Leigh Anne Brodsky, a beloved wife, mother, sister, friend, mentor, and prominent licensing executive who once served as President of Nickelodeon Consumer Products, died peacefully on Friday, October 3, 2025, in New York City, surrounded by her husband, Greg, daughter, Allie, and son, Daniel. Her death at age 67 was due to complications from dementia.
Leigh Anne Brodsky (nee Conyngham) grew up in Glen View, IL, and moved as a teenager to Wyckoff, NJ, with her parents and five siblings. She graduated from Holy Cross in 1978 with job offers at the WSJ and United Media. The latter, for $13K annually, set her on an award-winning career as a licensing executive, culminating in her longtime role as President of Consumer Products for Nickelodeon.
In 2011, Leigh Anne became the 36th inductee into the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame, as a visionary who helped lead the development and growth of such iconic characters as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues, and for her earlier work with Charles Schulz's Peanuts and Jim Davis' Garfield. Both of those giants preceded her into the Hall. Her many accolades include Entertainment Marketer of the Year by Ad Age in 2003.
At Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, she developed a variety of consumer campaigns for Saturday Night Live and its film spinoff Wayne's World. She had a profound influence on her colleagues and team, and emphasized that a business deal required an "=" sign. As her career thrived, Leigh Anne's family and friends remained her priority.
Leigh Anne was often cast as the lead in her high school and college musicals, retained a lifelong love of theater and sang all the time, wherever she was. She loved spending time with "the gals," frequent family trips to Cape Cod and Woodstock, was a great cook, loved to entertain and delighted in the planning. She relished her walks with her two labs, Ella and Pippa. She met Greg in 1984 and they named their future children on their third date. They were ultimately her proudest accomplishment. She is also survived by a sister, Peggy (Don), and brothers Nick (Beth), Kevin (Liz) and Brian (Christine), as well as her son's wife, Angel, and sister- in-law, Ann. She was predeceased by a brother, Sean (Brenda).
A mass and celebration of her life will be held Thursday, October 9, 2025 at Ascension Church, 221 W 107 St at 10am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation (
CBTF.org) where Leigh Anne was a longtime board member and
DementiaSociety.org.
Visitors are also invited to share memories and condolences for Leigh Anne on her official obituary page on
Legacy.com.
R.I.P. Leigh Anne Brodsky.
