Julia Roberts to receive Icon Award at second annual Academy Museum Gala

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced that Academy Award-winning actor Julia Roberts, whose career spans three decades, will be honoured with the Academy Museum Gala Icon Award.

She will join previously announced honorees Miky Lee, Steve McQueen, and Tilda Swinton, each set to be recognized for their invaluable contributions to cinema, at the second annual Academy Museum Gala being held on October 15, 2022.

The evening 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 awards presented at the Gala will include:

• The Icon Award, presented to Julia Roberts, celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact.
• The Vantage Award, presented to Steve McQueen, honoring an artist or scholar who has helped to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.
• The Visionary Award, presented to Tilda Swinton, honoring an artist or scholar whose extensive oeuvre has advanced the art of cinema.
• The Pillar Award, presented to Miky Lee, which acknowledges exemplary leadership and support for the Academy Museum.

“Over the course of her expansive and renowned career, Julia has embodied iconic characters and memorable roles,” said Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum. “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.”

The 2022 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee, also announced today, includes Adrien Brody, Amanda Seyfried & Thomas Sadoski, Ariana DeBose, Awkwafina, Billie Lourd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chloë 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 & 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, Selma Blair, among many others.

The awards, presented annually at the Academy Museum Gala, reflect the museum’s mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema and to expand knowledge and conversation about cinema as a global artform and cultural force.

The evening raises vital funds to support the museum’s access, education, and programming initiatives. The inaugural 2021 gala raised more than $11MM.

Overseeing event production and design are Gala Creative Director Lisa Love, and Artistic Director Raul Àvila.