Glenn Close, Ridley Scott and Floyd Norman to receive honorary Oscars at 2026 Governors Awards

A long-overdue embrace

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that Glenn Close, Ridley Scott and Floyd Norman will receive honorary Oscars at the 17th Governors Awards. The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, 15 November, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is now an Oscar statuette rather than a bust of the award's namesake.

The academy's Board of Governors is thrilled to present this year's Governors Awards to five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking.

Close and Scott have been nominated repeatedly without ever winning a competitive Oscar. Close holds eight acting nominations and no wins, tying her with the late Peter O'Toole for the most acting nominations without a win in Oscar history. Scott has four nominations (three for directing, one for producing best picture) and has also never taken home a statuette, even though his film "Gladiator" won five Oscars including best picture.

Glenn Close's five-decade career

Close's eight nominations began with her feature film debut in "The World According to Garp" in 1983. She was subsequently nominated for "The Big Chill," "The Natural," "Fatal Attraction," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Albert Nobbs," "The Wife" and "Hillbilly Elegy." Her career spans more than five decades and over 100 film credits, including "Jagged Edge," "Reversal of Fortune," "Hamlet," "101 Dalmatians," "Mars Attacks!," "Air Force One" and "The Stepford Wives."

Throughout her extraordinary body of work, Glenn Close's unparalleled emotional range has brought to life some of the most complex characters in cinema.

Close also won her third Tony Award for best lead actress in a musical for her role in the revival of "Sunset Boulevard."

Ridley Scott's six-decade legacy

Scott, now 88, did not begin his feature directorial career until he was 40. His four Oscar nominations include three for best director ("Thelma & Louise," "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down") and one for best picture ("The Martian"). Over nearly 60 years he has directed films including "Alien," "Blade Runner," "American Gangster," "Prometheus," "All the Money in the World" and "House of Gucci." He also received a Grammy nomination for best compilation soundtrack for visual media in 2009 for his work on "American Gangster."

Sir Ridley Scott is a true visionary whose decades-long legacy has left an immeasurable impact on global cinema and culture.

Floyd Norman and the Thalberg recipients

Floyd Norman is widely known as the first Black animator hired at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He started at the company in 1956 and his 65-year career began with work on "Sleeping Beauty." He went on to contribute to films including "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book," "Robin Hood," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Mulan," "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc."

Floyd Norman is the legendary animator who has broken barriers and inspired generations of artists over his remarkable career.

Producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, founders of Killer Films, will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. The award is presented to a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production. Vachon and Koffler lost in their only Oscar nomination as producers of best picture nominee "Past Lives."

Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler play a central role in American independent cinema, championing bold, ambitious and distinctive storytelling.

The Governors Awards

The Governors Awards often honour artists with legendary careers but no competitive Oscar. Tom Cruise, a recipient last year, is a case in point. The 17th edition of the event is presented in partnership with Rolex. All five recipients were voted on by the Academy's Board of Governors.