Academy Invites 529 New Members for 2026 Oscar Voting
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- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 529 new members for its 2026 class, a slightly leaner roster than the 534 invited last year, with 95 Oscar nominees (21 winners) and three Scientific and Technical Awards recipients among them.
- The 2026 class is 42% women, 56% from underrepresented communities (a notable jump from 45% in 2025), and 53% drawn from 60 countries outside the United States, per Academy demographic data.
- If all 2026 invitees accept, total AMPAS membership will reach 11,319 with 10,338 voting members, and the overall Academy will stand at 36% women, 25% underrepresented communities, and 22% international.
- Actors branch invitees include Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth ("Frankenstein"), Jenna Ortega, Julia Garner ("Weapons"), Josh O'Connor ("Wake Up Dead Man"), Stephen Fry, Josh Gad, Lily Rabe, Jenny Slate, and Mathieu Amalric — several of whom the article flags as long overdue.
- Notable directors invited include Zach Cregger ("Weapons"), brothers Benny and Josh Safdie, Korean genre stylist Kim Jee-woon, China's Guan Hu, and Mexican filmmakers Alonso Ruizpalacios and Fernanda Valadez.
- Ryan Coogler remains absent from the Academy, having declined an invitation nearly a decade ago, and his wife Zinzi Coogler was also not included this year despite her best-picture nomination for "Sinners."
- "KPop Demon Hunters" creators — directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang and singer EJae (whose original song "Golden" won an Oscar) — join the membership ranks alongside Disney's new CEO Josh D'Amaro.
Why it matters: The Academy's 2026 class pushes underrepresented-community membership to 56% (up from 45% last year) while keeping the roster leaner than peak years, meaning each new invitee carries more weight in shaping the roughly 10,338-person voting body that picks Oscar winners.
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