Viola Davis is set to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2025 Golden Globes.

The Oscar-winning actress will receive the honorary Golden Globe, named after legendary director DeMille, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the world of entertainment.

She will receive the honour during the ceremony on Sunday 5 January and be celebrated at a gala dinner on Friday 3 January, marking the first time the organisers will host an evening dedicated to the recipients of its honorary awards.

“Viola Davis is a luminary whose profound talent has continuously shifted the lens through which we see and understand film,” Helen Hoehne, president of the Golden Globes, said in a statement. “Presenting her with the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award is not only an honour but a reflection of our admiration for her relentless dedication to her craft and her monumental impact on the industry. Viola’s courage in portraying complex, powerful characters has broken barriers and paved new paths, making her an emblem of excellence and an ideal recipient of this prestigious award.”

The Cecil B. DeMille Award has been presented most years since 1952 and there have been 69 honourees so far. Davis will be the sixth Black performer to receive the honour following Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey and Eddie Murphy.

Davis, 59, has been nominated for seven Golden Globes throughout her career, and she won Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for Fences.

She achieved EGOT status in 2023 after she won a Grammy for her audiobook Finding Me. The Grammy joined her Oscar for Fences, Emmy for How to Get Away With Murder and two Tonys for King Hedley II and the stage version of Fences.

The 2025 Golden Globes will be hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on 5 January.

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