MERYL STREEP, MORGAN FREEMAN, NAOMI WATTS, REESE WITHERSPOON AND MORE TO HONOR NICOLE KIDMAN AT AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD GALA TRIBUTE

Streep to Present Award to Kidman 

Tribute Special to Premiere on TNT on June 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Los Angeles, CA, April 18, 2024 – Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts and Reese Witherspoon will be among the presenters at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute in honor of Nicole Kidman, with Streep – recipient of the 32nd AFI Life Achievement Award – presenting the highest award for a career in film to Kidman.

“Nicole Kidman embodies the glamour and romance of Hollywood past – a true screen icon – but she is also a risk taker – and so each performance is something new and something profound,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “And like all truly great artists – Nicole not only gives back – she drives culture forward with her commitment to amplifying the voices of female directors and producers.”

The Gala Tribute event will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, on April 27, 2024. The official dinner sponsor is Canva, the official water sponsor is FIJI and the official red carpet sponsor is AMC Theatres. All proceeds from the AFI Life Achievement Award support the American Film Institute as a nonprofit organization.

It was also announced that the tribute special, THE 49TH AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: A TRIBUTE TO NICOLE KIDMAN, will premiere on TNT on June 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on June 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. This marks the ninth year the Emmy®-winning AFI Life Achievement Award special will air on TNT.

The AFI Life Achievement Award, established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973, is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees: “The recipient should be one 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.”

As previously announced, Nicole Kidman is the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award. Both a powerhouse performer, spellbinding movie star and accomplished producer, Kidman has captured the imaginations of audiences throughout her prolific career, delivering complex and versatile performances onscreen. Seamlessly moving between independent and studio films, Kidman has earned a reputation for her extraordinary talent, commitment to her craft and desire to work with auteur filmmakers including Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Lars von Trier, Aaron Sorkin and Stanley Kubrick.

A five-time Academy Award® nominee, Nicole Kidman’s wonderfully restrained and transformational turn as Virginia Woolf in THE HOURS earned her the Oscar® for Best Actress in 2003. Following her stunning breakthrough performance in 1989’s DEAD CALM, Kidman has captivated global audiences, from her daring performance as Alice Harford in EYES WIDE SHUT and enchanting Satine in MOULIN ROUGE!, to her raw turn as Grace Margaret Mulligan in DOGVILLE and her enthralling portrayal of Lucille Ball in BEING THE RICARDOS. Throughout her distinguished career, Kidman has won a BAFTA Award, two Emmys® and six Golden Globes – and is widely regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. She co-founded her production company Blossom Films in 2010.

Across film and television, she has delivered remarkably nuanced performances characterized by their unflinching courage, vulnerability and tenacity, with additional acting credits including: DAYS OF THUNDER (1990), FAR AND AWAY (1992), BATMAN FOREVER (1995), TO DIE FOR (1995), THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996), PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998), THE OTHERS (2001), THE HUMAN STAIN (2003), COLD MOUNTAIN (2003), BIRTH (2004), THE INTERPRETER (2005), AUSTRALIA (2008), NINE (2009),  RABBIT HOLE (2010), THE PAPERBOY (2012), STOKER (2013), PADDINGTON (2014), QUEEN OF THE DESERT (2015), LION (2016), THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017), THE BEGUILED (2017), THE UPSIDE (2017), BOY ERASED (2018), DESTROYER (2018), AQUAMAN (2018), BOMBSHELL (2019), and THE NORTHMAN (2022). She has also starred in and produced multiple critically acclaimed television programs, including HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN (2012), BIG LITTLE LIES (2017-2019), TOP OF THE LAKE (2017), THE UNDOING (2020), NINE PERFECT STRANGERS (2021) and SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (2023).

In theater, Kidman made a highly lauded London stage debut in the fall of 1998, starring with Iain Glen in “The Blue Room,” David Hare’s modern adaptation of Schnitzler’s “La Ronde.” For her performance, Kidman won London’s Evening Standard Award and was nominated in the Best Actress category for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2015, Kidman was seen on the West End stage in Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51,” for which she received a London’s Evening Standard Award.

In January of 2006, Kidman was awarded Australia’s highest honor, the Companion of the Order of Australia. She was also awarded the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear award for her performance in THE HOURS. In 2017, the Cannes Film Festival honored Kidman with the 70th Anniversary Prize for her body of work and longstanding history with the festival. She is one of only eight people to ever receive this honor.

Kidman has served as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women for nearly two decades. Along with her husband, Keith Urban, she has helped raise millions over the years for the Stanford Women’s Cancer Program which is a world-renowned center for research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and eventual cure of women’s cancer.

Kidman’s most recent projects include EXPATS (2024), SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (2023) and AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023), and her upcoming projects include Mimi Cave’s HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, Richard LaGravenese’s A FAMILY AFFAIR, Halina Reijn’s BABYGIRL and season two of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS.

AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients

The 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Honoree joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception.

1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelly
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor
1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood

1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Wise
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbra Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro
2004 Meryl Streep
2005 George Lucas
2006 Sean Connery
2007 Al Pacino
2008 Warren Beatty
2009 Michael Douglas
2010 Mike Nichols
2011 Morgan Freeman
2012 Shirley MacLaine
2013 Mel Brooks
2014 Jane Fonda
2015 Steve Martin
2016 John Williams
2017 Diane Keaton
2018 George Clooney
2019 Denzel Washington
2022 Julie Andrews

The 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala will also feature three-time Academy Award® nominee Matthew Libatique, ASC, LPS (AFI Class of 1992), this year’s recipient of the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. The Schaffner Alumni Medal recognizes the extraordinary creative talents of AFI Conservatory Alumni who embody the qualities of filmmaker Franklin J. Schaffner: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality storytelling in film and television. Past recipients include Darren Aronofsky, Lesli Linka Glatter, Siân Heder, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Mimi Leder, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison.

Libatique’s latest work can be seen in the Academy Award^®-nominated MAESTRO (2023), directed, produced, co-written by and starring Bradley Cooper, and in A24’s Academy Award^®-winning film THE WHALE (2022), where he reteamed with director Darren Aronofsky (AFI Class of 1992), his longtime collaborator who he met on their third day while attending the AFI Conservatory.

To learn more about AFI, the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal and the AFI Life Achievement Award, please visit AFI.com.

About the American Film Institute (AFI)

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked the #1 film school in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at increasing diversity in the storytelling community, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, Twitter.com/AmericanFilm and Instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.

About TNT

TNT, a Warner Bros. Discovery brand, is watched by more people than any other cable network and known for big, lean-forward television that takes viewers on a thrill ride of electrifying stories, dynamic characters and premium events. TNT is home to some of television’s most popular sports franchises and unscripted and scripted originals including “AEW: Rampage,” “Rich & Shameless,” and “The Lazarus Project”. TNT also presents primetime specials and sports coverage, including the NHL, NBA and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships. Website: www.tntdrama.com

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “where then meets now.” TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise. In addition, TCM produces the wildly successful podcast “The Plot Thickens,” which has had more than 9 million downloads to date. TCM hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the TCM hub on Max.

Press contact:

American Film Institute

Shari Mesulam, [email protected]