Bonnie Arnold

Bonnie Arnold is an American film producer and executive who has worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, and DreamWorks Animation. Arnold was born in Atlanta, Georgia and rose to prominence in Hollywood during the initial wave of computer-animation.

Arnold has a B.S. in journalism from the University of Georgia and a M.S. in journalism from Boston University. Arnold's first job on a Hollywood feature was as production coordinator for Neil Simon's The Slugger's Wife, a 1984 film shot in Atlanta and produced by Ray Stark. From there, she freelanced in film production in Atlanta and met producer David Picker, who invited her to work at Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles. While working on a Tony Scott movie called Revenge at Columbia, she met Kevin Costner and ended up joining the Dances with Wolves production as associate producer. In 1992, Arnold was recruited by Peter Schneider and John Lasseter to work on Toy Story for Disney. When Toy Story became a box office smash, she produced Tarzan. In 2001, Jeffrey Katzenberg invited Bonnie to produce Over the Hedge at DreamWorks Animation.

Arnold also worked on the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, for which she has received a Golden Globe Award and two Academy Award nominations. DreamWorks Animation named Arnold co-president of feature animation in early 2015. Along with Mireille Soria, she was tasked with overseeing creative development and production of DWA's theatrical releases. In 2016, Soria stepped down from her role, leaving Arnold the sole president of feature animation. In 2017, Arnold stepped down from the DreamWorks Animation presidency to return to producing for the studio, a role she calls her first love.

To date, Arnold's films have grossed over $2.2 billion at the box office. She serves on the Dean's advisory board of Boston University's School of Communications and on the Board of Counselors at USC's Annenberg School of Communications, as well as being a mentor for the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. In addition, she is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.