The Academy has named actor Glenn Close, animator Floyd Norman, and director Ridley Scott as the 2026 Governors Awards recipients, alongside Killer Films producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. The group will ac
On Sunday, November 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out its 2026 honorary Oscars at the 17th Governors Awards event—and this year’s lineup reads like a checklist of cinema’s most enduring forces.
The Academy has officially announced that actor Glenn Close. animator Floyd Norman. and director Ridley Scott will receive Academy Honorary Awards. Killer Films producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. The recipients were voted on by the Academy’s Board of Governors.
Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor framed the selections as a celebration of lifetime impact. In a statement. Taylor said the Board of Governors was “thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking.” She added that Close’s “unparalleled emotional range” has brought complex characters to life. Norman is a “legendary animator who has broken barriers and inspired generations of artists. ” and Ridley Scott is “a true visionary” whose decades-long legacy has influenced global cinema and culture. Taylor also highlighted Vachon and Koffler’s role in American independent cinema. calling them central figures who champion “bold. ambitious and distinctive storytelling.”.
Close’s path to the Academy has long been defined by extraordinary recognition without a win. With over 100 film credits to her name. she holds the record for the most-nominated living actor never to win an Academy Award. Her eight Oscar nominations include feature film debuts and major roles across a wide stretch of her career. from “The World According to Garp” and “The Big Chill” to “The Natural. ” “Fatal Attraction. ” “Dangerous Liaisons. ” “Albert Nobbs. ” “The Wife. ” and “Hillbilly Elegy.”.
Norman’s selection highlights a different kind of breakthrough—one that changed what audiences could expect from animation. and what studios would eventually allow. Widely known as the first Black animator to have been hired at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Norman began at the company in 1956. His 65-year career began with work on “Sleeping Beauty. ” before reaching contributions that span “Mary Poppins. ” “The Jungle Book. ” and “Robin Hood. ” continuing through “The Hunchback of Notre Dame. ” “Mulan. ” “Toy Story 2. ” and “Monsters. Inc.”.
Scott arrives with a record that already marks him as one of the Academy’s most frequently recognized auteurs. He has been nominated for four Oscars—three Best Director nominations for “Thelma & Louise. ” “Gladiator. ” and “Black Hawk Down. ” plus one Best Picture nomination for “The Martian.” Over nearly 60 years. his directing credits include “Alien. ” “Blade Runner. ” “American Gangster. ” “Prometheus. ” “All the Money in the World. ” “House of Gucci. ” and “Napoleon. ” with each of those films also receiving at least one Academy Award nomination. Scott is also recently made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. and his next film is “The Dog Stars. ” out August 2026.
Vachon and Koffler’s recognition lands with a New York filmmaking heartbeat. The two producers are described as a pillar of the city’s film community through Killer Films. the trailblazing independent production company they founded in 1995. Their credits include “Boys Don’t Cry. ” which earned Hilary Swank her first Best Actress Oscar; “Still Alice. ” which earned Julianne Moore a Best Actress Oscar; and multiple Academy Award nominated films. including “Far from Heaven. ” “I’m Not There. ” “Carol. ” “First Reformed. ” “A Different Man. ” and “Past Lives.” “Past Lives” also earned the pair their first Best Picture nomination.
One program. two different honors. and one shared message emerges from the details: the Academy is tying recognition not only to awards campaigns. but also to bodies of work that reshaped careers and creative choices over decades—Close and her long history of nominations. Norman’s barrier-breaking studio entry. Scott’s near-60-year directorial influence. and Vachon and Koffler’s independent productions that repeatedly carried major stories into Oscar conversations.
The Academy’s Honorary Award is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement. exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences in any discipline. or for outstanding service to the Academy.” The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award is presented to a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.
There will not be a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award this year, as it is not an annual award, despite having been given out every year since 2020.
Glenn Close Floyd Norman Ridley Scott Killer Films Christine Vachon Pamela Koffler Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award Governors Awards Academy Honorary Awards Lynette Howell Taylor 17th Governors Awards Los Angeles 2026
So Glenn Close still hasn’t won?? wild.
Ridley Scott getting honored makes sense but isn’t this like the Oscars that nobody watches? Also Floyd Norman like from Pixar or something? I swear every time I hear that name it’s tied to animation history.
Wait, are they honoring them for 2026 like it already happened? The article says the lineup but then it’s “on Sunday, November 15” so… time is confusing. Glenn Close has like 8 nominations right, and they still let her win later?? I don’t even remember her movies anymore but I remember the headlines.
Thalberg Memorial Award for those producers—okay but isn’t Thalberg like a person not a category? I get it’s an Irving G. Thalberg thing but why can’t they just say it’s the “producers get honored” award. Also I thought Governors Awards were just for winners who finally got the Oscar, not people like Glenn Close that never won. So I guess it’s a consolation award now? idk.