Golden Globe Awards are given annually for distinguished achievement in motion pictures and television. They mostly recognize achievement in movies and TV programs released in the previous calendar year. The awards usually are announced and presented in January during a televised ceremony in the Los Angeles, California, area. Winners receive a gold-plated statuette that consists of a globe with a film strip wrapped around it on a cylindrical pedestal.
The Golden Globes are presented in more than two dozen categories for acting, stand-up comedy, directing, screenwriting, original music, box office achievement, and best movies and TV programs of different genres (kinds). Foreign films are eligible for the Golden Globes, but foreign TV programs are not. There are also some special honorary awards. These include the Cecil B. DeMille Award, for outstanding contribution to the entertainment field, and the Carol Burnett Award, for excellence in television.
Motion-picture and television studios and publicists submit entries for the Golden Globe Awards. Entertainment journalists in the United States and other countries then vote on the eligible submissions. The voters are experienced journalists who work for recognized media organizations. The awards are administered by a for-profit company, Golden Globes LLC. A separate organization, the Golden Globes Foundation, uses revenue from the awards ceremony to support charitable causes.
The first Golden Globe Awards were presented in 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association, which later became the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), a nonprofit organization of entertainment journalists based in Los Angeles. The first awards were in the form of scrolls. Originally, the Golden Globes only recognized achievement in motion pictures. The first awards for achievement in television were given in 1956. The award categories and statuette have changed a number of times over the years. In 2023, the HFPA sold the Golden Globes’ assets, rights, and properties to Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries. The Golden Globes then became a for-profit venture.
