Jean Hersholt Humanitarian 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 award	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

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

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]
2026		Dolly Parton	USA	[12]

See also

• List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees

Notes

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

References

1. "Honorary Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
2. "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.
12. "THE ACADEMY TO HONOR DEBBIE ALLEN, TOM CRUISE, DOLLY PARTON AND WYNN THOMAS AT THE 2025 GOVERNORS AWARDS". press.oscars.org. Retrieved 2025-06-17.