Christine Vachon

American film producer

Christine Vachon (/v//æ/'/ʃ//ɒ//n/; born November 21, 1962) is an American film producer active in the American independent film sector. Vachon produced Todd Haynes' first feature, Poison (1991), which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, she has gone on to produce many acclaimed independent films, including Far from Heaven (nominated for four Academy Awards), Boys Don't Cry (Academy Award winner), One Hour Photo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, Go Fish, Swoon, I'm Not There, and Carol. She also produced the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. Vachon also participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, a paramount New York City Film Festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Vachon was born in Manhattan, New York City. She is the daughter of Françoise Fourestier and photographer John Vachon. Her first feature Poison (written and directed by Academy Award nominee Todd Haynes) won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1991. Since that initial success Christine has worked on a number of noteworthy films, including I Shot Andy Warhol, Happiness, Kids, One Hour Photo, and Boys Don't Cry. Through her enduring relationship with Todd, she has worked on every feature film of his to date, including Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven, and I'm Not There, which starred Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore, and Michelle Williams. Cate Blanchett received both Academy Award and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and the film was also nominated for 4 Independent Spirit Awards, notching a Best Supporting Actress win for Cate Blanchett. In 2008, Vachon won an Emmy for her role as executive producer for the TV adaptation of Ira Glass's This American Life. Killer's releases for 2008 include Savage Grace, directed by Tom Kalin and starring Julianne Moore; An American Crime, starring Catherine Keener and Elliot Page, directed by Tommy O'Haver: Then She Found Me, the directorial debut of Helen Hunt, starring herself, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Vachon continued her long standing collaboration with Todd Haynes for the 2015 film, Carol. Vachon is the Artistic Director of the MFA Program at Stony Brook Manhattan.

Vachon and her partner, artist Marlene McCarty, live in the East Village of New York with their daughter Guthrie. In the fall of 2009, Vachon went into remission after a battle with breast cancer. She is related to the French costume designer, Sarah Monfort.

Schamus, James, Barry Ellsworth, Todd Haynes, and Christine Vachon. The Apparatus Guide to No Budget Filmmaking in New York City. New York: Apparatus Productions, 1989. Vachon, Christine, and David Edelstein. Shooting to Kill: How an Independent Producer Blasts Through the Barriers to Make Movies That Matter. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002. Reprint of 1998 edition. Vachon, Christine, and Austin Bunn. A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. 2007 Limelight Edition.