Golden Globe Awards - History

History

The first Golden Globe Awards were held in 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios. Subsequent ceremonies were held at various venues throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as an international figure within the entertainment industry, the first award was presented to director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille. The official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced. In its inaugural year, two Miss Golden Globes were named, one for film and one for television. The two Miss Golden Globes named that year were Eva Six (of the films Operation Bikini and Beach Party) and Donna Douglas (of television's The Beverly Hillbillies), respectively.

In 2009, the Golden Globe statuette was redesigned for the first time in its history by New York firm Society Awards, after a year-long collaboration with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to select a unique marble and enhance the statuette’s quality and gold content. This was unveiled at a press conference at the Beverly Hilton prior to the show.

Revenues generated from the annual ceremony have enabled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to donate millions of dollars to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. The most prominent beneficiary being the Young Artist Awards, presented annually by the Young Artist Foundation, established in 1978 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press member, Maureen Dragone to recognize and award excellence of young Hollywood performers under the age of 18, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.