Producing partners Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, best known for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice” and “Scandal,” will receive a diversity award from the Directors Guild of America for their efforts to provide directing job opportunities for women and minorities.
“The DGA Diversity Award is an exceedingly rare honor, given only when we feel strongly that someone is making a real difference in the hiring of women and minorities,” DGA President Paris Barclay said. “In the decade that Shonda and Betsy have been creating and producing buzz-worthy television, their record of diverse hiring has been consistently outstanding at a time when very few television series meet that standard.
“As a result, they have impacted the careers of dozens of women and minorities—they’ve made stars not only in front of, but behind the camera as well,” Barclay said.
The DGA’s Diversity Award has only been handed out four times. It was given in 1997 to Bruce Paltrow, John Wells and Christopher Chulack; in 1999 to Steven Bochco; in 2000 to HBO; and in 2005 to Stephen McPherson.
Rhimes and Beers are partners in the Shondaland production company, which was created in 2004.
They will be honored during the 66th annual DGA Awards on Jan. 25.
