Heidi Jo Markel was born on January 12, 1971 in Rolling Hills, California, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Nha Trang That Thu (2013), Trust (2010) and London That Thu (2016).
She also produced the sequel London That Thu (2016)
In 2015, she achieved her long-time goal of spearheading her own charitable foundation Stop Poaching Now! with a mission to tap into the creative film community to utilize media platforms to educate and influence the global population to obliterate the demand for illegal animal products while safeguarding endangered animals and their habitats by supporting grass-roots organizations
In May 2014, the Aviva honored HJM with the Aviva Impact Award
Other notable feature film producing credits of hers include her first film to make just shy of $100 million at the box office: Antoine Fuqua's Nha Trang That Thu (2013) with all-star cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, and Angela Bassett
Gabriele Muccino's Playing for Keeps (2012) starring Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Dennis Quaid; Levien and Koppelman's Solitary Man (2009) starring Michael Douglas, Jesse Eisenberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon, and Imogen Poots (TIFF 2009); and James Franco's As I Lay Dying (2013) (Cannes FF 2013) based on the Nobel Prize winning author, William Faulkner's novel
She then made a move forward into socially conscious filmmaking with David Schwimmer's Trust (2010), a controversial film about online predators starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and Liana Liberato (Best Actress, Chicago FF and 2010 TIFF-Toronto) received much acclaim and support by child advocacy groups
Striking a multi-picture deal with Millennium Films, she first produced a film based on Pulitzer Prize winning author, Bernard Malamud's The Tenants (2005) starring Dylan McDermott, Snoop Dogg, and Rose Byrne; Followed by John Herzfeld's The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2007) based on author Don Winslow's intriguing best seller starring Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne, then George Gallo's My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008) starring Antonio Banderas and Meg Ryan
After years of flying solo, in 2004, she launched Eclectic Pictures with the goal to attract exceptional collaborators in order to develop a diverse slate of scripts, raise funds, and produce A-level quality theatrical fare
Her next producing venture was Blind Horizon (2003) starring Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Faye Dunaway, and Amy Smart
Intrigued by director Bernard Rose's idea of shooting a modern day adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, HJM acted in and co-produced Ivansxtc (2000), which played globally at major film festivals and received four Independent Spirit Award nominations in 2001
Heidi Jo Markel was born on January 12, 1971 in Rolling Hills, California, USA
