Dolly Parton has won 10 Grammys and a Primetime Emmy, among countless other awards. Soon, she’ll have an Oscar statuette to add to her collection.
On Nov. 16, the country music legend is slated to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscars’ annual Governors Awards. Parton will join a short list of music stars who have received this award, including Frank Sinatra (1970), Quincy Jones (1994), Harry Belafonte (2014) and Debbie Reynolds (2015).
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors also voted to present Honorary Awards to Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise and Wynn Thomas. These four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 16th Governors Awards event on Sunday, Nov. 16 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.
“This year’s Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,” Academy president Janet Yang said in a statement. “The Academy’s board of governors is honored to recognize these brilliant artists.”
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is given “to an individual in the motion picture arts and sciences whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry by promoting human welfare and contributing to rectifying inequities.”
The award recognizes Parton for her decades-long humanitarian efforts. She has founded various charitable and philanthropic organizations, including the Dollywood Foundation, which was created in 1988 to inspire the children of East Tennessee — her home state — to achieve educational success. Additionally, her literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, launched in 1995 in honor of her father and has provided children with 285 million books. It evolved into an international movement and remains the signature program of the Dollywood Foundation.
Parton has starred in such films as Nine to Five and Steel Magnolias. She has earned two Oscar nominations in the best original song category for “Nine to Five” – which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 – and “Travelin’ Thru” from Transamerica.
Cruise has received four Oscar nominations: best actor for Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Jerry Maguire (1996), best supporting actor for Magnolia (1999) and best picture as a producer of Top Gun: Maverick (2022). His other notable film credits include Risky Business, A Few Good Men, Interview with the Vampire, Eyes Wide Shut, Vanilla Sky and the Mission: Impossible film series.
An Academy statement credited Cruise with “help(ing) to usher the industry through a challenging time during the COVID-19 pandemic.” It also praised him for “showcasing a deep commitment to his craft – including performing all of his own stunts.”
Allen is being recognized for her work over nearly five decades as a choreographer, actor, and producer. She choreographed the Oscar ceremony seven times, as well as films including Forget Paris, A Jazzman’s Blues and The Six Triple Eight. Her producing credits include Amistad and A Star for Rose. Allen made her mark as an actress with Fame, Ragtime and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling.
Production designer Thomas began his career working on Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, which was the first of several collaborations between the two. Others include Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and Da 5 Bloods. Lee received an Honorary Oscar in 2015. Other notable credits from Thomas’ career include the best picture-winning A Beautiful Mind, as well as Cinderella Man and Hidden Figures.
