Ex-Anonymous CEO Dawn Olmstead forms venture with Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah

Dawn Olmstead

Hollywood actor and producer Charlize Theron has partnered with veteran media exec Dawn Olmstead, along with Beth Kono and AJ Dix, partners at Theron’s Denver & Delilah Productions, to launch a new production company.

Olmstead, former chief of Anonymous Content and Universal Cable Productions (UCP) president, will serve as CEO for the as-yet unnamed company, which will take over Denver & Delilah’s content slate, as well as its first-look deal with Universal and its TV pact with HBO & Max.

She will work alongside Theron, Kono and Dix to develop and build upon the existing Denver & Delila slate across TV, film and other content for global audiences.

The venture furthers Olmstead’s existing relationship with the trio, having worked with them on the pilot for a Hatfields & McCoy drama that went to pilot at NBC in 2013. While serving as EVP of development a UCP in 2015, Olmstead signed a first-look deal with Denver & Delilah.

“Dawn has been an incredible collaborator and friend of ours for years. Her history and accomplishments are an inspiration and joining forces with her to build this new endeavor is simply a dream come true,” said Theron, according to Deadline which first reported the formation of the new company.

“I feel incredibly lucky to be building a company with my friends Charlize, Beth and AJ. To partner with someone who is that talented and has that much integrity is very rare. We‘ve been scheming and dreaming about this day for almost 15 years. I can’t believe it’s finally here,” added Olmstead.

Olmstead made a shock resignation as CEO of True Detective firm Anonymous Content in March, departing alongside COO Heather McCauley. She joined as CEO in 2020, having previously served as president of UCP, where she worked on titles including Mr. Robot and The Sinner.

Theron is known as the star of Hollywood features such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde and Bombshell, which was produced by Denver & Delilah. The firm is also behind Theron-starring features including Monster, Tully and Long Shot, and has produced series such as Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York for HBO.