D23 has announced the extraordinary line up of 2024 Disney Legends Award Honorees who will be inducted at a ceremony that will be part of this summer’s “D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event” in Anaheim.
The Details
The Disney Legends ceremony will take place on August 11, 2024, as the closing event of “D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.”
Host Ryan Seacrest will present the Awards to a variety of Disney talent and visionaries, including Colleen Atwood, Angela Bassett, Martha Blanding, James L. Brooks, James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Miley Cyrus, Steve Ditko, Harrison Ford, Mark Henn, Frank Oz, Kelly Ripa, Joe Rodhe, and John Williams.
“To be named a Disney Legend is the highest honor our company can bestow on anyone, reserved for those whose talent and achievement have earned them an enduring place in our history,” said Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.
“The fourteen individuals to be honored as Disney Legends this year have each made extraordinary creative contributions across the worlds of Disney and we look forward to celebrating them at ‘D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event’.”
The Disney Legends Awards program is a 37-year tradition of The Walt Disney Company, which diear began when actor Fred MacMurray (“The Shaggy Dog,” T”he Absent-Minded Professor,” “The Happiest Millionaire”) was honored in 1987.
Disney Legend honorees receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the company.
Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the company’s Burbank headquarters.
The Disney Legends ceremony will be included in the D23 Ultimate Preferred Fan Pass, the 3-Day D23 Ultimate Preferred pass, and the D23 Ultimate Preferred Sunday pass. Tickets go on sale March 26, 2024.
The Legends
The 2024 Disney Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically) are:
COLLEEN ATWOOD
This prolific costume designer has been nominated for an Academy Award® a dozen times, and has won four Oscars®, including for her work in “Alice in Wonderland” (2010).
It’s Colleen’s ability to cross and blend genres in her approach to character costuming that has enabled her work in such fantastic films as “Planet of the Apes” (2001), “Into the Woods” (2014), “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (2016), “Lady and the Tramp” (2019), “Dumbo” (2019), and “The Little Mermaid” (2023).
ANGELA BASSETT
From her breakout role as single mother Reva Devereaux in John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood (1991), to her portrayal of fierce Queen Ramonda of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther films, Angela’s unmistakable voice, signature delivery, and grand presence command immediate attention.
Her powerful portrayal of Tina Turner in Touchstone Pictures’ “What’s Love Got to Do with It” (1993) earned her numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe® for Best Actress.
She has also received two Emmy® nominations for outstanding narrator for National Geographic’s “The Flood” (2018) and the Disney+ docuseries “The Imagineering Story” (2019), and was nominated for her second Academy Award, this time in the Best Supporting Actress category, for the role of Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022). She is also the star and executive producer of the hit drama “9-1-1,” now on ABC, plus she voiced Dorothea Williams in Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning animated feature “Soul” (2020), and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2024.
MARTHA BLANDING
As the first permanent full-time Black Tour Guide, Martha personified the philosophy of creating happiness for others while embodying the principles of hospitality and courtesy Walt Disney sought to establish for Disneyland Cast Members. Once she was hired as a Tour Guide, she quickly climbed the ladder to become a VIP Hostess. Martha later became the first-ever Black woman in management at Disneyland as an expert merchandise, candy, and film buyer for 16 years, and later became the senior manager of Disneyland Resort Merchandise Special Events.
She was considered one of the few pioneering producers of the Official Disneyana Convention, a forerunner of today’s “D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.” And as co-founder of PULSE, a business employee resource group for Black Disneyland Cast Members, Martha served as a trusted mentor to fellow employees. Adding to the many “firsts” during her career before retiring in 2022, Martha was the first Black Cast Member to commemorate 50 years with the Disneyland Resort, and now she becomes the first Black Disney Parks employee designated a Disney Legend.
JAMES L. BROOKS
James L. Brooks is a TV and film icon responsible for some of the most beloved entertainment projects of all time.
Brooks created the groundbreaking ABC series “Room 222” in 1969 and “Taxi” in 1978, followed by one of the most impressive directorial debuts in film history with “Terms of Endearment” (1983), for which he took home three Oscars for writing, producing, and directing.
