Debra Lee
*Debra Lee was born on August 8, 1954. She is a Black lawyer and media administrator.
Debra L. Lee was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. She attended James B. Dudley High School. In 1976, Lee graduated from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in political science, emphasizing Asian politics. She earned a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. degree at Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers in 1980.
In 1981, Lee was a law clerk to Barrington Parker of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She joined BET as Vice President of BET's legal affairs department and general counsel in 1986. She was BET's corporate secretary, president, and publisher of BET's publishing division, which published Emerge magazine, YSB magazine, BET Weekend, and Heart & Soul magazine. In 1996, Lee became BET Holdings, Inc.'s president and Chief Operating Officer (COO). She was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the parent company of Black Entertainment Television from 2005 to 2018.
Lee has sat on the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the Ad Council, the National Cable Television Association, Marriott, Revlon, and Warner Bros. Discovery. In 2016, Lee was on the board of directors of Twitter. Under Lee, Black Entertainment Television has increased the production budget by 50% and incorporated the original programming of 16 new shows. In 2023, her memories under the title I am Debra Lee were published by Legacy Lit. She also became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 2023.
