Sherry Bronfman

Civic leader and philanthropist Sherry Bronfman was born in Chicago, Illinois to Vera Mae Searcy and Cecil Monroe Brewer. She enrolled in Chicago's Goodman School of Drama in 1964 before accepting a two-year scholarship to the Edward S. Harkness House in New York City, New York where she studied with Lloyd Richards and the Negro Ensemble Workshop.

In 1967, Bronfman was cast in Cab Calloway’s Tony Award-winning version of the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! starring Pearl Bailey. In the 1970s, Bronfman modeled for Essence and other magazines. She made her feature-film debut in 1971 in the movie Shaft in the role of Marcy. Bronfman also played the role of Rochina in the movie Brave New World in 1980, based on the novel by Aldous Huxley, before retiring from acting when she married the Seagram Company’s Edgar Bronfman Jr.

For decades, Bronfman has been an active philanthropist and civic leader for organizations like the Museum for African Art, the New York Public Library, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Temple of Understanding, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). She also served on the board for the National Urban League, Steiner Books, and was a founding board member of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Additionally, Bronfman has served on the advisory committee for the City College of New York Publishing Certificate Program and the admissions committee of the Westside Montessori School in London. Bronfman organized the first Art for Life benefit for the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 1995 and has raised millions of dollars for the organization over the decades. She has also organized fundraisers for children’s programming at Jazz at the Lincoln Center.

Bronfman was active in the political campaigns of former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was honored as a special guest by the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation at their 2011 Gold Rush Awards and fifteenth anniversary gala. She was featured in a 2014 episode of Unsung Hollywood, a docuseries that profiled influential African American entertainment icons.

Bronfman lives in New York City. She has three adult children, Benjamin Bronfman, Vanessa Bronfman, and Hannah Bronfman.

Sherry Bronfman was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on December 13, 2022.