S1:E39 Nicole Avant I The Godfather's Daughter

Corner Table Talk

Ambassador Nicole Avant, the high-level political powerhouse, former ambassador to the Bahamas, philanthropist and wife of Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, began her career in the music industry before getting involved in politics supporting the campaigns of candidates like Harold Ford, Jr. and President Barack Obama, in his run for the Senate and presidency .

Nicole grew up in Beverly Hills, the daughter of Clarence Avant, the former chairman of Motown Records and entertainment industry mogul known as "The Black Godfather", and Jacqueline Avant, former Ebony Fashion Fair model and philanthropist. With social and business skills learned from her parents, a degree in Communications, and her savvy instincts, she became the co-chair for the Obama presidential campaign in Southern California raising millions from entertainment, business and philanthropic circles.

Nicole produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary, “The Black Godfather” for Netflix, directed by Reginald Hudlin, charting the exceptional and unlikely rise of her father, a rainmaker in music, film, TV, and politics. Appearances in the documentary include Bill Withers, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, to name a few. The film was nominated for several prestigious awards including being named one of the Top 5 Documentaries of 2019 by the National Board of Review.

Most recently, Nicole joined George Clooney and a host of Hollywood A-listers to partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District to found The Roybal School of Film and Television, part of an effort to drive transformational change and access to jobs across the entertainment industry for students from underserved communities.

Listen as Nicole and host, Brad Johnson, discuss her upbringing in Beverly Hills, her mom's emphasis on education, art and history including celebrating the heroes and victories in black culture. Nicole shares the incident of adversity when she was very young that became the initial inspiration behind making "The Black Godfather." She describes her thoughts meeting the Obamas and we learn about her daily practice of positive mindfulness and paying it forward through service to others including some of her philanthropic efforts to give access to underserved youth.

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