Academy Awards
The nonprofit film-industry body behind the Oscars: ~11,300 members across 18 branches, Best Picture inclusion standards since 2024, a new casting category in 2026, a stunt-design Oscar coming in 2028, and a Los Angeles film museum.
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- Country
- United States
- Founded
- Organized in May 1927 as a nonprofit film-industry body, spearheaded by MGM head Louis B. Mayer
- Headquarters
- Beverly Hills, California
- Membership
- 11,319 members including emeritus (10,338 voting) after the June 2026 invite class; roughly 6,000 in 2016
- Branches
- 18 professional branches of film production, from actors to the 2023 Production and Technology branchstated by the subject
- Leadership
- President Lynette Howell Taylor (since July 2025); CEO Bill Kramer
- First ceremony
- May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, before about 270 guests paying $5 a ticket
- The statuette
- 13.5 inches tall, 8.5 pounds; bronze plated in 24-karat gold since 2016
- Broadcast
- Carried by ABC since 1976; the Academy announced live YouTube streaming from 2029
The Academy Awards are presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the nonprofit film-industry organization founded in 1927 — but this profile is about the institution, not the telecast. The Academy is a voting body of roughly 11,300 members across 18 professional branches, headquartered in Beverly Hills, that licenses the Oscars broadcast, runs a film museum in Los Angeles, and since 2024 ties Best Picture eligibility to representation standards.
Overview
The Academy was spearheaded by MGM head Louis B. Mayer and organized in May 1927 as a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of the film industry (HISTORY). The awards committee was only one of several committees the new body formed: the young Academy was preoccupied with labor disputes, the industry’s tarnished public image, and the exchange of production ideas — the trophies came second (Britannica). In May 1928 it approved Academy Awards of Merit in 12 categories, and the first awards — announced in February 1929 and presented on May 16, 1929 in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel before about 270 guests paying $5 a ticket — honored Janet Gaynor, Emil Jannings, and the World War I drama Wings (Britannica; HISTORY). Douglas Fairbanks, the silent-era star, was the Academy’s first president and handed out the first statuettes (HISTORY). The industry club is now a global broadcast business — and has spent a decade rebuilding who votes.
The business behind the telecast
The Academy’s core asset is the vote: only members nominate and vote, with nominees chosen inside each craft’s branch and the full membership voting on Best Picture and most winners (Britannica). After the June 2026 invite class of 529, the body numbers 11,319 members including emeritus — 10,338 of them voting — up from roughly 6,000 a decade earlier (Associated Press). It is organized into 18 branches, the newest the 2023 Production and Technology Branch for about 400 previously members-at-large professionals (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). The Board of Governors elects the president — producer Lynette Howell Taylor, the fifth woman in the role, since July 2025 — alongside CEO Bill Kramer (AFP). ABC has carried the Oscars since 1976; in 2025 the Academy announced live YouTube streaming from 2029 (Britannica), as the telecast drew about 20 million viewers for the March 2026 ceremony, up from a 10.4 million pandemic low (AFP).
The post-#OscarsSoWhite remake
In 2015, all 20 acting nominees were white, and activist April Reign’s #OscarsSoWhite hashtag put the Academy’s 75%-male, 92%-white membership under a lasting spotlight (Britannica; Associated Press). The response was structural. Membership nearly doubled, and after the 2026 class the Academy is 64% male and 75% white, with 22% voting from outside the United States; the newest class is 42% women, 56% from underrepresented communities, and 53% non-U.S. (Associated Press). Then came the rules: under Academy Aperture 2025, films must meet two of four inclusion standards — on-screen representation, creative leadership, industry access, audience development — for Best Picture eligibility, effective from the 96th Oscars in 2024, in a framework modeled on the British Film Institute’s standards for the BAFTAs (TheWrap). The Academy’s voting body grew from roughly 6,000 members in 2016 to 11,319 — 10,338 voting — by mid-2026 (Associated Press), meaning the Oscars are now decided by a body nearly twice the size that produced the #OscarsSoWhite-era shortlists, with nearly a quarter voting from abroad.
