Medavoy began his career at Universal Studios in 1964. He rose from the mailroom to become a casting director. In 1965 he became an agent, working first at General Artist Corporation, and later as vice-president at Creative Management Agency. Joining International Famous Agency as vice-president in charge of the motion picture department in 1971, he worked with such prestigious clients as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Terrence Malick, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland and Gene Wilder, among others. In 1974, United Artists brought him in as senior vice-president of production, where he was part of the team responsible for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, and Annie Hall, all of which won the Best Picture Oscars over three successive years.

In 1978, Medavoy co-founded Orion Pictures. During his tenure, Platoon, Amadeus, Robocop, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Terminator, Dances with Wolves and Silence of the Lambs were released. In 1990, after twelve fruitful years at Orion, Medavoy became Chairman of Tri-Star Pictures. Under his aegis, the company debuted critically acclaimed box office successes Philadelphia, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (with Carolco), Sleepless in Seattle, Cliffhanger (with Carolco), The Fisher King, Legends of the Fall, and Steven Spielberg’s Hook.

Today, as chairman and co-founder of Phoenix Pictures, Mike Medavoy has brought to the screen The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Mirror Has Two Faces, U-Turn, Swept From The Sea, Bryan Singer’s critically acclaimed Apt Pupil, the box office hit Urban Legend and Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. The Thin Red Line was nominated for seven Academy Awards, received five nominations from the Chicago Film Critics and won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival plus five Golden Satellite Awards, a cinematography award for John Toll from the ASC, and nominations from the DGA and WGA for Terrence Malick. In 1999, Phoenix Pictures released the action adventure Lake Placid, written by David E. Kelly and starring Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, and Oliver Platt, plus the critically acclaimed comedy Dick, starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams.

In 2000, the company released the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes and the thriller Urban Legends: Final Cut, directed by John Ottman. On October 28, Phoenix premiered The 6th Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, prior to its domestic opening on November 17th. Mike was born in Shanghai, China in 1941 and lived in Chile from 1947 to 1957. He graduated with honors in History from UCLA in 1963.

He is married to Irena Medavoy, the Executive Vice Chairman of the charity Coach for Kids who provide free medical care for inner city kids via a mobile medical unit. Medavoy has two sons, Brian and Nicholas and resides in Los Angeles, California.