3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala to Honor Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Sofia Coppola

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced details of its third annual fundraising gala, to be held on October 14, 2023. The Academy Museum Gala will celebrate the acclaimed museum’s two-year anniversary and will honor three-time Academy Award-winner and 21-time Academy Award-nominated actor Meryl Streep, award-winning actor, producer and director Michael B. Jordan, Academy Award-nominated actress and producer, author, and global media leader Oprah Winfrey, and Academy Award-winning and three-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and actor Sofia Coppola.

As a fundraiser, the event has been greenlit to move forward by WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The evening will help raise vital funds to support museum exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming, including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the local community of Los Angeles. Supported by Rolex, the official watch partner and founding supporter of the Academy Museum, the Gala is being co-chaired by Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay, Academy Museum Trustee, physician, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dr. Eric Esrailian, Academy Award-winning actor and Academy Museum supporter Halle Berry, and Academy Museum Trustee and screenwriter, director, producer Ryan Murphy. 

“We are excited to gather again at our third annual Academy Museum Gala to celebrate the power, global impact, and indelible importance of cinema. I am truly honored to recognize four artists, Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola, whose creativity and passion have inspired and shaped our culture in such powerful ways,” said Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum. “We are truly grateful to our co-chairs Ava DuVernay, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Halle Berry and Ryan Murphy, for hosting this special evening and to Rolex for their continued support of the Museum and cinema worldwide.” 

The four awards presented at the Academy Museum Gala reflect the museum’s continued mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of film and to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema. The awards presented at this year’s gala include: 

• The Icon Award, presented to Meryl Streep, celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact.
• The Vantage Award, presented to Michael B. Jordan, honoring an emerging artist or scholar who is helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.
• The Pillar Award, presented to Oprah Winfrey, which acknowledges exemplary leadership and support for the Academy Museum.
• The Visionary Award, presented to Sofia Coppola, honoring an artist or scholar whose innovations have advanced the art of cinema.

The 2023 Academy Gala Host Committee, also announced today, includes Adrien Brody, Aldis Hodge, Ariana DeBose, Ashley Park, Billie Lourd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Catherine Martin, Chloë Sevigny, Colin Farrell, Colman Domingo, Dakota Fanning, Danielle Deadwyler, Demi Moore, Don Cheadle, Eddie Redmayne, Elle Fanning, Eve Hewson, Gabrielle Union, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Goldie Hawn, Jared Leto, Jay Ellis, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner Smith, Joel Kim Booster, John Travolta, Kate Hudson, Keke Palmer, Kirsten Dunst, Letitia Wright, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Matt Bomer, Meg Ryan, Michael Keaton, Naomi Scott, Natasha Lyonne, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Wilde, Questlove, Rachel Zegler, Rashida Jones, Regina Hall, Rian Johnson, Riley Keough, Rita Wilson, Selma Blair, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, Stephanie Hsu, Steven Yeun, Tom Hanks, Tracee Ellis Ross, Willem Dafoe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Yorgos Lanthimos, Zoë Kravitz, and More among others.

The 2022 Academy Museum Gala honored Julia Roberts, Miky Lee, Sir Steve McQueen, and Tilda Swinton and the 2021 Academy Museum Opening Gala honored Haile Gerima and Sophia Loren as well as Academy Museum Campaign Leaders Annette Bening, Bob Iger, and Tom Hanks.

Images: Meryl Streep, photo by Brigitte Lacombe; Michael B. Jordan, photo by Juan Veloz; Oprah Winfrey, photo by Ruven Afanador; Sofia Coppola, photo by Melodie McDaniel