Disney Honoring These 14 New “Disney Legends” This Summer

At the D23 event this August, Disney will be celebrating this year's lineup of Disney Legends Award Honorees in a Disney Legends Awards Ceremony. The Disney Legends Award honors artists and visionaries in the company's history who have made a significant impact on the Disney legacy. The program has been a tradition of the Walt Disney Company for 37 years and started with Fred MacMurray in 1987.

“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.”

Keep reading for the announcement of this year's Disney Legends and details on the ceremony this summer!

2024 Disney Legends Announced

The D23 weekend will conclude with this ceremony that will be held on Sunday, August 11 at 5 pm at the Honda Center after a weekend of programming and exciting offerings. Ryan Seacrest will host the ceremony, which will feature tributes to each of the honorees as well as special guests, performances, and more.

This year’s honorees include legendary costume designers, actors, filmmakers, animators, composers, and more. See the 2024 honorees below!

Colleen Atwood 

Colleen Atwood is costume designer who has been nominated for an Academy Award a dozen times and won four Oscars. Colleen has designed costumes for 12 Tim Burton movies (with the 2024 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being the 13th collaboration) and has worked on films including Planet of the Apes (2001), Into the Woods (2014), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), Lady and the Tramp (2019), and The Little Mermaid (2023).

Angela Bassett

Actress Angela Bassett has portrayed several notable characters over the years, including Queen Ramonda of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther films as well as many real-life characters including Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks. Her portrayal of Tina Turner in Touchstone Pictures‘ What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actress, and she was the first Black performer to win this category. 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 she was nominated for her second Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for the role of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). 

Martha Blanding

Martha Blanding was the first permanent full-time Black Tour Guide and the embodiment of the principles of hospitality and courtesy that Walt Disney established for Disneyland Cast Members. Martha was hired as a Tour Guide and went on to become a VIP Hostess. She then 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. Martha was considered one of the few pioneering producers of the Official Disneyana Convention and was a co-founder of PULSE, a business employee resource group for Black Disneyland Cast Members.

James L. Brooks

James L. Brooks is a TV and film icon responsible for some of the most beloved entertainment projects of all time. James made his directorial debut with Terms of Endearment (1983) and took home three Oscars for writing, producing, and directing. In 1986, James founded his production company, Gracie Films, where he and his team are trailblazers in the world of television. At James' invitation, Matt Groening created animated interstitials for the company’s The Tracey Ullman Show featuring a dysfunctional family, which led to a full–fledged animated series, The Simpsons, in 1989. Currently in its 35th season, The Simpsons has won 37 Emmy Awards. 

James Cameron

James Cameron is an acclaimed filmmaker, ocean explorer, and environmental advocate. As a director, a writer, and a producer, he's responsible for 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), the latter three being three among the four highest grossing films of all time. Titanic alone won 11 Oscars, including James' for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing. He is currently in post–production on Avatar 3, and in pre–production on Avatar 4 and 5. Teaming up with Walt Disney Imagineering in 2011, James helped to steer the creation of an Avatar–inspired area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis is an actress who has appeared in iconic roles including  “Scream Queen” Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978), Helen Tasker in True Lies (1994), and Tess Coleman in Disney’s remake of the classic body–swap comedy Freaky Friday (2003). In 2023, Jamie Lee portrayed the legendary Madame Leota in Haunted Mansion. For her many performances, Jamie Lee has received a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globes, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy and a Grammy. Most recently, she won an Academy Award 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 in her role as Hannah Montana. She embarked on her wildly popular Best of Both Worlds Tour in 2007, and in 2008, she voiced the character of Penny in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ feature Bolt. For the film, Miley earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song (“I Thought I Lost You”). 2023 saw the release of Miley’s album Endless Summer Vacation, which inspired the documentary concert special Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions), streaming on Disney+. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, Miley was honored with her first–ever wins for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. 

Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko was a comics artist and writer who co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. The introduction of Spider–Man 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. He redesigned Iron Man’s armor into the popular red and gold design, and in the Hulk comics, he codified Bruce Banner’s transformations to be a function of his anger. It is perhaps with Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, that Steve truly expressed his visionary impulses. In the 1990s, Steve helped to co–create all–new characters, including Speedball and Squirrel Girl. 

Harrison Ford 

Harrison Ford has played several iconic action heroes during his acting career, including Han Solo in all three episodes of the original Star Wars trilogy and Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones films. Harrison has been honored with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and he received an honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Harrison Ford's film credits include an Oscar-nominated performance in Witness (1985), The Fugitive (1993), Sabrina (1995), Air Force One (1997), and more.

Mark Henn

Mark Henn is an animator and film director who has worked as supervising animator for young Simba and multiple Disney characters including Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Tiana. Mark has also helped Disney animators bring the “illusion of life” to character animation in CG features such as Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), was lead 2D animator on Big Hero 6 (2014) and Frozen (2013), and served as a 2D animator for “Mini Maui” in Moana (2016). In 2013, he received the prestigious Winsor McCay award for lifetime achievement, ASIFA’s highest award in animation. 

Frank Oz 

Frank Oz is a legendary puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor. As a respected director, Frank has helmed more than a dozen films, including Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), and more. A four–time Emmy winner, Frank is the recipient of The Art Director’s Guild Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award, The Comedy Awards' Creative Achievement Award, The Saturn Lifetime Achievement Award, two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Gold Records, two Platinum Records, and a host of other accolades and honors. He 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, and he also originated and performed the character of Yoda for George Lucas’ Star Wars galaxy. 

Kelly Ripa 

Kelly Ripa is an actress and talk show host with a career at ABC that has spanned over 30 years as co-host and executive producer of Live. Kelly has appeared in several television series including the soap opera All My Children and the sitcom Hope & Faith. Kelly and her husband also started the production company Milojo Productions which produces content across multiple platforms. Kelly has earned numerous accolades over the years, including multiple Daytime Emmy Awards, the prestigious Excellence in Media Award from GLAAD, and Glamour’s Woman of the Year Award. She was also recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as part of the Women in Entertainment Power 100 list, as well as the publication’s 35 Most Powerful People in Media.

Joe Rohde

Joe Rohde recently retired in 2021 as a portfolio creative executive with 40 years at Walt Disney Imagineering and was the overall creative executive and supervising designer for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, including Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain and Pandora – The World of Avatar. Joe's projects include The Adventurers Club (formerly a part of Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World), Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!. Joe was instrumental in creating the Disney Conservation Fund, which has disbursed over $120 million in grants to projects worldwide. He now uses his art to raise funds for international conservation and local community projects, and he received the Disney Conservation Fund’s first Conservation Legacy Award in 2022.

John Williams 

The legendary movie composer John Williams has created music for more than 100 films, including all nine Star Wars saga films and all five Indiana Jones films, during his career. John has received five Academy Awards and 54 Oscar nominations, making him the Academy's most-nominated living person and the second-most-nominated person in the history of the Oscars (second to Walt Disney). John has also received seven British Academy Awards (BAFTA), 26 Grammys, four Golden Globes, and five Emmys, as well as the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, and an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

The Disney Legends honorees are given a bronze 2-foot-tall Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the company. They will also participate in a handprint ceremony during the event, and these bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Walt Disney Company's Burbank Headquarters. 

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