I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir

A riveting memoir by the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET), about the glamorous and ugly moments of being a high-powered Black woman executive in the entertainment industry.

Debra Lee has been the visionary responsible for elevating Black images and storytelling for decades with timeless television shows like The Game and Being Mary Jane. Now she’s telling her own story, in a page-turner, filled with electrifying behind-the-scenes stories that reveal how she went from a girl raised in the segregated South to leading the first Black company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and how she juggled social responsibility while managing a company targeted toward the Black community.

Lee answers all of our questions about building an unapologetically Black enterprise as a Black woman. What to do when you’re forced to attend a board meeting eight weeks after a C-section. How to manage a team of men when you’re the first female CEO at the company. How she learned the hard way to say no to those in power when their vision didn’t align with her purpose.

I Am Debra Lee tackles lessons that women CEOs rarely dare to. She addresses her personal struggles with motherhood and ＂having it all,＂ navigating reproductive choice, fertility, and #MeToo as she helped build the leading entertainment company for Black audiences globally. As she has done her whole career, in this book, she opens the door for others to come after her, by sharing the truth behind her own inspiring story of power, perseverance, and success.

＂Debra Lee is a force! I love her candor and vulnerability within these pages. I Am Debra Lee is designed to make an impact.＂
-Alicia Keys

＂I was glued to Debra’s every word in this memoir.＂
-Taraji P. Henson

Known as the ＂Godmother of Black Entertainment,＂ Debra Lee served as the first CEO of Black Entertainment Television following the network’s founder, Robert Johnson. Prior to that, her 30+ year tenure at BET also included roles as General Counsel and COO. She is also the founder of Leading Women Defined and the co-founder of Monarch Collective--both organizations wholly dedicated to mentoring, supporting, and empowering both women and the BIPOC community at large. The proud mother of two, she splits her time between Los Angeles and New York City.