
The release of hundreds of email exchanges over the past week as a result of the hacking into Sony by a group calling themselves the Guardians of Peace has left no one more exposed than Sony Chair Amy Pascal.

The only female head of a major studio working today, Pascal got her start in the film business working as the secretary to British producer Tony Garnett after graduating from the University of California, working her way up to her current post.

A post that could now be in jeopardy after the release of racist emails and less than flattering comments about some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Already, television giant Shonda Rhimes and civil rights activist Al Sharpton have publicly labeled Pascal a racist.

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Is this the end: Amy Pascal (above with Emma Stone at the premiere of Spider-Man) has been exposed by the Sony hack

Tough position: Pascal (left with Drew Barrymore, right with Ashton Kutcher) has had hundreds of her emails leaked

Tense meeting: Pascal also had some not so kind things to say about Angelina Jolie (above) and her planned Cleopatra remake in emails

Pascal's first big break came courtesy of another individual who has been shamed as a result of these leaked emails - Scott Rudin.

Rudin offered Pascal a post at 20th Century Fox, where she would eventually become Vice President of Production.

Her career as an executive really began to take off 1988 though when she joined Columbia Pictures, which is owned by Sony, where she quickly made a name for herself by developing box office winners including Groundhog Day, A League of their Own, When Harry Met Sally and Little Women, successes that ultimately landed her the post of President at the studio in 1996.

She almost left in 2003 however, when she was passed over for the top spot at Sony in favor of Michael Lynton, brought in from AOL Europe to help Sony navigate the new digital culture.

In 2006 though, in a move that shocked many, it was announced that Pascal and Lynton would serve as co-chairman of the studio.

Many say it is the perfect marriage, as Pascal is able to predict what films will be winners and Lynton is a pro at analyzing cost benefits.

'We fight, for real, like people do,' Pascal told the New York Times in 2009.

'But nobody sees that but us. We do it in our mutual conference room.'

Insider: This after Pascal (above with Cameron Diaz and Will Smith) worked her way up from secretary to studio head

Stars: Pascal with Jack Nicolson in 2003 and Amy Adams in 2013

A-list pals: Pascal with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the premiere of Jolie's film The Tourist

In their first year working together the studio made $1.7billion domestically thanks to hits such as The Da Vinci Code.

The studio made an impressive $3billion worldwide in 2013 thanks to family friendly fare like The Smurfs 2, Grown Ups 2, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and After Earth.

In addition they also made money off of critical hits including Captain Phillips and American Hustle.

Other big films Pascal has worked on include the Spider-Man franchise, Zero Dark Thirty, The Social Network and the reboot of 21 Jump Street.

Pascal has also long been a champion for women, especially female directors such as the late Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers.

But can these successes offset the content of Pascal's emails?

Buds: Pascal pals around with Eva Mendes (left) and poses with Scott Rudin (right) who has also been shamed with the release of emails

Sweet friends: Pascal with Selma Blair, Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate at the premiere of The Sweetest Thing

Hanging with the youth: Pascal with a young Jennifer Garner (left) and at the Bad Teacher premiere with Justin Timberlake (right)

On the eve of a fundraising breakfast in November 2013 being attended by the President at the home of DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Pascal and Rudin went over things she could discuss with Obama while at the event.

'Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?' Pascal asks Rudin, a reference to the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained that dealt with the subject of slavery in the antebellum South.

'12 years,' responds Rudin, referencing another slavery film, this time Steve McQueen's 2013 Academy Award-winning work 12 Years a Slave, a very violent and brutal look at the injustice and abuse endured by the millions forced into slavery in America.

The pair then keep going, listing as many current films starring black actors as they can name, including Lee Daniels' The Butler and two Kevin Hart movies, Think Like a Man and Ride Along.

'I bet he likes Kevin Hart,' says Rudin at one point.

Rhimes wrote on Twitter following the release of these emails, 'Calling Sony comments "racially insensitive remarks" instead of 'racist'?' she tweeted. 'U can put a cherry on a pile of s*** but it don't make it a sundae.'

Ellen Pompeo, who stars in Rhimes' show Grey's Anatomy, retweeted her bosses statement.

Also weighing in on Twitter was Mia Farrow, who labeled Rudin and Pascal 'trashy.'

This as Sharpton compared Pascal and Rudin to disgraced former NBA owner Donald Sterling.

'These emails nominate Amy Pascal to be considered by some of us in the same light that we concluded and moved on the ownership of Donald Sterling of the L.A. Clippers,' he said in a statement on Thursday.

Pascal says she has spoken with Sharpton and is planning a meeting with him and Jesse Jackson.

'It was a very preliminary conversation, and we just talked about getting together and hoping to discuss a healing process,' she told The Hollywood Reporter.

Handsome stars: Pascal and Matt Damon at the premiere of True Grit

Academy Award-winning talent: Pascal with George Clooney at the premiere of Monuments Men (left) and Meryl Streep at the premiere of Hope Springs (right)

Her moment: Pascal receiving the Glamour Woman of the Year award in 2002 from Jennifer Lopez

There are also emails in which Rudin called Angelina Jolie 'a minimally talented spoiled brat' while discussing with Pascal who would direct her upcoming remake of the classic film flop Cleopatra, a situation that no doubt made an encounter between Pascal and Jolie on Wednesday very awkward and tense

Pascal issued an apology saying: 'The content of my emails were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am.'

She then added, 'although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.'

Thursday evening she granted her first interview since the scandal to The Wrap, and seemed surprisingly calm about the scandal.

'I have a studio to run. We are putting movies out,' she said.

'Everyone here is working. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. It's business as usual here.'

When asked if she thought she might lose her job, she said; 'I hope that's not true. I hope that's not true. I don't think it's true. I'd be surprised if my entire legacy was based on the leak of the email exchange.'

Out and about: Pascal attended the premiere of The Interview Thursday evening

Ladies night: Pascal and Jodie Foster (left) and out with Modern Family star Julie Bowen (right)

Big night: Pascal poses with Jamie Foxx and his daughter at the Spider-Man premiere

Then came the shocker, when Pascal revealed that the hackers have the emails of every individual in the company for the past 10 years.

'I imagine that all the information that was stolen for this company will be available at some point if people want to find it,' said Pascal.

She continued to put on a brave face on Thursday night when she attended the Los Angeles premiere of The Interview, the film that is at the center of the hack.

Though press was not allowed at the event, Seth Rogen did take a moment to praiswe the studio head, saying; 'We want to thank Amy Pascal for having the balls to make this movie.'

There has been speculation hackers in North Korea took the Sony information in an attempt to stop the release of the film, which stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as two men sent to kill Kim Jong-un.

Awards contenders: Pascal with Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass at the premiere of Captain Phillips

Good looking crowd: pascal with Colin Farrell (left) and with Drew Barrymore as she receives her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (right)

Powerhouses: Pascal with Disney chairman Anne Sweeney and Oprah Winfrey

The controversy over the film and the release of the emails has led some observers to question Pascal's future at Sony.

'Typically, somebody senior's head rolls when there is a hacking scandal, and the embarrassing email disclosures just help determine who that is going to be in this case,' said Laura Martin, senior media analyst for Needham & Co told the LA Times.

'If she becomes the weak link because people believe she can't actually work in the business, it's just, OK, now we know who it is going to be. None of it is particularly fair, but if somebody's head has to roll, they are looking for the path of least resistance.'

Pascal is still finding the silver lining however in this awful situation.

'Everyone is banding together to get through this.' she said.