Chaz Salembier is an American entertainment industry executive best known as Creative Vice President, Live-Action Film at LAIKA Studios, a veteran of Walt Disney Studios, and — to a wider audience — as the husband of actor and model Lio Tipton. He built his career on the studio and development side of the film business rather than in front of the camera, and his 2023 move to LAIKA put him at the center of the stop-motion studio’s expansion into live-action film and television.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Chaz Salembier |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Entertainment industry executive, producer |
| Current role | Creative Vice President, Live-Action Film, LAIKA Studios |
| Joined LAIKA | 2023, alongside Jeremy Kipp Walker (EVP, Live-Action Production) |
| Previous employer | Walt Disney Studios |
| Producer credit | Cyrano the Moor (Disney live-action musical, in development) |
| Spouse | Lio Tipton, actor and model (married 2022) |
| Education | Saint Louis University |
Who Is Chaz Salembier?
Chaz Salembier is a film and television executive whose work happens almost entirely off-camera — in development meetings, deal-making, and studio strategy rather than on a red carpet. His name surfaces most often in two contexts: entertainment trade press covering studio hires, and coverage of his marriage to Lio Tipton, the actor and model known for Crazy, Stupid, Love. and America’s Next Top Model. That pairing puts him in the same “industry partner” category as figures like Camelia Kath, better known for who they’re married to than for their own name recognition.
Career: From Walt Disney Studios to LAIKA
Disney and Cyrano the Moor
Salembier spent time at Walt Disney Studios on the creative development side, where he holds a producer credit on Cyrano the Moor — a live-action musical Disney developed as a hybrid of Shakespeare’s Othello and Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney and set to star David Oyelowo. The project was pitched as an ambitious original musical in the vein of Disney’s Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, rather than another animated remake.
The Move to LAIKA’s Live-Action Division
LAIKA — the Oregon stop-motion studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link — began building out a live-action arm in 2021, optioning John Brownlow’s novel Seventeen as its first live-action project and later naming Netflix veteran Matt Levin as President of Live-Action Film & Series. In 2023, LAIKA expanded that team further, naming Jeremy Kipp Walker Executive Vice President of Live-Action Production and Chaz Salembier Creative Vice President, Live-Action Film — the title he holds today, reporting up through LAIKA Live Action’s leadership.
The role puts Salembier on the creative and development side of a studio trying to translate its reputation for handcrafted, distinctive storytelling into live-action film and series — a very different production discipline from the frame-by-frame animation LAIKA is known for.
Personal Life: Marriage to Lio Tipton
Chaz Salembier married actor and model Lio Tipton in 2022, after the couple went Instagram official in June 2021. Tipton — a former America’s Next Top Model finalist best known for Crazy, Stupid, Love. and Warm Bodies — came out publicly as queer and non-binary on June 3, 2021, introducing themself as Lio and asking to be referred to with they/them pronouns.
A Two-Part Wedding in Wisconsin
Salembier and Tipton married in two ceremonies four days apart. They started with an intimate courthouse wedding, then held a backyard ceremony the following Saturday at Tipton’s family lake home near Minocqua, Wisconsin, in front of just 35 guests. Tipton wore a white Reformation gown found on Poshmark, their mother’s veil, and white Converse sneakers, and carried a sunflower bouquet down the aisle on their father’s arm while a cousin played acoustic guitar.
The reception kept things low-key and Midwestern: grilled brats and local Wisconsin cheese after the ceremony, followed by pizza and bar food at a nearby pub, with dancing, string lights, and a college football game playing in the background. Tipton later told PEOPLE that the small guest list let them and Salembier “truly appreciate everyone sharing such an important weekend” with them. For more on the personal side of entertainment-world couples, see our profiles of Erv Hurd and Kristine Saryan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Chaz Salembier?
Chaz Salembier is an American entertainment industry executive known for his work at Walt Disney Studios and, since 2023, as Creative Vice President, Live-Action Film at LAIKA Studios. He also holds a producer credit on the Disney project Cyrano the Moor.
Is Chaz Salembier married?
Yes. He married actor and model Lio Tipton in 2022, in a two-part wedding that began with a courthouse ceremony and continued with a backyard celebration at Tipton’s family lake home in Minocqua, Wisconsin.
What does Chaz Salembier do for a living?
He works on the studio and executive side of the film industry. After time at Walt Disney Studios, he joined LAIKA’s live-action division in 2023 as Creative Vice President, Live-Action Film.
What is Chaz Salembier’s connection to LAIKA?
He joined LAIKA in 2023 as part of the studio’s expansion into live-action film and television, alongside Jeremy Kipp Walker (Executive Vice President, Live-Action Production) and under Matt Levin, President of LAIKA Live Action Film & Series.
Is Chaz Salembier a celebrity?
Not in the traditional sense. He’s an industry executive rather than a performer, and most public coverage of him relates either to his studio career or to his marriage to Lio Tipton.
You may also read: Camelia Kath, Erv Hurd, or Kristine Saryan — more behind-the-scenes partners and figures from the entertainment world featured on Echobloomes.
