? I’d ask how much they paid for their shoes and remind them they only had one face for a lifetime.

What brought you to Variety?

I’ve done two tours of duty here. I started selling ads for Variety.com, which no one was paying attention to as an opportunity. I was eventually made vice president of sales and marketing. It was then I heard that famous Susan Lyne quote that you get ahead by doing the job that nobody wants to do. When I came in, we made zero dollars on Variety.com. When I left, it was an eight-figure business. I went to work in Silicon Valley for a while and learned something valuable from that time: Get shit done and go fast. And hire hungry.

What skills from your acting days do you bring to your job now?

I compare everything to the theater. If the play is badly cast, it’s not going to work. You’re right for the part or you’re not. I also learned how to be fearless. I don’t care about rejection. Also, you must — must — rehearse.

What makes you hopeful about the future of the publishing business?

This town has always been a roller coaster. You must hang on tight, especially in a period like this one. This is where leaders are born. People will always want to be entertained. The methods and vehicles for content will evolve, as they always have. Variety is an absolute powerhouse. We are laser focused on international, because that’s where 25% of our readership comes from. We’re taking our Power of Women and Entertainment & Technology franchises to London. AI is also crucial for us, as are digital creators. We’re looking into the rise of microdramas; we just announced a summit in Korea about it. We have an incredibly strong FYC business, but we also want a very strong consumer business. Variety is more relevant and diversified than ever, and we’re 120 years old.