Golden Globe Award | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica

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• Categories and voting
• History and controversies

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• What are the Golden Globes?
• What is the difference between a Golden Globe and an Oscar?

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Golden Globe Award entertainment award Ask Anything Homework Help Written by John M. Cunningham John M. Cunningham graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2000 with a B.A. in English. He worked at Britannica from 2004 to 2018. A student of pop culture and the arts, he wrote about popular (and semipopular)... John M. Cunningham Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 13, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

What are the Golden Globes?

The Golden Globes are awards that are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize outstanding achievement in motion pictures and television from the previous year. Considered second in importance to the Academy Awards (for film) and the Emmy Awards (for TV), the Golden Globes are presented in a lavish televised ceremony. They were first awarded in 1944 and initially honored only films; television was added in 1956. Throughout its history, the Golden Globes have faced various controversies, including allegations of ethics violations and criticism about the HFPA’s lack of diversity.

What is the difference between a Golden Globe and an Oscar?

The Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards (Oscars) both recognize achievement in the film industry. However, the Golden Globes also honor work in television. Another main difference involves voting. Journalists from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association vote for the Globes, while film professionals (actors, directors, etc.) who are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences determine the Academy Awards. Within the movie industry, Oscars are considered the most prestigious award, and the Golden Globes are often considered second in importance.

Who is hosting the Golden Globes?

American comedian and actress Nikki Glaser is hosting the Golden Globes in 2026. It will be her second time hosting the awards ceremony.

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Golden Globe Award, any of the awards presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in recognition of outstanding achievement in motion pictures and television during the previous year. Within the entertainment industry, the Golden Globes are considered second in importance both to the Academy Awards (for film) and to the Emmy Awards (for television), and the televised awards ceremony is a comparably lavish affair.

Categories and voting

For each medium, Golden Globes are given in several categories. The film awards include those for best motion picture, best actor, and best actress, each separated into “drama” and “comedy or musical” divisions. Supporting acting performances, direction, screenwriting, music, animated films, and foreign-language films are also honored. The television awards include those for drama series, comedy or musical series, miniseries or movies, as well as for acting performances in each genre or format. For all competitive awards, members of the HFPA cast ballots to determine a slate of nominees and then usually a single winner in each category. In most years, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, a prize for lifetime achievement, is also bestowed. Golden Globe winners receive a statuette consisting of a globe encircled by a strip of film.

History and controversies

The presentation of the awards originated in 1944 as an endeavor of the newly formed Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association, a consortium of entertainment journalists based in Los Angeles but working for publications outside the United States. In 1955, upon the reincorporation of a short-lived splinter group, it was renamed the HFPA. The following year the Golden Globe Awards, which initially honored only motion pictures, featured its first prizes for television. The awards gala began to be televised nationally in the mid-1960s.

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Questions of credibility have dogged the Golden Globe Awards for much of their history, in part because of accusations of impropriety that the HFPA has occasionally suffered. In 1968, for instance, the Federal Communications Commission, investigating NBC’s broadcast of the Golden Globes, contended that the HFPA had “substantially misled the public” regarding its procedures for selecting winners; one particular allegation was that the organization had negotiated to extend awards to some performers in exchange for their attendance at the ceremony. In 1982 it was revealed that the husband of actress Pia Zadora, the winner of an award that was widely considered to be undeserved, had furnished voters with various favors. Both incidents resulted in the disappearance of the ceremony from network television for several years.

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By the 21st century, however, the increasing importance placed by the entertainment industry on awards of all kinds had conferred an air of prestige on the long-running Golden Globes. The Golden Globes for film were observed closely as precursors to the Oscars, and the ceremony was frequently among television’s most-watched events. However, the future of the Golden Globes came into doubt in 2021. Following continued allegations of ethics violations and criticism about the HFPA’s lack of diversity, NBC announced that it would not televise the ceremony, beginning in 2022. That year the awards were announced on social media. The HFPA subsequently made a number of reforms, perhaps the most notable of which was diversifying its voter pool. In 2023 the ceremony returned to NBC.

John M. Cunningham The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica