Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is an award presented by the Screen Actors Guild's National Honors and Tributes Committee for "outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession." The award predates the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards by over thirty years. The first recipient of the award was performer and comedian Eddie Cantor, awarded to him in 1962. Since 1962, the award has been presented every year except for 1963 and 1981. There has been two occasions where two individuals received the award the same year: the first in 1985, when it was presented to actor Paul Newman and actress Joanne Woodward, and again in 2000, when it was presented to civil rights activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. As of 2017, 54 individuals have received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award: 45 males and 19 females.