Academy Museum selects Julia Roberts to receive Icon Award

Julia Roberts will join an all-star cast at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ second annual gala in October and be honored with the museum’s Icon Award, it was announced Friday.

Roberts, whose acting career spans three decades, will be honored along with producer Miky Lee, director Steve McQueen and actress Tilda Swinton at the second annual Academy Museum Gala on Oct. 15.

The awards ceremony is presented by Rolex and co-chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and Academy Museum supporter Halle Berry, Academy Museum Trustee and producer Jason Blum, Academy Museum Trustee and screenwriter- director-producer Ryan Murphy, and Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o.

The Icon Award honors an artist “whose career has had a significant global cultural impact,” according to the museum.

“Over the course of her expansive and renowned career, Julia has embodied iconic characters and memorable roles,” Jacqueline Stewart, director and president of the Academy Museum, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be honoring her continued excellence in the industry and contribution to the arts. We are deeply grateful to Julia, Miky, Steve, and Tilda, to Rolex, and to our co-chairs and host committee for making our second annual Gala an evening to remember.”

Lee will receive the Pillar Award in honor of her leadership and support for the Academy Museum, while McQueen will receive a Vantage Award, recognizing his work to “contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.”

Swinton will receive a Visionary Award, recognizing an artist “whose extensive oeuvre has advanced the art of cinema.”

The inaugural gala in 2021 raised more than $11 million. The Academy Museum’s mission is to advance understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema and to expand knowledge and conversation about cinema as a global art form and cultural force, according to the museum.

The 2022 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee, also announced Friday, includes Adrien Brody, Amanda Seyfried, Thomas Sadoski, Ariana DeBose, Awkwafina, Billie Lourd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chloe Sevigny, Colman Domingo, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Darren Criss, Eddie Redmayne, Eiza González, Elle Fanning, Emma Roberts, George C. Wolfe, Glenn Close, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Jon Hamm, Jonathan Majors, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Keke Palmer, Kid Cudi, Kirsten Dunst, Leonardo DiCaprio, Letitia Wright, Lily Collins, Lucy Liu, Natasha Lyonne, Orlando Bloom, Regina Hall, Renée Zellweger, Riley Keough, Robert Duvall, Ron Howard, Ruth Negga and Selma Blair, among others.