Background:

American film producer Susan Levin, also credited as Susan Downey, is known for producing successful films such as “Gothika” (2003), “House of Wax” (2005), “RocknRolla” (2008), “Sherlock Holmes” (2009) and its sequel, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (2011), “Iron Man 2” (2010) and “Due Date” (2010). Joining Silver Picture in 1999, Levin held the dual posts of Executive Vice President of Production at Silver Pictures and Co-President of Dark Castle Entertainment until February 2009. In 2010, Levin partnered with husband Robert Downey, Jr. to found their own production company, “Team Downey.”     
    
Downey's Spouse

Childhood and Family:

Susan Nicole Levin was born on November 6, 1973 in Schaumburg, Illinois, to a Jewish family. Her parents are Elliott A. Levin and Rosanne T. Levin. She graduated valedictorian from the Schaumburg High School in 1991. She later moved to California and attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema/Television.

Susan met Robert Downey, Jr.  on the set of  the 2003 thriller “Gothika,” during which time the actor was in the process of divorcing his first wife Deborah Falconer. Downey proposed to her the night before her 30th birthday. The couple went public with their romance in 2003, and were married on August 27, 2005 in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York. Susan and her husband are expecting their first child, a boy, in February 2012.  


Gothika

Career:

 Susan Levin started her career with New Line Cinema, in which she did uncredited production work on the hit film “Mortal Combat” (1995) and its sequel, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” (1997),  and spearheaded the development of its spin off live action and animated TV series, “Mortal Kombat: Conquest” (1998). She also served as an associate producer on the 1999 science fiction film “Beowulf” for Dimension Films.
 
In 1999, Levin joined Joel Silver's production company, Silver Pictures, as Vice President of Production. She oversaw the development and production of such films as the 2001 horror remake “Thirteen Ghosts” and the 2001 crime/thriller “Swordfish.” She also served as director of development for Dark Castle Entertainment, the horror film division of Silver Pictures, which Silver formed with Robert Zemeckis.     

Levin made her producing debut when she co-produced “Ghost Ship,” a 2002 horror film directed by Steve Back and starring Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing over $68 million worldwide against a production budget of $20 million. She then co-produced the 2003 action movie “Cradle 2 the Grave,”  which was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and starred martial artist Jet Li and rapper DMX, and produced the supernatural horror movie “Gothika” (2003), which became the most successful film from Dark Castle Entertainment with over $141 million.  

In 2005, Levin produced the popular horror film “House of Wax,” starring Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams and Robert Ri'chard. The Jaume Collet-Serra directed received negative reviews, but was a commercial success. The same year, she executive produced “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” a crime/dark comedy film starring husband Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer. The film grossed $22,609,607 worldwide against a production budget of $15 million.   

In 2007, Mrs. Downey produced the Hillary Swank horror vehicle “The Reaping,” directed by Stephen Hopkins. It grossed over $62.7 million at the box office. She then produced the acclaimed psychological thriller movie “The Brave One” (2007), which was helmed by Neil Jordan and starred Jodie Foster in her Golden Globe performance as radio show host Erica Bain, and executive produced “The Invasion” (2007), a science fiction/thriller film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.

In 2008, Levin produced the Guy Ritchie widely praised crime/comedy film “RocknRolla,” starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton. The film opened at No. 1 in the UK box office, and took a total gross of US $25,739,015 worldwide. She went on to produce the horror thriller “Orphan” (2009), starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, and the thriller “Whiteout” (2009), starring Kate Beckinsale. Also in 2009, she reunited with husband Robert Downey, Jr., who starred as the titular character, and director Guy Ritchie for the successful British/American action/mystery film “Sherlock Holmes,” based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It made $524,028,679 at the worldwide box office against a production budget of $90 million. The film was also met with a largely positive critical reaction, and earned Downey his third Golden Globe Award for his performance.

In 2010, Levin executive produced the post-apocalyptic drama “The Book of Eli,” directed by the Hughes brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals.

After leaving Silver Pictures, Levin worked with the production staff of the superhero film “Iron Man 2” (2010), starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke, and directed by Jon Favreau. The film earned positive reviews and was a financial success. She worked with her husband again in “Due Date,” a 2010 comedy road film directed and co-written by Todd Phillips. Despite mixed critical reception, the film was commercially successful by grossing over $200 million worldwide, against a production budget of $65 million.    

In June 2010, Levin and her husband announced the formation of their Warner Bros. based production company Team Downey, and recruited David Gambino to be president of production. Their first producing project is “Yucatan,” a heist film originally crafted by Steve McQueen as a star vehicle for himself. Warner Bros. announced on March 23, 2011 that Team Downey would produce the family drama “The Judge.” The company will also produce the tragic, shark-infested tale of the “USS Indianapolis (CA-35),” told through the eyes of Hunter Scott.

Levin reunited with Joel Silver to produce the sequel “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” again directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey, Jr.  Released on December 16, 2011, the film has grossed  $182,211,057 in the United States and Canada and $261,000,000 elsewhere for a worldwide total of $469,311,057. The same year, she also produced the thriller film “The Factory,” starring John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter.
    

Awards:

--- Show Less