AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients

The highest honor in American cinema

Nicole Kidman

2024

Julie Andrews

2022

Denzel Washington

2019

George Clooney

2018

Diane Keaton

2017

John Williams

2016

Steve Martin

2015

Jane Fonda

2014

Mel Brooks

2013

Shirley MacLaine

2012

Morgan Freeman

2011

Mike Nichols

2010

Michael Douglas

2009

Warren Beatty

2008

Al Pacino

2007

Sir Sean Connery

2006

George Lucas

2005

Meryl Streep

2004

Robert De Niro

2003

Tom Hanks

2002

Barbra Streisand

2001

Harrison Ford

2000

Dustin Hoffman

1999

Robert Wise

1998

Martin Scorsese

1997

Clint Eastwood

1996

Steven Spielberg

1995

Jack Nicholson

1994

Elizabeth Taylor

1993

Sidney Poitier

1992

Kirk Douglas

1991

David Lean

1990

Gregory Peck

1989

Jack Lemmon

1988

Barbara Stanwyck

1987

Billy Wilder

1986

Gene Kelly

1985

Lillian Gish

1984

John Huston

1983

Frank Capra

1982

Fred Astaire

1981

James Stewart

1980

Alfred Hitchcock

1979

Henry Fonda

1978

Bette Davis

1977

William Wyler

1976

Orson Welles

1975

James Cagney

1974

John Ford

1973

AFI is a 501c3 non-profit advancing the art of the moving image by empowering storytellers and inspiring audiences

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THE HISTORY OF THE AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The AFI Life Achievement Award — the highest honor for a career in film — was established by the AFI Board of Trustees on February 23, 1973 to celebrate an individual whose career in motion pictures or television has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture.

The award is given to a “recipient whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.”

In 1993, the AFI Board of Trustees extended the criteria to encompass individuals with active careers and work of significance yet to be accomplished.