Unlike many other studio heads, Laemmle took a cautious role in film-making, choosing not to open a theater chain and financing the movies himself without putting the studio in debt.

Laemmle, along with a number of film producers in Hollywood, formed the studio with the intent to capitalize on the system. The studio was the brainchild of Carl Laemmle Sr., a German-born Jewish immigrant who played a crucial role in the creation of the star system of film-making. The studio is symbolized by an image of a globe, which has undergone many changes, the most recent being in 2012 for its 100th anniversary.

Universal's headquarters, Universal City, was one of the first purpose-built studio lots ever built, and is now a major tourist attraction as well as a working studio. Universal Pictures (aka Universal or Universal Studios) is one of the five major American movie studios, and the longest-lived Hollywood studio, dating all the way back to 1912 (predating Paramount Pictures by just over a week).

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