Claudia Eller was the recipient of the 2019 Lisa Ben Award. She is the editor-in-chief of Variety. Eller is among the best known and most respected journalists in the entertainment industry. She came to Variety from The Los Angeles Times, where she spent 20 years as a reporter and editor, most recently serving as entertainment news editor. She was a driving force in the Times’ online and print coverage of the entertainment industry. Before joining the Times, Eller worked as a film reporter for Variety from 1989 to 1993. A graduate of USC, Eller is the recipient of several journalism awards and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and Gerald Loeb Award.