Carolyn Strauss

Carolyn Strauss (born July 13, 1963) is an American television producer and executive. She was promoted to HBO's head of original programming in 1990 and commissioned widely successful HBO series such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Sex and the City. After 10 months as president of HBO's entertainment division, she left the position to focus on her producing career in 2008; she was given a production deal with HBO and has since served as an executive producer on the series Treme, Game of Thrones, Luck, and The Last of Us.

Carolyn Strauss
Strauss in July 2015
Born	(1963-07-13) July 13, 1963 (age 62) Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Producer executive

Early life

Carolyn Strauss was born into a Jewish family in Scarsdale, New York, on July 13, 1963.^[1] She graduated from Harvard University with a BA in History.^[1]

Career

Although she had no intentions of working in television, Strauss started her career as a temp in the documentaries department of HBO's New York City branch in 1986.^[1] Within 10 months, she had secured a full-time job there as the assistant to the head of original programming.^[1] In 1990, she was promoted to HBO's head of original programming and moved to Los Angeles, where she later commissioned widely successful HBO series such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Sex and the City.^[1][2] After 10 months of serving as president of HBO's entertainment division, she left the position to focus on her producing career in 2008.^[3][4] She was given a production deal with HBO and has since served as an executive producer on series such as Game of Thrones, Treme,^[5][6] Luck, Somebody Somewhere,^[7] and The Last of Us.^[8]

Personal life

Strauss is gay.^[1][9] She has lived in Los Angeles since 1990.^[1]

In August 2015, Strauss and 97 other members of Los Angeles' Jewish community signed an open letter supporting the Iran nuclear deal framework.^[10]

Filmography

All credits are as executive producer.^[11]

• Treme (2010–2013)
• Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
• Luck (2011–2012)
• The Specials (2014)
• Chernobyl (2019)
• Deadwood: The Movie (2019)
• The Baby (2022)
• Somebody Somewhere (2022–present)
• The Last of Us (2023–present)

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2011	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[12]
2012				Nominated
2013				Nominated
2014				Nominated
		Outstanding Miniseries	Treme	Nominated
2015		Outstanding Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Won
2016				Won
2018				Won
2019				Won
		Outstanding Limited Series	Chernobyl	Won
		Outstanding Television Movie	Deadwood: The Movie	Nominated
2022	Peabody Awards	Entertainment	Somebody Somewhere	Nominated	[13]
2023	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	The Last of Us	Nominated	[12]