The statuette, the secrecy, and the separate honorary dinner
The Gibbons-designed, George Stanley-sculpted statuette stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds; cast in bronze and plated with 24-karat gold since 2016, after a wartime plaster detour and a 1982–2015 britannia-metal run (Britannica). Its nickname was never settled — Bette Davis, Sidney Skolsky, and Margaret Herrick all get credit for “Oscar” (Britannica). Sealed envelopes date to 1940, when the Los Angeles Times printed the winners early (HISTORY). The ceremony was first televised in the U.S. in 1953, internationally since 1969, and has sat in the Dolby Theatre since 2002 (Britannica). Since 2009, the honorary, Thalberg, and Hersholt awards have gone out at a non-televised Governors Awards dinner (TheWrap). The Academy also owns and operates the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, opened September 30, 2021 in Renzo Piano’s Saban Building (Dezeen). Its reach is global: a record 92 countries entered the 90th Academy Awards’ Foreign Language Film race, including Turkey’s Ayla: The Daughter of War (Can Ülkay), which was not nominated (SHOOTonline; Prothom Alo).
| Change | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| “Outstanding achievement in popular film” category | Announced August 2018 | Shelved after criticism and confusion; never awarded (Britannica) |
| Achievement in Casting | Debuted at the 98th Academy Awards, 2026 | First new competitive category since animated feature (2001); first winner Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another (Britannica) |
| Achievement in Stunt Design | Scheduled for the 100th Academy Awards, 2028 | Announced 2025; will honor films released in 2027 (Associated Press) |
FAQ
What is the difference between an Academy Award and an Oscar? There is none in practice: the prizes are officially the Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and “Oscar” is the nickname of the gold-plated statuette itself (Britannica). Three competing stories explain the nickname — Bette Davis, Sidney Skolsky, and Margaret Herrick’s “Uncle Oscar” — and its true origin was never determined.
Who actually votes for the Oscars? Only Academy members. Nominees in each category are chosen by members of the corresponding craft branch — directors nominate directors, writers nominate writers — while the full membership nominates Best Picture candidates and votes on the winners in most categories (Britannica). As of mid-2026 there were 10,338 voting members (Associated Press).
What are the Academy’s inclusion standards for Best Picture? Since the 96th Oscars in 2024, a film must meet two of four standards to be eligible for Best Picture: on-screen representation and themes; creative leadership and project teams; industry access and opportunities; and audience development (TheWrap). They were introduced under the Academy Aperture 2025 program and modeled on the British Film Institute’s diversity standards.
Is this profile about the 90th Academy Awards ceremony? No. This profile covers the Academy Awards as an institution — the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, its membership, rules, and history. The 90th ceremony (held March 4, 2018 at the Dolby Theatre) is a separate event; the Academy’s institutional role there included administering the Foreign Language Film race that Turkey’s Ayla: The Daughter of War entered (SHOOTonline).
Does the Academy run anything besides the awards? Yes. It owns and operates the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, which opened September 30, 2021 in Renzo Piano’s renovation of the 1939 Saban Building at Wilshire and Fairfax (Dezeen). It also presents scientific and technical awards and runs the separate Governors Awards dinner for honorary honors (Britannica).
What this profile does not claim
- It does not cover any individual ceremony’s winners, speeches, or controversies — including the 90th Academy Awards, which is a separate entity profile.
- It does not assert the Academy’s 2016 A2020 diversity pledge was met; only AP’s verified membership and demographic figures are stated.
- It does not state the Academy Museum’s construction cost, PwC’s tabulation role, or Best Picture preferential-vote mechanics, which were not re-verified from personally-read sources.
- It does not claim founding-dinner details (e.g., a specific guest count) beyond HISTORY.com’s verified account of the May 1927 organization.
- It does not evaluate whether the inclusion standards have changed who wins; that outcome analysis is beyond this profile’s sources.
Timeline
- 1927
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is organized in May as a nonprofit, spearheaded by MGM's Louis B. Mayer, with Douglas Fairbanks as its first president.
- 1929
- The first Academy Awards are announced February 18 and presented May 16 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room; Best Picture goes to Wings.
- 1940
- After the Los Angeles Times publishes the winners before the ceremony, the Academy switches to sealed envelopes — a practice still in use.
- 1953
- The Academy Awards are televised in the United States for the first time, after years as a radio broadcast.
- 2002
- The ceremony moves into the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard (built 2001, then the Kodak Theatre), which becomes its permanent home.
- 2009
- The honorary Oscars, Thalberg and Hersholt awards move off the telecast into a separate non-televised Governors Awards dinner.
- 2013
- The Academy creates a branch for casting directors — its first new branch in decades and the seed of a future Oscar category.
- 2015
- All 20 acting nominees are white, prompting April Reign's #OscarsSoWhite hashtag; the Academy's membership is 75% male and 92% white.
- 2020
- The Academy announces representation and inclusion standards: from the 96th Oscars (2024), Best Picture eligibility requires meeting 2 of 4 standards.
- 2021
- The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens September 30 in Los Angeles, in Renzo Piano's renovation of the 1939 Saban Building.
- 2023
- The Production and Technology Branch is created, bringing the Academy to 18 branches.
- 2025
- Producer Lynette Howell Taylor is elected the Academy's fifth woman president; the Academy announces the Oscars will stream live on YouTube from 2029.
