Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Award

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Awarded for| "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes"
Country| United States
Presented by| Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
First awarded| 1957
Website| oscars.org/governors/hersholt

The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". Prior to 2009 and in 2021, this award was presented during the main Oscars ceremony. The award category was instituted in 1956 and first awarded at the 29th Academy Awards, in March 1957. Unlike the Academy Award of Merit, the awards are restricted with the nomination and voting limited to industry professionals that are members of the Board of Governors of AMPAS.[1]

## History

[edit]

The award is named after Danish American screen actor and humanitarian Jean Hersholt (1886–1956), who served as president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund for 18 years. He also served as president of AMPAS from 1945 to 1949.[2] Winners of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award are presented with an Academy Award Oscar statuette. As of the 92nd Academy Awards, there have been 39 awards presented, two of which were posthumous.[2]

## List of recipients

[edit]

Key  †  | Indicates posthumous award

|

Year  | Image  | Recipient  | Nationality  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1956 |  | Y. Frank Freeman |  USA |
1957 |  | Samuel Goldwyn |  Poland
USA |
1959 |  | Bob Hope |  UK
USA |
1960 |  | Sol Lesser |  USA |
1961 |  | George Seaton |
1962 |  | Steve Broidy |
1965 | –  | Edmond L. DePatie |
1966 | –  | George Bagnall |
1967 |  | Gregory Peck |
1968 |  | Martha Raye |
1969 |  | George Jessel |
1970 |  | Frank Sinatra |
1972 |  | Rosalind Russell |
1973 |  | Lew Wasserman |
1974 |  | Arthur B. Krim |
1975 | –  | Jules C. Stein |
1977 |  | Charlton Heston |
1978 |  | Leo Jaffe |
1979 | –  | Robert Benjamin †  |
1981 |  | Danny Kaye |
1982 | –  | Walter Mirisch |
1983 |  | Mitchell John Frankovich |
1984 |  | David L. Wolper |
1985 |  | Charles "Buddy" Rogers |
1989 |  | Howard W. Koch |
1992 |  | Audrey Hepburn[a] †  |  UK |
| Elizabeth Taylor |  USA |
1993 |  | Paul Newman |
1994 |  | Quincy Jones |
2001 |  | Arthur Hiller |  Canada |
2004 | –  | Roger Mayer |  USA |
2006 |  | Sherry Lansing |
2008 |  | Jerry Lewis |
2011 |  | Oprah Winfrey | [1]
2012 |  | Jeffrey Katzenberg
2013 |  | Angelina Jolie | [3]
2014 |  | Harry Belafonte | [4]
2015 |  | Debbie Reynolds | [5]
2019 |  | Geena Davis | [6]
2021 |  | Tyler Perry | [7]
–  | Motion Picture & Television Fund
2022 |  | Danny Glover | [8]
2023 |  | Michael J. Fox |  Canada
USA | [9]
2024 |  | Michelle Satter |  USA | [10]
2025 |  | Richard Curtis |  UK | [11]

## See also

[edit]

* List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Hepburn was alive when the Academy voted to bestow the award, but had died by the time of the awards ceremony.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Honorary Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
2. ^ a b "Academy Awards Database – AMPAS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2014-12-03.[permanent dead link‍]
3. ^ Milliken, Mary (November 17, 2013). "Angelina Jolie receives humanitarian award from Academy". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
4. ^ "Harry Belafonte, Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki And Maureen O'Hara To Receive Academy's Governors Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
5. ^ "Governors Awards: Spike Lee, Debbie Reynolds & Gena Rowlands Get 2015 Honors". 27 August 2015.
6. ^ "THE ACADEMY TO HONOR GEENA DAVIS, DAVID LYNCH, WES STUDI AND LINA WERTMÜLLER AT 2019 GOVERNORS AWARDS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
7. ^ "Tyler Perry, MPTF To Receive Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards At The 93rd Oscar Show April 25". Deadline Hollywood. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
8. ^ "Oscars: Academy To Honor Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May & Liv Ullmann At 2022 Governors Awards". Deadline Hollywood. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
9. ^ Feinberg, Scott (2022-06-21). "Academy's Governors Awards: Michael J. Fox Tapped for Hersholt Award, Diane Warren, Peter Weir and Euzhan Palcy Set for Honorary Oscars". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
10. ^ Davis, Clayton (2023-06-26). "Angela Bassett Finally Gets Her Oscar as Academy Announces 2023 Honorary Winners, Including Mel Brooks". Variety. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
11. ^ "The Academy to honor Richard Curtis, Quincy Jones, Juliet Taylor, Michael G. Wilson & Barbara Broccoli at 15th Governors Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-11-18.

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Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

1956–2009|

* Y. Frank Freeman (1956)
* Samuel Goldwyn (1957)
* Bob Hope (1959)
* Sol Lesser (1960)
* George Seaton (1961)
* Steve Broidy (1962)
* Edmond L. DePatie (1965)
* George Bagnall (1966)
* Gregory Peck (1967)
* Martha Raye (1968)
* George Jessel (1969)
* Frank Sinatra (1970)
* Rosalind Russell (1972)
* Lew Wasserman (1973)
* Arthur B. Krim (1974)
* Jules C. Stein (1975)
* Charlton Heston (1977)
* Leo Jaffe (1978)
* Robert Benjamin (1979)
* Danny Kaye (1981)
* Walter Mirisch (1982)
* M. J. Frankovich (1983)
* David L. Wolper (1984)
* Charles "Buddy" Rogers (1985)
* Howard W. Koch (1989)
* Audrey Hepburn / Elizabeth Taylor (1992)
* Paul Newman (1993)
* Quincy Jones (1994)
* Arthur Hiller (2001)
* Roger Mayer (2005)
* Sherry Lansing (2007)
* Jerry Lewis (2009)

2011–present|

* Oprah Winfrey (2011)
* Jeffrey Katzenberg (2012)
* Angelina Jolie (2013)
* Harry Belafonte (2014)
* Debbie Reynolds (2015)
* Geena Davis (2019)
* Tyler Perry / Motion Picture & Television Fund (2020)
* Danny Glover (2021)
* Michael J. Fox (2022)
* Michelle Satter (2023)
* Richard Curtis (2024)

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