Glenn Close, Ridley Scott, Floyd Norman, and Independent Producers to Receive Honorary Oscars at 2026 Governors Awards
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that actress Glenn Close, director Ridley Scott, and animator Floyd Norman will receive Honorary Oscars, while producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 17th Governors Awards on November 15, 2026. Close holds eight acting nominations with no wins — tied with the late Peter O'Toole for the most acting nominations without a competitive win in Oscar history — while Scott has four nominations and no wins despite directing landmark films including Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator. The recognition closes a long-noted gap for two of Hollywood's most celebrated artists and honors Norman's pioneering role as Disney's first Black animator alongside Vachon and Koffler's decades of championing independent cinema.
The Academy's Board of Governors voted to present Honorary Oscars to Glenn Close, 79, Ridley Scott, 88, and Floyd Norman, 90, at the 17th annual Governors Awards ceremony to be held November 15 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Close, whose eight acting nominations span from 1982's The World According to Garp through 2020's Hillbilly Elegy, has never won a competitive Oscar despite also earning three Emmys, three Tonys, three Grammys, and three Golden Globes. Scott, whose films have collectively grossed approximately $5 billion worldwide, received directing nominations for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down, plus a producing nomination for The Martian, but has likewise never taken home a statuette. Norman began his 65-year career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1956, becoming the studio's first Black animator and contributing to classics including Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and later Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Producers Christine Vachon and Koffler, who co-founded Killer Films in 1995, will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in recognition of their body of work in independent film, which includes Boys Don't Cry, Carol, and Past Lives — the last of which earned them their sole competitive Oscar nomination for Best Picture in 2024. Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor praised all five honorees for work that has "forever shaped the art of filmmaking."
What's missing
None of the sources address whether any of the honorees have publicly commented on receiving the awards, nor do they explain why the Academy's Board of Governors chose these five recipients in this particular year over other long-overlooked candidates.
How coverage differed
The Guardian framed the story with an emphasis on Close and Scott having been "snubbed" by the Oscars, lending a slightly more critical tone toward the Academy, while outlets like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter presented the honors in a more celebratory, industry-insider context with extensive career detail. The Guardian also briefly noted Norman's uncredited early work, subtly highlighting a historical inequity that other outlets did not foreground.
What different sources said
- UPICenter
Glenn Close, Ridley Scott to receive honorary Oscars
- NewserCenter
Glenn Close Is Finally Getting an Oscar
- ForbesCenter
Ridley Scott And Glenn Close Among 2026 Honorary Oscar Recipients
Glenn Close and Ridley Scott among names set to receive honorary Oscars
- The Hollywood ReporterCenter
Film Academy Taps Glenn Close, Floyd Norman and Ridley Scott for Honorary Awards, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler for Thalberg Award
- VarietyCenter
Oscars: Glenn Close, Ridley Scott, Disney’s First Black Animator and Killer Films Founders Set for Honorary Prizes
- AP NewsCenter
Glenn Close will get an Oscar at last — honorarily. So will Ridley Scott and animator Floyd Norman
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