This is the Academy finally getting it right. Glenn Close and Ridley Scott — two of the most nominated people in Oscar history without a competitive win — receiving lifetime recognition sends a powerful message about honoring legacy and artistic contribution beyond just box office or trophies.
Insiders know this ceremony is loaded with emotion. Close has spent decades as the industry's ultimate bridesmaid, earning eight nominations across 40+ years and never taking home a competitive Oscar — tied for that record with Peter O'Toole. Scott's 'Gladiator' won best picture in 2000 without its director getting a single vote.
The 17th Governors Awards ceremony takes place November 15, 2026 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Glenn Close holds eight acting nominations with zero wins — tied for most ever. Floyd Norman began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1956 and was the studio's first Black animator.
For Close and Scott especially, this honorary Oscar closes a wound that the industry has been circling around for decades. And naming Floyd Norman alongside them is a meaningful signal that the Academy wants to tell a broader story about who gets remembered.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that it will present Honorary Oscars to veteran actress Glenn Close, legendary director Ridley Scott, and Disney's first Black animator Floyd Norman at its 17th Governors Awards on November 15 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler — the duo behind the influential independent production company Killer Films — will receive the Irving G.
Thalberg Memorial Award. The honors follow a vote by the Academy's Board of Governors. Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor called this year's class "five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking." She praised Close for her "unparalleled emotional range," Norman as a pioneer who broke barriers and inspired generations, Scott as a visionary with an "immeasurable impact on global cinema and culture," and Vachon and Koffler for their central role in championing bold independent storytelling.
The Thalberg Award specifically honors creative producers whose bodies of work consistently reflect high standards of excellence — a description that fits Killer Films' output almost perfectly. For Close, the recognition arrives after one of the most frustrating streaks in Oscar history. She holds eight acting nominations across more than four decades — starting with her 1982 feature debut in "The World According to Garp" and continuing through "Fatal Attraction," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Albert Nobbs," "The Wife" and "Hillbilly Elegy" — without a single competitive win.
She is tied with the late Peter O'Toole for the most acting nominations ever received without taking home a statuette. That this Honorary Award comes as career cap rather than consolation prize remains to be seen, but there's no arguing it isn't overdue. Scott's case is similarly conspicuous.
He earned directing nominations for "Thelma & Louise," "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down," plus a best picture nomination as a producer on "The Martian," yet never won any of them — even as his 2000 epic "Gladiator" walked away with five Oscars including best picture, none of which went to their director. He's the eighth-highest-grossing director of all time, with films totaling more than $5 billion worldwide, and was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 2024 for services to the British film industry.
His career spans nearly six decades and includes "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Thelma & Louise," "House of Gucci" and his most recent release, "Napoleon." Norman represents something different — a quiet landmark finally getting its due in the room where it matters most. He began at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1956, becoming the studio's first Black animator, and contributed to classics including "Sleeping Beauty," "The Sword in the Stone," "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book" and "Robin Hood." His credits extend through "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Mulan," "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc.," spanning a 65-year career that most inside animation consider irreplaceable. Vachon and Koffler's Killer Films, founded in New York in 1995, has been the engine behind some of American independent cinema's most celebrated work — "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Boys Don't Cry," "Far from Heaven," "Carol" and the 2024 best picture nominee "Past Lives." Their Thalberg recognition is widely seen as a signal that the Academy values the indie ecosystem as much as its blockbuster counterpart.
