Shari Redstone

Redstone was born into a Jewish family and is the daughter of Phyllis Gloria Raphael and Sumner Redstone, and the sister of Brent Redstone. Her grandfather was Michael Redstone, who was the original founder of National Amusements, the parent company that now owns the majority of the Redstone media empire. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tufts University in 1975. She later received her J.D. degree in 1978 and her LL.M. degree in 1980 from Boston University School of Law.

Redstone practiced corporate law, estate planning and criminal law in the Boston area before joining National Amusements.

1990s–2016

In 1999, Redstone became president of National Amusements, one of the top ten movie exhibitors in the United States. During her tenure, she expanded the company's international footprint and its exploration of new technologies.

In 2007, Redstone and her father feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. Documents have been made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner's first divorce, all of Sumner's stock is in irrevocable trusts that will be left to his grandchildren.

In 2010, Redstone and her partners purchased the theaters that they had built, and formed Rising Star Media, of which she was chairman, and turned it into the country's top-grossing cinema chain. Redstone and her partners then sold Rising Star Media to Russian theater operator Cinema Park in 2011.

In 2011, Redstone became co-founder and managing partner of Advancit Capital LLC, an investment platform focusing on early stage in media, entertainment and technology. She was a co-chairman of MovieTickets.com before its sale to Fandango Media in 2017, and is a member of the board of directors and executive committee for the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO).

Redstone married and later divorced Rabbi Ira A. Korff, and they have three children, Tyler, Kimberlee and Brandon. Her ex-husband was president and director of National Amusements until 1994, two years after the divorce.

She is an observant Jew.

In June 2025, it was reported that Redstone had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier in the spring and had surgery the previous month.

As of January 2018, Redstone is a member of the board of directors at Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the board of trustees at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is also on the board of directors of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Redstone joined the board and executive committee of "Our Time", a mass-membership organization that stands for the economic interests and political inclusion of young Americans aged 18–30. She sat on the local advisory board and executive committee for BUILD, a nonprofit organization that uses entrepreneurship to propel low income youth through high school and into college.

Political views

She has expressed support for Israel, saying: "They're one of the few nations that really represent a democratic society." In October 2024, she defended CBS Mornings anchor Tony Dokoupil over his confrontational interview with pro-Palestinian author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his book The Message, saying “I’m very glad that we gave [Coates] an opportunity to speak, but we have to also provide the opportunity to challenge him on what he says.”