Polaris PR CEO Staci Wolfe Retires; Alana Kass Takes Over Client List That Includes Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Allen & Albert Hughes, Gordon Ramsay, David Copperfield, Gary Sinise & More

Mike Fleming Jr
·4 min read
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Staci Wolfe is retiring. She’s the founder/CEO of Polaris PR, the agency that reps such talent as Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, filmmakers Allen & Albert Hughes, Gary Sinise, David Copperfield, Matt Dillon, Eric Bana, Aaron Eckhart, Donal Logue, and Gordon Ramsay. Her longtime associate Alana Kass will take the helm of the agency.

Kass joined Polaris in 2011 after working for several years with the late awards consultant Ronni Chasen, and she has been instrumental in the campaigns of all of the company’s clients as well as her own roster including Jonathan Van Ness.

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While the twin strikes, social media toxicity and polarized world probably has plenty of Hollywood vets counting the days until that gold watch, Wolfe’s story is different. She’s only 56, and has long been a preeminent publicist. But she has been at it for 34 years and hung on to a vow she made to herself, to leave while still young enough to enjoy retirement. Her mother’s death forged that urgency.

Wolfe started career in 1989 as an intern at Levine/Schneider while at USC and caught on there as a junior publicist and created a “Breakout Division” at the company, traveling from festival to festival during her vacation time to sign emerging talent including Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, The Hughes Bros, Edward Furlong, and Sandra Bullock. She teamed with one of my all-time favorite publicists, the late Eddie Michaels, and Karynne Tencer, and then peeled off to form Polaris and rep a small group of clients that included Kevin Spacey, whom she repped by 22 years.

Why leave? Turns out it has been on her mind since those early days.

“When I turned 16 years old, my mother told me to walk down Ventura Blvd, and not come home until I had a job,” she said. “So that’s exactly what I did, and luckily it only took four blocks. I have never been without a job since. I put myself through college, took a 3-day maternity leave to have my first child, squeaked out a 2-week maternity leave to have my second, and raised my daughters as a single mother.

“I have never felt defined by my work, cared about being wealthy, having a huge home, or keeping up with the Joneses,” she said. “I just wanted to be able to take care of my family, and to be respected professionally.  If you are honest and work hard, everything falls into place. My mother passed away from Ovarian Cancer at 50, when I was just 20 years old, and still in college.  That informed my lifelong dream to retire in my 50’s….to have the opportunity to enjoy the second half of my life in a way that my mother – my role model, my hero, and my best friend – never could. I discovered at 46 that I too carried the same cancer gene that had taken her life, and the life of numerous other women in her family.  So, I had every preventative surgery possible to be here for my two incredible daughters Phillene and Gracie, and for the love of my life Robert Boyland.  The day I surpassed my mother’s age was not lost on me.”

Now, this isn’t meant to be a sad story, but it will resonate with people on all sides of this racket who work endless hours, and spend the rest of their waking moments thinking about work. Throw in a global pandemic and the ever-shifting tectonic plates of the film and TV businesses in this digital age, and it is small wonder many burn out early.

“I noticed acutely each loss of family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances way too young,” Wolfe said.  “The time in isolation during COVID forced us all to re-examine our lives, and ironically gave us the gift of precious and undivided time with our loved ones, and it’s changed us all forever.  My daughters are now both ‘fully baked’ and in the throws of pursuing their own passions.  I’ve had my time….now it’s theirs….and time for me to get to enjoy being fully present for all the people I love.

“It’s been an incredible journey filled with a lifetime of unforgettable memories for which I am truly grateful,” she said. “I have accomplished everything I set out to do in my career, and had the honor and privilege to contribute to the careers and share the lives of incredibly gifted clients and colleagues.  So now I’m fulfilling another one of my lifelong dreams….to retire in my 50’s.  I’m eager as I enter the third chapter of my life to devote even more time to my family and friends, and to pursue the lifelong creative interests that I have not been able to entertain given the demands of the job……and for that I am so excited! I look forward to continuing the lifelong friendships I’ve made.

“I’m transitioning Polaris PR over to Alana Kass, an exceptional publicist and human being.  She has been unwavering in her commitment and devotion to all our clients for as long as we all can remember.”

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