THE GOODBYE GIRL

I never thought of myself as a suit," Sherry Lansing says. Neither did anyone else. Lansing, who began her career as a model and actress, was named president of 20th Century Fox in 1980--the first woman to run a major studio. From 1983 to 1992, she worked as a producer. At 47, she married director William Friedkin, and for the last 12 years she has run Paramount Pictures as studio chairman. Over her three-decade career she has presided over a long list of culture-defining films, including "Kramer vs. Kramer," "The China Syndrome," "Fatal Attraction," "The Accused," "Forrest Gump," "The First Wives Club," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic." But the last two years have been tough at Paramount. Once a top-grossing studio, it ended 2004 in seventh place, and Lansing has spent the last year fighting the perception that her company lacks cash, chutzpah or both. Last November she announced that she planned to leave Paramount--and the film business--behind. Industry gossip speculated that she had been forced out. Lansing says she's been planning her exit for years, and it's hard to imagine anyone more excited about a new beginning. As former talent manager Brad Grey prepared to take over on March 1, Lansing sat down with NEWSWEEK for an exclusive exit interview.

NEWSWEEK: Why now, after 12 years as chairman of Paramount, have you decided to leave the movie business?

LANSING: I want to have more fun. [Laughs] I've led a completely structured life for the last 12 years. I want more spontaneity. I want to have more quiet moments. I want more love and intimacy. Just once, I'd like to go on vacation and be able to say to my husband, "It's nice here. Let's stay an extra day."

Was stepping down a hard decision?

No. For five or six years now I've said I was going to stop working when I'm 60. It's an artificial demarcation, maybe, but I feel like 60 is the new 50. You're still young and vital enough to have a third chapter. I've loved my work, but that's not the third chapter that I want to have.

In 1980 you became the first woman ever to run a studio when 20th Century Fox hired you as president of production. Did it feel as if you were making history?