At Brooks’ invitation, Matt Groening created animated interstitials for “The Tracey Ullman Show” featuring a dysfunctional family, which led to a full-fledged animated series, “The Simpsons,” in 1989. The longest-running primetime scripted show in television history, the series is in its 35th season. “The Simpsons” has also won 37 Emmy Awards, and spun off a theatrical film, The Simpsons Movie in 2007, which Brooks also co-produced and co-wrote.
Brooks is currently working on his next feature film for 20th Century Studios, “Ella McCay,” which just started filming.
JAMES CAMERON
James Cameron is an acclaimed filmmaker, ocean explorer, and environmental advocate.
Getting his start with filmmaker Roger Corman’s sci-fi film “Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980), Cameron has created some of the world’s most memorable films including “The Terminator” (1984), “Aliens” (1986), “The Abyss” (1989), “Titanic” (1997), “Avatar” (2009), and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022).
He is currently in post-production on “Avatar 3,” and in pre-production on “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5.”
Teaming up with Walt Disney Imagineering in 2011, James helped to create an “Avatar”-inspired area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World known as “Pandora – The World of Avatar,” which will soon be extending to Disneyland, and possible other Disney Parks.
He also executive produces National Geographic’s “Secrets” series, including the Emmy Award-winning “Secrets of the Whales” and Emmy-nominated “Secrets of the Elephants,” with “Secrets of the Octopus” launching on Earth Day 2024. He is executive producer on the upcoming “OceanXplorers” series, due in Fall 2024 from National Geographic.
JAMIE LEE CURTIS
Born to Hollywood power couple Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, Jamie Lee Curtis had her first big hit as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s horror classic “Halloween” (1978).
Her other major roles include suburban housewife-turned-international-spy Helen Tasker in the James Cameron-directed “True Lies” (1994), and no-nonsense mom Tess Coleman in Disney’s remake of the classic body-swap comedy “Freaky Friday” (2003).
In 2023, Jamie Lee returned to Disney to portray the legendary Madame Leota in “Haunted Mansion,” inspired by the classic Disneyland theme park attraction, and she also won her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022).
MILEY CYRUS
Miley Cyrus is an award-winning superstar singer, songwriter, and actress who first rose to fame as a Disney Channel sensation “Hannah Montana.”
In 2008, she voiced the character of Penny in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ feature “Bolt,” for which she also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song (“I Thought I Lost You”). The following year, she took center stage once again for the lead in “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which included the hit song “The Climb.”
2024 has already been a huge year for Cyrus having won her first two Grammys for her album, “Endless Summer Vacation,” and now at 31, she is the youngest honoree ever to be named a Disney Legend.
STEVE DITKO
Steve Ditko’s love for comics began at a young age, and by the 1950’s, after a stint in the Army, his first work appeared in print, and shortly thereafter made his way to Atlas Comics, the precursor of Marvel Comics.
Together with fellow Disney Legend Stan Lee, Ditko created one of the most popular comic book characters of all time: Spider-Man. The introduction of the webslinger in “Amazing Fantasy” #15 stands as one of the landmarks of both Steve’s career and Marvel history. Steve went on to co-create most of Spider-Man’s now-infamous rogues’ gallery and re-envisioned many of Marvel’s iconic characters to what we know today.
One of the greatest artist-writer talents in comic book history, Steve’s imagination and creative vision changed the comics industry and super hero storytelling forever.
HARRISON FORD
Harrison Ford has portrayed some of the most iconic action heroes in movie history starting with Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, in “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1977). He would go on to portray Han in all three episodes of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, as well as the sequel trilogy that wrapped up the Skywalker Saga.
He then went on to portray archaeologist adventurer Indiana Jones in five films, including last year’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023).
