A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in economics and communications, Gale Ann Hurd learned the ropes of filmmaking from the inimitable Roger Corman. From 1977 to 1982, Hurd was in charge of marketing and publicity for Corman's New World Pictures. In 1982, she set up her own production firm, Pacific Western Productions. Her most successful producing ventures include her collaborations with her former husband, writer/director James Cameron: Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1990). In the field of television, Hurd served as creative consultant on the series version of her theatrical feature Alien Nation, and won an Emmy for the 1991 TV-movie Cast a Deadly Spell. Outside of her hands-on filmmaking activities, Gale Ann Hurd has been active with the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, and has overseen several training programs and workshops for untried women directors.