Leslie Zemeckis is a best-selling author, actress, and award-winning documentarian. Critically acclaimed films include Behind the Burly Q, the award-winning Bound by Flesh, Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer and Grandes Horizontales which streams April 12, 2024 (Amazon, iTunes, Google, Vudu, etc)

She has acted in film and television opposite Steve Carell Tom Hanks, Richard Lawson, Colin Firth and Mickey Rourke.

Zemeckis is the author of three best-sellers, Behind the Burly Q, the definitive oral history of burlesque, Goddess of Love Incarnate; the Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr and Feuding Fan Dancers (an SCIBA finalist for best bio of the year), about Sally Rand, Faith Bacon and the golden age of the showgirl.

She writes a monthly book column in the Montecito Journal and has contributed to Huffington Post, Medium, Talkhouse, W Magazine and Stork Magazine. She is the founder of “Stories Matter,” sponsored by Santa Barbara International Film Festival and ENTITY Magazine, with professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers. Her Tedx talk was “Forgotten to Forever: Immortalizing Women Through Stories.”

She was honored for her work inspiring women, in 2023 with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in part for “sharing and preserving stories of women who were once marginalized and stigmatized . . .” but due to her work “these women are now celebrated for their independence and personal agency.” The Medal is officially recognized by both Houses of Congress and is one of our nation’s most prestigious awards. Past recipients include Presidents Clinton and Reagan, Elie Wiesel, Sen. John McCain and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.www.lesliezemeckis.co