Trivia

Worked mainly as an editor for Martin Scorsese, who had tried for years to convince her to work for him. She was unable to work in Hollywood, however, because she couldn't get into the union. When Scorsese called to ask her to work on Raging Bull (1980), she again demurred because of lack of union membership. However, she believes that Al Pacino got her into the union. To this day, she does not know what influence was used to gain her union membership.

She met Martin Scorsese during a summer program at New York University, where she was taking an editing course. As she had some professional experience editing movies for late night television, she was brought in to help student director Scorsese with problems on his film.

Martin Scorsese introduced her to her husband, Michael Powell.

Describes her marriage to Michael Powell as a "blissfully happy union".

Besides being working partners, she and Martin Scorsese are also personal friends.

As of 2019, she has edited eight Oscar Best Picture nominees: Raging Bull (1980), Les Affranchis (1990), Gangs of New York (2002). Aviator (2004), Les Infiltrés (2006), Hugo Cabret (2011), Le Loup de Wall Street (2013), and The Irishman (2019), all of them directed by Martin Scorsese. The Departed is the only Best Picture winner.

Her father worked for an oil company, so she was born in Algeria, but grew up in Aruba. She did not live in the United States until her teens.

After war broke out in her birth country Algeria, she and her family moved to Aruba, where she lived until the age of 15.

She was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film culture.

Stated on Turner Classic Movies that her name is pronounced "SKoonmaker" (not SHoonmaker).

All of her editing credits--except two--for feature films and documentaries were for films that were directed by Martin Scorsese. She has won all three of her Oscars as well for editing Scorsese pictures. The exceptions are the music documentary Woodstock (1970) and feature Grace of My Heart (1996). She worked with Scorsese on both of these; he was an editor on "_Woodstock (1970)_qv)" and producer of "Grace of My Heart (1996)".

In Dutch, Schoonmaker means 'cleaner'. It's pronounced Skonemahker (actually, that k is a hard g).

Has edited every single film of Martin Scorsese's since Raging Bull (1980). She also edited Scorsese's first film, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967).

Went to Cornell University where she majored in in political science and the Russian language.

2007 - Ranked #32 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.

Announced that she will be the special host screening three of her favorite films at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan in January and February 2014: Colonel Blimp (1943), Les chaussons rouges (1948) and Une question de vie ou de mort (1946). (September 2013)

Before getting into editing, she wanted to become a diplomat.

Honorary doctor of the School of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design in Helsinki, Finland.

November 2007: Made an honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University.

When she won her first Best Film Editing Academy Award for Raging Bull (1980), the Oscar was presented to her by Jane Seymour and Richard Pryor (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles / March 31, 1981).