David Lynch, Geena Davis and More to Receive Honorary Oscars

As voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors, four Hollywood elites have been awarded honorary Oscars for their career efforts, the Academy announced Monday.

Four-time Academy Award nominee and director David Lynch, actor Wes Studi, two-time Academy Award nominee and director Lina Wertmuller, and actress Geena Davis will all receive Governors Awards for their career achievements.

Thelma & Louise (a film that garnered her a Best Actress Oscar nomination) star Davis will be awarded The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, another honorary Oscar. Davis previously won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1988 film The Accidental Tourist. Davis is the founder and chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, a non-profit geared towards eliminating gender bias and stereotypes in Hollywood and the media.

Studi, a Cherokee-American actor, has appeared in films such as Dances With Wolves, Last Of The Mohicans, Avatar and, more recently, Hostiles. The honorary Oscar for Studi marks the first time a Native American actor or actress has won any type of Academy Award. The only previous Native American nominees were Graham Greene in 1990 for Dances With Wolves and Chief Dan George in 1970 for Little Big Man.

Another history maker, Wertmuller was the first woman nominated for Best Director in Oscar history—a category that’s been primarily male-filled over the last couple of years. Nominated for her 1975 film Seven Beauties, Wertmuller’s career skyrocketed in the ’70s with films like Love & Anarchy and A Night Full Of Rain.

Topping off the list of nominees is four-time-nominated director Lynch. Known for his weird, boundary-breaking films, Lynch received nominations in the Best Director category for The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Dr. (2001). The Elephant Man also garnered Lynch a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

“These Governors Awards given by the Academy each year recognize individuals who have devoted themselves to a lifetime of artistic accomplishment and brought outstanding contributions to our industry, and beyond,” said Academy President John Bailey in a statement. “It is with great pleasure that we announce this year’s recipients.”

The four honorees will receive their Oscar statues on Sunday, Oct. 27, about a month earlier than the normal mid-November ceremony.