Glenn Close is one of our greatest actresses, but she has been a perennial bridesmaid at the Oscars, amassing an 0-8 track record. Close will finally become an Oscar winner, albeit an honorary one, at the 17th Governors Awards on Sunday, Nov. 15. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is presenting the awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in partnership with Rolex.
The academy’s Board of Governors also voted to present Academy Honorary Awards to director Ridley Scott and animator Floyd Norman and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler.
Like Close, Scott has yet to win a competitive Oscar. He has gone 0-4 on Oscar night. Vachon and Koffler also lost in their only Oscar nod, as producers (along with David Hinojosa) of best picture nominee Past Lives.
While no one who is primarily from the world of music is being honored this year, all of these honorees have some connection to music. Scott received a Grammy nod for best compilation soundtrack for visual media in 2009 (in tandem with Kathy Nelson) for his work on American Gangster, which included such prized songs as Bobby Womack’s “Across 110th Street” and Public Enemy’s “Can’t Truss It.” Close won her third Tony Award for best lead actress in a musical for her role in the revival of Sunset Boulevard. She also received an Oscar nod for her role in The Big Chill. The Motown-saturated soundtrack made the top 20 on the Billboard 200.
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“The academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking,” academy president Lynette Howell Taylor said in a statement. “Throughout her extraordinary body of work, Glenn Close’s unparalleled emotional range has brought to life some of the most complex characters in cinema. Floyd Norman is the legendary animator who has broken barriers and inspired generations of artists over his remarkable career. Sir Ridley Scott is a true visionary whose decades-long legacy has left an immeasurable impact on global cinema and culture. Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler play a central role in American independent cinema, championing bold, ambitious and distinctive storytelling.”
The 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.
Last year’s honorees were Dolly Parton (the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) and Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise and production designer Wynn Thomas (Academy Honorary Awards). The awards were presented on Nov. 16, 2025.
Here are thumbnail sketches of this year’s honorees.
