Academy Museum Gala 2026: Taylor Swift, Theron and a Sea of Stars

By Grace Kim

Charlize Theron, Colman Domingo and John Carpenter will receive the top honors at the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala, with Taylor Swift set to perform at the Rolex-presented event benefiting the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The red carpet is open, and the guest list reads like a studio awards-season mailer. Swift, Kim Kardashian, Jacob Elordi, Salma Hayek, Sabrina Carpenter, Pamela Anderson, Tom Ford and Anna Kendrick are among the expected and confirmed arrivals, alongside Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Kendall Jenner, Eva Longoria, Rosé, Janelle Monáe and Charles Melton.

Who's getting honored?

The program distributes three awards. Theron takes the Icon Award; Domingo receives the Vantage Award; Carpenter — the horror master behind "Halloween" — gets the Luminary Award. It's a deliberately wide spread: an Oscar-winning actress, a breakout leading man and a genre director whose influence runs through current studio schedules.

Swift's performance is the night's musical centerpiece. The gala is co-chaired by Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw.

Who's on the host committee?

The committee runs deep — more than twenty names, including:

• Jessica Alba; Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann
• Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman
• Jon M. Chu; Kirsten Dunst; Nicholas Galitzine
• Regina Hall; Kate Hudson; Jessica Lange
• John Legend and Chrissy Teigen; Rami Malek; Demi Moore
• Greta Lee; Olivia Munn; Gina Prince-Bythewood; Questlove
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph; Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen
• Bird Runningwater and Teyana Taylor

What does this change for the museum?

Practically, it's the museum's biggest fundraising and visibility night of the year — one of Hollywood's most glamorous A-list gatherings, as the event has proven annually. Money raised goes to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the guest list functions as an unofficial barometer of who the industry is elevating this season.

The arrivals confirm the scale. Already photographed: Inde Navarrette, Brittany Snow, Eddie Redmayne, Andrew Garfield, Ava DuVernay, Kate Hudson, Maya Hawke, Awkwafina, Kylie Minogue, Conan O'Brien, Issa Rae, Delroy Lindo, Monica Barbaro, Anthony Mackie, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kristen Wiig, Laura Linney, Mia Goth, Karlie Kloss, Cole Escola, Emma Chamberlain, Tinashe, Yara Shahidi, Jaafar Jackson, the Duffer Brothers, John Turturro, Common, Eli Roth and Sian Heder.

institutional names turned up too: Academy governor Janet Yang, museum director Amy Homma, CEO Bill Kramer with Peter Cipkowski, and honoree John Carpenter with Sandy King. Producer Jason Wu arrived with Amber Valletta; Meegan Hodges came with Slash.

With Swift performing, three marquee honorees and a Spielberg-chaired committee, this edition looks set to reinforce the gala's standing as the museum's flagship night — and a strong early signal of awards-season momentum for its honorees.