When Gwyneth Paltrow hosted a fundraiser for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso within the spring of 2022, the pair paused, arm in arm, for just a few photographs. Simply seen within the background, chatting animatedly, was Nicole Avant.
Working behind the scenes amongst L.A.’s wealthy and highly effective is the place Avant prefers to be. Though she’s typically talked about in connection with the boys in her life — her husband is Netflix Chief Govt Ted Sarandos, and her father was music government Clarence Avant — the Beverly Hills native is a power in her personal proper on this planet of politics and fundraising.
Avant rose to prominence in 2007 when she broke with a lot of Hollywood, together with her father, by supporting Barack Obama over fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton. She got down to disrupt what she described in her memoir as stodgy conventional Hollywood fundraisers, “consisting of white folks speaking to white folks about what white folks wanted.” Avant dug into her deep social circle in L.A. and regarded for youthful donors, particularly Black, Latino, Asian and Persian girls “who’ve affect, who’ve energy, who’ve smarts, and who’ve cash.”
“She made all people really feel essential,” mentioned Charles Rivkin, the chairman and chief government of the Movement Image Assn., who co-chaired Obama’s Southern California finance committee with Avant. She was a “power of nature,” he mentioned (and “not shy” about sharing her opinions with the candidate). Avant later served as ambassador to the Bahamas through the Obama administration.
Nicole Avant, left, attends the Netflix Golden Globes after-party in Los Angeles with actors Lena Waithe, middle, and Aziz Ansari on Jan. 5, 2020.
(Charley Gallay / Getty Photographs / Netflix)
Fifteen years later, Avant’s large circle retains her in excessive demand amongst Democrats who hope she will be able to open doorways and checkbooks on the Westside. She has raised cash for Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg.
Avant’s mom was shot and killed in a home-invasion theft in Beverly Hills in late 2021. After the tragedy, Avant turned a vocal supporter of Caruso’s law-and-order platform.
Caruso mentioned Avant urged him to run, and, later, labored the telephones to spice up his recognition with Black Angelenos, leisure business leaders and highly effective girls throughout Los Angeles. Her affect, Caruso mentioned, “spans quite a lot of completely different teams.”
Charming, forceful and by no means afraid to ask for one thing, Avant, 56, has been recognized to sweet-talk buddies into internet hosting political occasions by convincing them it might be enjoyable, somewhat than a chore. Mentioned one strategist, who requested anonymity to talk frankly: “She is decided, and she or he is a professional at separating folks from their cash.”
