Who

The president of documentary and family programming at HBO, Nevins is one of the most prominent figures in the world of documentary filmmaking.

Backstory

The daughter of a postal worker and occasional bookie, Nevins grew up on the Lower East Side, went to college at Barnard, and studied directing at the Yale School of Drama. She spent several years after graduation working in the TV/film branch of the United States Information Agency, even appearing as a milkmaid in the agency's series of English-language instructional videos, Adventures in English. More serious production work came along when she teamed up with the documentary producer Alvin Perlmutter to create a series called The Great American Dream Machine for PBS-predecessor National Education Television, hiring doc kings the Maysles brothers to direct pieces of the show. She followed up with stints as a producer at ABC News and the CBS news magazine Who's Who, before finally joining new-kid-on-the-block HBO in 1979 as director of documentary programming. She's been with the channel ever since (a brief hiatus to produce a sex-filled reality show Eros America aside) and has spent more then 25 years developing, acquiring, and producing documentaries for both HBO and sister network Cinemax.

Of note

Occasionally referred to as the "dominatrix of docs" or the "de Medici of television" (or any number of other grand titles that connote her sway over the industry), Nevins is one of the most influential figures in the world of documentary filmmaking. She's the one responsible for selecting the docs that appear on the all-powerful cable network, one of most prestigious outlets for nonfiction fare. Over the years she's shepherded a slew of award-winning documentaries to the screen, many of which tackle weighty issues like race, poverty, and gender, including more than a dozen Oscar winners like Born Into Brothels, Chernobyl Heart, and Murder on a Sunday Morning. (A number of the network's hit docs were part of the America Undercover series, which began in 1995.) Some of her more recent broadcast successes have included Jamie Johnson's Born Rich, Alexandra Pelosi's Friends of God, Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke, and James Gandolfini's Alive Day. But it isn't just pressing social issues on Nevins' agenda: As chief of all non-fictional programming, she also oversees the HBO's late-night raunchfest including shows like Taxicab Confessions, Cathouse, and the Real Sex series.

Personal

Nevins is married to her second husband, retired investment banker Sidney Koch. Sidney owns the independent Bantam Cinema in Bantam, Connecticut—the oldest movie house in the state—with the couple's son, David. Nevins and Koch divide their time between a home in Litchfield, Connecticut, which they purchased for $1.35 million in 2000, and an apartment on the Upper East Side. Nevins also owns several apartments in the Chelsea Mercantile building, which is also home to Bobby Flay and Stephanie March, Christopher Wheeldon, and Kyle MacLachlan and Desiree Gruber.