- 2026
- The first Oscar for Achievement in Casting is presented at the 98th Academy Awards — the first new category since animated feature in 2001.
- 2028
- The first Oscar for Achievement in Stunt Design is scheduled for the 100th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2027.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The Academy's 2016 A2020 diversity pledge and whether its 2020 doubling goal was met were not re-verified from a personally-read source; this profile uses AP's verified membership and demographic figures instead and makes no A2020 claim.
- The Academy Museum's reported construction cost (~$482M) was not verified in a full read and is not stated.
- PwC's ballot-tabulation role and the Best Picture preferential-vote mechanics since 2009 are widely reported but were not re-verified from a personally-read source; they are not stated.
- Britannica phrases the stunt-design award as debuting 'in 2027' while the AP reports the first award at the 100th ceremony 'in 2028'; this profile uses the AP ceremony-year framing (honoring films released in 2027), which reconciles both.
Sources
10 sources (5 tier 1, 4 tier 2, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
This profile is built from sources read in full, including five tier1 outlets (Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, HISTORY, and Prothom Alo/Reuters), four tier2 outlets (TheWrap ×2, Dezeen, SHOOTonline), and one first-party Academy press release used only for uncontested structural facts (the 18-branch count). Wikipedia was used only as a lead index; nothing in it is cited. The profile covers the Academy Awards as an institution, not any single ceremony — the 90th Academy Awards ceremony is a separate entity profile.
- Supports: Beverly Hills HQ; 24 competitive categories; scientific/technical, honorary, Hersholt, Thalberg, Gordon E. Sawyer awards; eligibility rules and branch-based voting; 1927 founding context (labor disputes, industry image); May 1928 12-category approval; 1933/1936 rule changes; Dolby Theatre home; 1953 first US TV, 1969 international broadcast; viewership decline and broadcast changes; YouTube streaming from 2029; statuette design, materials history, dimensions; the three Oscar-nickname stories; #OscarsSoWhite; 2026 casting-category debut; the withdrawn 2018 popular-film category Open original source
- Film academy invites 529 new members, including Jenna Ortega, the Safdie brothers and Jacob Elordi Tier 1Supports: 529 invites June 2026; 11,319 total including emeritus / 10,338 voting; ~6,000 members in 2016; 2015 demographics (75% male, 92% white) vs. post-2026-class (64% male, 75% white, 22% international); new-class makeup (42% women, 56% underrepresented communities, 53% non-US); casting Oscar handed out in 2026; first stunt-design Oscar in 2028; 99th Oscars March 14, 2027, Conan O'Brien returning as host Open original source
- Supports: Louis B. Mayer spearheaded; organized May 1927 as a nonprofit; winners announced Feb 18, 1929; ceremony May 16, 1929, Blossom Room, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; ~270 guests, $5 tickets; Gibbons/Stanley statuettes; first president Douglas Fairbanks; early winners (Janet Gaynor, Emil Jannings, Wings); 1940 LA Times leak and sealed envelopes; 1931 nickname origin; radio until 1953 Open original source
- Supports: Lynette Howell Taylor elected president (announced July 31, 2025), fifth woman; CEO Bill Kramer; Parasite as first non-English-language Best Picture; ~20M viewers for the March 2026 ceremony; 10.4M pandemic low; 40M+ a decade earlier Open original source
- Supports: 90th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film nominees: A Fantastic Woman (Chile), The Insult (Lebanon), Loveless (Russia), On Body and Soul (Hungary), The Square (Sweden) — confirming Ayla was not nominated Open original source
- Supports: Academy Aperture 2025; 2-of-4 standards required from the 96th Oscars (2024); confidential inclusion forms from the 94th/95th Oscars; the four standards' content; DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos task force; BFI/BAFTA model; Best Picture only Open original source
- Supports: Museum opens 30 September 2021; owned and operated by the Motion Picture Academy; Saban Building (1939 May Company Building), Wilshire and Fairfax, Los Angeles; Renzo Piano design; David Geffen Theater (1,000 seats), Ted Mann Theater (288 seats); project unveiled 2012; opening delays Open original source
- Supports: 2009 move of honorary awards off the telecast into a separate non-televised Governors Awards program (to shorten the show); first class: Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis, Roger Corman, John Calley; honorary Oscar, Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award; body-of-work criteria; governors' voting mechanics Open original source
- Supports: Record 92 countries submitted for the 90th Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category; Turkey's submission was Ayla: The Daughter of War (Can Ülkay); nominations announced January 23, 2018; ceremony March 4, 2018 at the Dolby Theatre on ABC Open original source
- Supports: Production and Technology Branch created 2023 (~400 members-at-large); brings the Academy to 18 branches; Casting Directors branch was the prior addition in 2013 — uncontested structural facts Open original source
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