The Governors Awards presentation is an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Three awards that signify lifetime achievement within the film industry – the Academy Honorary Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award – are presented at this ceremony. The first Governors Awards ceremony was held on November 14, 2009. These three awards were formerly presented during the main Academy Awards ceremony, which now conducts a short mention and appearance of the awards recipients after displaying a montage of the Governors Awards presentation.

The Governors Awards present the Academy Honorary Award (every year), Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (some years), and Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (some years) are presented at the ceremony. The Governors Awards are held leading up to the main Academy Awards ceremony. The Awards are not voted upon but, rather, are conferred by the Academy's Board of Governors.

The Academy Honorary Awards and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards are both Oscar statuettes, while the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, formerly a small bust of Thalberg on a plinth, is now also an Oscar statuette as of 2024.

The Academy Honorary Award is given for "extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy". The Thalberg Award is given to "a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production".

The board members of AMPAS had previously been concerned about awarding more than one or two Honorary Academy Awards each year for fear of lengthening the main Academy Awards presentation but, in most iterations of the Governors Awards to date, they have awarded three Honorary Academy Awards. In the history of the Governors Awards, the Hersholt Award and the Thalberg Award has typically been given in separate years.

The smaller presentation of the Governors Awards was designed to invoke the feel of the early Academy Award ceremonies. During the event, several notable colleagues of the awardees give them tributes before they make an acceptance speech. Though the event has not been televised, thus far, the Academy posted most of the speeches online.

Since its inception, the event has become a major red-carpet stop for many prospective Oscar hopefuls, including actors and filmmakers, and is, in some ways, the first major stop of the seasonal Awards Circuit.

The Academy held its 1st Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 14, 2009. The following awards were presented.