Linda Duncombe, Banker Turned Producer, Dies at 55
Linda Duncombe, a longtime banking executive who spent the last two years as an independent film producer, died on Sunday of complications from a stroke. She was 55. Her death was reported by Variety on 12 October 2026, which also reported that she had been diagnosed with Stage 2 lung cancer days earlier.
She was born on 10 February 1971 in Australia. She enrolled in Harvard Business School in 2008. She moved to the United States in 2015, living first in New York and then in Santa Monica near the beach.
She began her banking career at Citibank in Australia in 2010. Her first role was marketing director of digital and customer experience. She rose to managing director, head of growth and chief marketing officer. She then transferred to New York as a founding member of Citi Fintech, the bank's digital banking arm.
She joined City National Bank in Los Angeles in early 2019. She served for five years as chief marketing officer, the executive in charge of how the bank presents itself and finds clients. It is detailed, public-facing work. It is also close to the money.
During the pandemic she led efforts at the bank to deliver more than $1.8 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans to support the entertainment industry. The Program was a United States federal effort to keep workers paid during shutdowns. Crews were idle. Productions were paused. The loans kept wages moving.
She also helped direct more than $12 million in investments tied to charitable organisations including Habitat for Humanity, Broadway Cares, SAG-AFTRA, the United States actors' union, and the Grammy Museum. Her work was recognised in industry lists. She was included in Variety's Women's Impact Report in 2021, listed in the Class of 2022 as executive vice-president and chief marketing, product and digital officer, and listed in the Power of Women in Hollywood 2023 as executive vice-president and chief marketing, data and digital officer, according to Variety.
In her final two years she turned to producing. An independent producer develops films outside the major studio system, often raising finance film by film. She produced two films, 'The Queen's Jewels' and 'Killing Time'. Both are planning a global release in 2027, according to Variety.
Her last public appearance was at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's The Evening Before the Primetime Emmy Awards on 13 September. The Fund supports workers in film and television. She was 55.
