The Golden Globe Awards are among the most prestigious accolades in the entertainment industry, alongside the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys. They are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize outstanding achievements in the film and television industries over the past year. The awards are presented during a major televised ceremony attended by prominent actors and industry professionals. Categories include Best Motion Picture, Best Animated Film, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress, divided into genres like drama and comedy. Additionally, awards are given to various other artistic contributors such as writers, directors, and composers. Television awards cover categories like drama, comedy, and musical series. Winners are selected through a voting process conducted by HFPA members, with recipients receiving a small statuette featuring a globe surrounded by a film reel.

History of the Golden Globe Awards

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was established in 1943 by foreign journalists residing in Los Angeles, who aimed to develop advanced methods for organizing and distributing film news to non-American markets. One of the association’s initial major efforts was to create an awards ceremony similar to the Oscars to honor cinematic achievements. The inaugural Golden Globe Awards ceremony, dedicated to recognizing the best accomplishments in film for 1943, was held in January 1944 at the 20th Century-Fox Studios. Subsequent ceremonies were held at various locations throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1950, the association introduced a special honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. The first recipient was director and producer Cecil B. DeMille, leading to the official naming of the award as the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In 1956, during the 13th Golden Globe Awards, the first television excellence award was presented. By the 19th ceremony in 1962, the award was given in three categories: Best Television Series, Best Television Actor, and Best Television Actress. Starting in 1963, awards were presented by one or more individuals referred to as “Miss Golden Globe,” a title renamed “Golden Globe Ambassador” on January 5, 2018. Traditionally, this role was held by young women or occasionally children of celebrities.

In 2019, the Carol Burnett Award was created as a television counterpart to the Cecil B. DeMille Award, named after the inaugural recipient, comedian Carol Burnett.

Golden Globe Award Rules

Eligibility

The eligibility period for Golden Globe nominations spans the calendar year from January 1 to December 31. Films must have a runtime of at least 70 minutes and be released for at least seven days in the Greater Los Angeles area starting from midnight on December 31. For Best Foreign Language Film, it is not required to be released in the United States, but must contain at least 51% of dialogue in a language other than English and be released first in its country of origin within a 14-month period from November 1 of the current year to December 31 of the following year. However, if a film is not released in its home country due to censorship, it may still qualify if it has been released for one week in the U.S. during the eligible calendar year. There is no limit to the number of films submitted from a particular country.

For television, the program must air in the U.S. during prime time hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (or 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays) and can be broadcast on television or cable. The television show must be either produced in the U.S. or a co-production between an American and foreign company. Films cannot be entered in both film and television categories. If a film is first broadcast on American television, it can be entered in television categories. If it is released in theaters, it must be entered in film categories. For television acting categories, actors must appear in at least six episodes of a television series during the eligible calendar year. For television films, actors must appear in at least five percent of the film’s scenes.

To nominate a work for a Golden Globe, HFPA members must be invited to an official screening of each eligible film by the distributor. The screening must take place in the Los Angeles area either before or within a week of the film’s release. The screening can be for a general audience or a critics’ screening and does not have to be a HFPA-only event. For television programs, they must be available for HFPA members to view in any format, including original broadcast.

Nominations and Voting

Nomination entry forms for films must be received by HFPA within ten days of the official screening, while television programs should be submitted as soon as possible before the deadline. As part of their regular journalistic duties, active HFPA members cover press conferences and conduct interviews with film and television cast members. Film press conferences should be held either before the film’s release in the Greater Los Angeles area or up to one week after.

Ballots for nominations are sent to HFPA members in November. Each member votes for their top five choices in each category, ranked from 5 to 1, with 5 being the top choice. The nominees in each category are the top five choices that receive the most votes, with 5 points for a #5 vote, 4 points for a #4 vote, and so on. After nominations are announced in mid-December, members receive the final ballot and select the winner in each category through collective voting. In case of a tie, the winner is the nominee who received the most votes in the nomination ballot.

The Golden Globe Ceremony

The Golden Globe Awards ceremony, broadcast to 167 countries worldwide, is the third most-watched awards event annually, following the Oscars and Grammys. In 2008, due to threats from writers to boycott the event as part of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, the 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony was canceled and replaced with a one-hour press conference to announce the winners.

HFPA had a long-standing contract with NBC to broadcast the ceremony live, beginning with local broadcasts in Los Angeles in 1958 and then nationally in 1964. In 1968, the Federal Communications Commission alleged that the winners were determined by lobbying groups and that winners were coerced into attending the ceremony under the threat of having the award given to another winner. NBC was blamed for its involvement in the scandal, leading to a refusal to broadcast the ceremony from 1968 to 1974.

By 2021, the HFPA faced criticism for its lack of Black representation among its members, prompting it to plan a reform package, including a 50% increase in membership over the next eighteen months, though without specifying details or a timeline. This led to Amazon Studios and Netflix announcing they would halt their activities with the association until adequate reform measures were implemented. Other media companies, including NBC, also followed suit, with NBC announcing it would not broadcast the 2022 ceremony but would consider airing the 2023 ceremony if the HFPA succeeded in its reform efforts. Following these events, the association released a timeline for its reforms.

Golden Globe Awards Categories

Film Awards

• Best Motion Picture – Drama: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1951.
• Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language: Awarded since 1948.
• Best Animated Feature Film: Awarded since 2006.
• Best Director – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1951.
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1951.
• Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1943.
• Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1947.
• Best Original Score – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1947.
• Best Original Song – Motion Picture: Awarded since 1961.
• Cecil B. DeMille Award: Awarded since 1951.

Television Awards

• Best Television Series – Drama: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Awarded since 1971.
• Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Awarded since 1981.
• Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Awarded since 1961.
• Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Awarded since 1981.
• Best Supporting Actor – Television: Awarded since 1970.
• Best Supporting Actress – Television: Awarded since 1970.
• Carol Burnett Award: Awarded since 2018.

Notable Achievements

In acting categories, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most Golden Globe wins with eight awards, followed by Alan Alda, Angela Lansbury, Shirley MacLaine, and Jack Nicholson, each with six awards. Ed Asner, Carol Burnett, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Lange, Rosalind Russell, and Kate Winslet have each won five awards. In directing, Elia Kazan leads with four wins, followed by Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman, David Lean, Martin Scorsese, and Oliver Stone, each with three wins .

In the Best Motion Picture – Drama category, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) and “The Godfather” (1972) are notable winners. The Best Television Series – Drama has been awarded to shows like “The Sopranos” and “Mad Men.”

The Golden Globe Awards continue to be a significant indicator of upcoming successes at other major awards ceremonies, including the Oscars and Emmys, often highlighting emerging talents and innovative works in film and television.