Other notable film credits include an Oscar-nominated performance in “Witness” (1985), along with “Blade Runner” (1982); 20th Century’s “Working Girl” (1988); “Patriot Games” (1992); “The Fugitive” (1993); “Clear and Present Danger” (1994); “Air Force One” (1997); Touchstone Pictures’ “Six Days, Seven Nights” (1998); “What Lies Beneath” (2000); “Blade Runner 2049” (2017); and 20th Century Studios’ “The Call of the Wild” (2020). Harrison also currently stars in the hit television shows “1923” and “Shrinking.”
Ford will next appear as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the Marvel Studios live-action adventure “Captain America: Brave New World,” scheduled to be released in 2025.
MARK HENN
Mark Henn joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1980, where he became an assistant animator on “The Fox and the Hound” (1981). His first major assignment was animating Disney’s most beloved character, Mickey Mouse, in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (1983), marking Mickey’s first big-screen appearance in 30 years.
Mark would go on to serve as the supervising animator for young Simba as well as five female leads, more than any artist in the history of the studio: Ariel (supervised with fellow Disney Legend Glen Keane), Belle (supervised with James Baxter), Jasmine, Mulan, and Tiana. He also animated Simba from “The Lion King” (1994), the title character in “Pocahontas” (1995), and Giselle from “Enchanted” (2007).
Most recently, Mark has helped a whole new generation of Disney animators bring “the illusion of life” to character animation in CG features such as “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (2018). He was lead 2D animator on “Big Hero 6” (2014) and “Frozen” (2013), and served as a 2D animator for “Mini Maui” in “Moana” (2016).
FRANK OZ
Frank Oz originated and performed the characters of Grover, Bert, and Cookie Monster for “Sesame Street,” along with Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Sam Eagle, and Animal for “The Muppet Show,” performing in hundreds of television shows and specials with The Muppets, including the memorable “Muppet*Vision 3D” for Disney Parks.
Frank also originated and performed the character of Yoda for George Lucas’ “Star Wars” galaxy, first in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and followed by “Return of the Jedi” (1983), “The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Attack of the Clones” (2002), “Revenge of the Sith” (2005), “The Last Jedi” (2017), and “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019).
Oz has also helmed more than a dozen films, including co-directing The “Dark Crystal” (1982) with Disney Legend Jim Henson, “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986), “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988), Touchstone Pictures’ “What About Bob?” (1991), “In & Out” (1997), and “Bowfinger” (1999).
He has even acted in several live-action movies, from “The Blues Brothers” (1980) to “Knives Out” (2019), and has voiced characters in Disney and Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” (2001), “Inside Out” (2015), and the upcoming “Inside Out 2” (2024).
KELLY RIPA
With a career at ABC spanning over 30 years, Kelly has welcomed viewers with her sharp wit every morning as co-host and executive producer of the nationally syndicated show “Live,” which she currently co-hosts with husband mark Consuelos.
Ripa’s early career as an actress included ABC’ soap opera “All My Children,” and the 2000’s sitcom “Hope and Faith.”
She also co-owns the production company, Milojo Productions, with her husband, which produces content across multiple platforms, including the Emmy-nominated documentary “The Streak” for ESPN, and the critically-acclaimed documentary “Off The Rez” for TLC.
JOE ROHDE
Retiring in 2021 as a portfolio creative executive with 40 years at Walt Disney Imagineering, Joe Rohde was the overall creative executive and supervising designer for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, including later expansions such as “Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain” and “Pandora – The World of Avatar.”
Joe’s other notable projects include The Adventurers Club (formerly a part of Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World); Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaiʻi; and “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!” at Disney’s California Adventure Park.
Rohde was also instrumental in creating the Disney Conservation Fund, which has disbursed over $120 million in grants to projects worldwide. In 2022 he received the Disney Conservation Fund’s first Conservation Legacy Award, and has appeared on numerous documentaries about Imagineering.
JOHN WILLIAMS
In a career spanning more than six decades, composer John Williams has created the music for more than 100 films including all nine “Star Wars” saga films and all five “Indiana Jones” films.
Williams has received five Academy Awards and 54 Oscar nominations, most recently for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023), making him the Academy’s most-nominated living person, and the second-most-nominated person in the history of the Oscars, a number second only to Walt Disney himself.
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