Mark Burnett

Early life

Burnett was born on 17 July 1960 in London, the only child of Archie and Jean Burnett, both Ford Motors factory workers, and was raised in Dagenham, Essex. His father was a Roman Catholic and his mother was a Presbyterian, although it is not known in which denomination he was raised. Aged 17, he enlisted in the British Army, and became a Section Commander in the Parachute Regiment. From 1978–82 he served with the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in C Company and saw action during the Falklands War.

Early career

In October 1982, Burnett emigrated to the United States, where his friend Nick Hill, who had emigrated from the UK several years earlier, was working as a nanny and chauffeur. Hill knew of an open position for a live-in nanny with the Jaeger family in affluent Beverly Hills. Despite having no experience as a nanny, Burnett went on the interview. The Jaegers, realizing the advantage of having a nanny and security at the same time, hired him. After a year of working for the Jaegers, he moved on to another family in the beach city of Malibu, California, taking care of two boys for $250 a week. He was eventually given a position in the insurance office owned by Burt, the father of the two boys. Two years later, Burnett rented a portion of a fence at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and sold T-shirts for $18 each during weekends. Realizing he made more money selling T-shirts, he left his insurance job. In 1991, Burnett, and four others joined a French adventure competition, the Raid Gauloises. Afterward, Burnett saw a business opportunity in holding similar competitions. He purchased the format rights and brought a similar competition, Eco-Challenge, to America. Eco-Challenge launched Burnett's career as a television producer.

Productions

Burnett is best known for producing the hit reality show Survivor, which premiered in the summer of 2000 and was the most watched summer series since Sonny and Cher. Survivor was named the Number 1 reality series of all time by Entertainment Weekly in 2009.

In 2004, NBC premiered The Apprentice, a reality television series in which contestants competed for a job under real estate magnate and future President Donald Trump. The Apprentice spawned numerous licensed international versions of the show.

Burnett has produced several other television franchises including: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Shark Tank, and The Voice. He has maintained a strong presence in award show franchises, having produced the MTV Movie Awards (2007–2011), the annual People's Choice Awards (2010–2017), the Spike Video Game Awards (2011 & 2012) and the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Burnett has produced more than 3,200 hours of television programming which regularly airs in more than 70 countries. Past shows include "Celebrity Apprentice (NBC), Bully Beatdown, Combat Missions, The Contender, The Contender Asia, Expedition Africa, Expedition Impossible, How'd You Get So Rich?, Martha Stewart, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, On the Lot (a collaboration with Steven Spielberg), The Restaurant, Rock Star, Sarah Palin's Alaska, Stars Earn Stripes, Starmaker, Toughest Cowboy, and Wedding Day.

As well as his ongoing productions, Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey, produced The Bible, a 10-hour History Channel drama based upon stories of the Bible. The Bible became the No. 1 new series on cable TV in 2013 and was the No. 1 series in Canada, Spain, and Portugal. In total, with subsequent airings, The Bible was seen by more than 100 million viewers.

After the success of The Bible, Burnett and Downey started developing more faith-based scripted series. A.D. The Bible Continues premiered on NBC on Easter Sunday 2015, and The Dovekeepers miniseries aired on CBS in Spring 2015.

In October 2013, NBC announced that it has reached a deal with Burnett and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to produce a television series on which contestants will compete to win a spaceflight aboard SpaceShipTwo. The series will be titled Space Race, although it is currently undeterminable when the show will begin airing.

In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55 percent interest in One Three Media and LightWorkers Media, both operated by Burnett and his wife. The two companies will be consolidated into a new film and television company, United Artists Media Group. Burnett is UAMG's CEO and Downey is president of LightWorkers Media.

In December 2015, Burnett was named president of MGM Television and Digital Group, signing a five-year deal. Burnett's appointment was set up to occur simultaneously with the closing of MGM's acquisition of the remaining 45 percent of Hearst's, Burnett's and Roma Downey‘s interests in United Artists Media Group (UAMG), which will be absorbed under the MGM Television Group umbrella. MGM Television will now have numerous unscripted and scripted television shows airing on network and cable or in production including: The Voice (NBC); Survivor (CBS); Shark Tank (ABC); Beyond the Tank (ABC); Celebrity Apprentice (NBC); Fargo (FX);Vikings (HISTORY); Teen Wolf (MTV); 500 Questions (ABC); The People's Choice Awards (CBS); Lucha Underground (El Rey Network) and America's Greatest Makers (INTEL/Turner).

In 2016, Burnett produced the film Ben-Hur, a film adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The film was a box office flop.

Personal life

In January 2004, Burnett began dating Downey. In November 2006, while the two were vacationing with their children in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, he proposed to her. They wed on 28 April 2007 in their Malibu home. The ceremony was officiated by Downey's former co star, Della Reese.

Burnett is an Evangelical Christian. He and Downey produced The Bible (miniseries) and are now co-owners of United Artists Media Group together with MGM and Hearst. In addition to their producing projects, the couple is heavily involved with philanthropic organizations Operation Smile and Compassion International. In 2014, they announced a fundraising plan called Cradle of Christianity that aims to raise $25 million to help Iraqi and Syrian Christians and other minorities displaced by ISIL survive that upcoming winter.

Burnett was previously married to Dianne J. Burnett (née Valentine); they have two sons, James and Cameron. The couple filed for legal separation in September 2002 and a judgment for legal separation was granted in December 2003. They later divorced in 2006.

Awards, honors and affiliations

In 2004, Time called Burnett one of the Most Influential People in the World Today. Burnett was also named "Philanthropist of the Year" by the Reality Cares Foundation. He has won both Brandweek's "Marketer of the Year Award", the prestigious Rose d’Or Frapa Format Award, the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award and the Norman Lear Award from the Producers Guild of America.

Burnett served for two years on the Board of Directors for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In November 2007, Burnett was elected into the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame and in 2008, it was announced that he would be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On 8 July 2009, Burnett received a star at 6664 Hollywood Blvd. In June 2011, Burnett was elected into the Producers Guild of America Council Board of Delegates and currently serves on the Producers Council. He is an ambassador for Operation Smile.

In 2013, the ten-hour mini-series The Bible received the Parents Television Council 2013 Seal of Approval. Shark Tank, The Voice, and Survivor were all nominated for Critics Choice Awards, at which the Voice won for Best Reality Series - Competition. The three shows were nominated for the Television Critics Association Awards, at which Shark Tank won for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming.

In 2013, The Voice, Shark Tank and The Bible were nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards; The Voice won for Outstanding Reality – Competition Program. "The Voice" and "Shark Tank" were nominated at the 2015 Critics’ Choice Television Awards, at which "Shark Tank" won for Best Reality Series.

In 2014, Burnett and his wife Roma Downey were recipients of the Anti-Defamation League's Entertainment Industry Award.

Awards

Special Awards

Published works