Oprah Winfrey to receive 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award
Los Angeles, Dec 14 (IANS) Media mogul Oprah Winfrey will be feted with the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globes.
Each year the recipient of the prestigious award is selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) board of directors and the selected person must be someone who has made “an incredible impact on the world of entertainment”, reports variety.com.
HFPA president Meher Tatna said in a statement that Winfrey embodies this qualification for the generations she has “celebrated strong female characters on and off screen, and has been a role model for women and young girls for decades.”
“As a global media leader, philanthropist, producer and actress, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. Holding titles such as Chairman, CEO and Founder, Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time, and this honor is well deserved especially in this 75th anniversary year of the Golden Globe Awards,” Tatna added.
Veteran actor Morgan Freeman, who received the same award in 2012, announced Winfrey’s honoree status during the airing of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) “Golden Globe 75th Anniversary Special”.
Best known as the host of her multi-award-winning talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which ended in 2011, Winfrey is also the founder of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
She has been celebrated by the HFPA before, with a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role in “The Color Purple” in 1986.
The other honourees in the past include Audrey Hepburn, Barbra Streisand, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Lucille Ball, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Sidney Poitier, Sophia Loren and Steven Spielberg.
The 75th Annual Golden Globes will be hosted by Seth Meyers in January next year.