George Lucas

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Covers

Records

Lucas has been recognized with some of the highest honors in cinema. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015 for his contributions to film, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1992. His films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry: Star Wars (1977) and American Graffiti (1973). He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006 and the California Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2012 he received the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2013 the National Medal of Arts. Rolling Stone ranked him the greatest director of all time in 2023, and Empire placed him first on its list of the 50 greatest directors in 2014.

AwardsLucas has won four Academy Awards, including an Honorary Oscar in 2015 and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1992. He received a Golden Globe for Best Director for American Graffiti and a BAFTA for Best Film for Star Wars. His television work earned two Emmys for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He also won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Star Wars and multiple Saturn Awards for his writing and directing.

Honours & Distinctions

Science Fiction Hall of Fame Induction

Museum of Pop Culture·2006

Inducted for contributions to science fiction.

California Hall of Fame Induction

California Museum·2011

Inducted for achievements in film and philanthropy.

Honorary Doctorate

University of Southern California·1994

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

Honorary Doctorate

University of California, Los Angeles·2009

Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts.

Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

Hollywood Chamber of Commerce·1977

Star at 6777 Hollywood Boulevard.

Guinness World Record

Guinness World Records·2015

Most successful film franchise (Star Wars).

National Medal of Arts

National Endowment for the Arts·2013

Awarded by President Barack Obama for contributions to film.

Kennedy Center Honors

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts·2012

Honored for lifetime contributions to American culture.

Rankings & Lists

The 100 Greatest Directors of All Time

Rolling Stone·2023

The 50 Greatest Directors of All Time

Empire·2014

#Listed

The 100 Most Influential People

TIME·2005

#Listed

The World's Most Powerful Celebrities

Forbes·2010

Magazine Covers

TIME

May 19, 1980

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Rolling Stone

May 19, 1977

George Lucas: The Man Behind the Myth

Vanity Fair

December 2015

George Lucas: The Last Jedi

Wired

January 2005

George Lucas: The Future of Film

Records & Feats

Most successful film franchise (Star Wars)

Box Office·2015

Guinness World Record for highest-grossing film franchise of all time, with over $10 billion in box office revenue.

First filmmaker to negotiate merchandising rights for a film

Career Milestone·1977

Lucas retained all merchandising rights for Star Wars in 1977, setting a precedent that changed film industry economics.