Viola Davis to Receive Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award
EGOT winner Viola Davis will earn another distinction at the 2025 Golden Globes as the Cecil B. DeMille Award honoree. She’ll be recognized live from the Globes’ CBS telecast on Sunday, Jan. 5. The award show will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The Cecil B. DeMille Award is a film distinction named for the filmmaker and actor who directed and produced 1923’s The Ten Commandments and 1952’s The Greatest Show on Earth. It dates back to 1952 and has been given to 69 honorees including Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Sidney Poitier, and Jane Fonda. Davis will be the sixth Black performer to receive it.
“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, per Billboard. “Presenting her with the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award is not only an honor 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.”
Davis, alongside the yet-to-be-announced winner of the Carol Burnett Award for television achievement, will also be celebrated at a separate gala dinner on Friday, Jan. 3.
In February 2023, she became the 18th EGOT winner — someone who has earned at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, representing success across television, audio, film, and theater. She had won a Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording for her memoir, Finding Me. She also narrated Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign video “Mother” about Harris’ mom, a cancer researcher who immigrated to the U.S. at age 19.
Penske Media Eldridge — a joint venture between Rolling Stone’s parent company Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge — owns Dick Clark Productions, the producer of the Golden Globe Awards.