Glenn Close at a film premiere (file photo, 2014: Mingle Media TV via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0). This is a file photo, not from the Governors Awards.
Tonight, Sunday, November 15, 2026, Glenn Close will finally get to hold an Oscar statuette and make an acceptance speech — something she has waited 43 years to do.
The 79-year-old acting legend will receive an Academy Honorary Award at the 17th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. After eight nominations and eight losses, one of the greatest actors of her generation is finally getting the recognition she has deserved for decades.
"I got my first Oscar nomination 43 years ago," Close told The Associated Press this week. "So it's been a life, you know? And it's overwhelming."
Eight Nominations, Zero Wins — Until Tonight
Close's Oscar story is one of the most famous near-misses in Hollywood history. Her eight nominations tie her with the late Peter O'Toole for the most nominations for an actor without a win.
It started in 1983, when she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in The World According to Garp. The nominations kept coming — The Big Chill, The Natural, her unforgettable turn as Alex Forrest in 1987's Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs, The Wife, and most recently Hillbilly Elegy in 2020. Every time, she went home empty-handed.
Yet she has won virtually every other major award — three Emmys, three Tonys and three Golden Globes. The Oscar was the only one that kept slipping away. Tonight, that changes. The Honorary Award recognises "extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement" — and few careers fit that description better.
Ridley Scott's Night Too
Close is not the only Hollywood giant finally getting his due tonight. Director Ridley Scott, 88, will also receive an Honorary Oscar — despite a career that includes Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator.
Scott has been nominated four times and never won: Best Director for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, plus a Best Picture nomination for The Martian. Gladiator won Best Picture at the 2001 Oscars, but Scott himself was nominated in the directing category that night.
Ridley Scott (file photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
Unlike Close, Scott will not be in the room. He is not attending the ceremony and will accept via a recorded video message. Knighted in 2024, he still had no Oscar of his own — until now.
Floyd Norman, 91 — The Animator Who Broke Barriers
The night's third Honorary Oscar goes to Disney animator Floyd Norman, 91, whose 65-year career began in 1956 when he became the first Black animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. His first Disney feature was Sleeping Beauty, and he contributed to The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and Robin Hood — and decades later to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.
Killer Films Duo Make History
Producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given for a consistently high quality of film production.
They are the first female producing team — and the first independent producers — ever to receive the honour. The pair co-founded Killer Films in 1995, and their credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch, One Hour Photo, Boys Don't Cry, Far from Heaven, Carol, May December and Past Lives, for which they earned a Best Picture nomination in 2024.
The entrance to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (file photo, 2022: Natecation via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). The Governors Awards are held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood, in the same complex.
What Are the Governors Awards?
The Governors Awards are the Academy's separate lifetime achievement ceremony. The honours used to be handed out during the main Academy Awards, but since 2009 they have had their own ceremony, chosen by a selection committee of the Board of Governors. The event is not televised, but it has become the unofficial kickoff to Hollywood's awards season. Last year, Tom Cruise was among the recipients — a reminder of just how exclusive this club is.
Why Tonight Matters
For Glenn Close, tonight is about more than a trophy. For years she has carried the label of the best actor never to win an Oscar — a title nobody wants and nobody deserves less. The honorary award does not erase those eight losses, but it finally puts a statuette in her hands and gives her the acceptance speech she has earned many times over.
And she is far from finished. Her recent credits include Four Good Days and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, proving that at 79, she is still taking on the complex roles that made her a legend. Hollywood loves a comeback story. Tonight, it gets one of its best — a 43-year wait, eight near-misses, and finally, an Oscar for Glenn Close. For more awards-season moments, see Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau at the 2026 Baby2Baby Gala and Vivienne Jolie's 'Tulip Field' art show.
FAQs
When and where are the 2026 Governors Awards?
The 17th Governors Awards take place on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
How many Oscar nominations does Glenn Close have?
Eight, with no competitive wins. Her nominations span from The World According to Garp (1983) to Hillbilly Elegy (2020), tying Peter O'Toole's record for the most nominations without a win.
Has Ridley Scott ever won an Oscar?
No. Scott has four nominations — Best Director for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, and Best Picture for The Martian — and the 2026 Honorary Oscar is his first Academy Award.
Who else is being honoured at the 2026 Governors Awards?
Disney animator Floyd Norman receives an Honorary Oscar, while producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler of Killer Films receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences press release (press.oscars.org); Associated Press, "Glenn Close and Ridley Scott to get honorary Oscars at Governors Awards," November 15, 2026.