Debbie Allen will need to make some room on her mantle — the Television Academy’s Governors Award will soon take its place among her three Emmys, Golden Globe, Olivier Award, and 10 NAACP Image Awards. According to Variety, Allen will receive the Governors Award at the 2021 Emmys. The honor is given to “an individual or organization in the television arts and sciences whose achievement is so exceptional and universal in nature that it goes beyond the scope of annual Emmy Awards recognition.”
Allen is being recognized for her “numerous contributions to the television medium through multiple creative forms and her philanthropic endeavors around the world,” the Television Academy’s Board of Governors announced. They lauded the actor, director, and choreographer’s “unprecedented achievements in television and her commitment to inspire and engage marginalized youth through dance, theater arts, and mentorship.”
Casting director Marion Dougherty and voice actress June Foray are among the award’s previous recipients.
“Debbie Allen has been a creative voice for a generation of performers and storytellers and has left an indelible mark on the television industry,” said Governors Award selection committee co-chair Eva Basler. “Debbie’s commitment to mentoring underserved communities has been nothing short of extraordinary,” agreed co-chair Debra Curtis. “She has shared her gift and love of dance and choreography with countless aspiring performers across the globe.”
Allen added, “This has been an amazing year for me. To be celebrated by the Television Academy is an overwhelming honor that humbles me and says to my community of dancing gypsies, actors, writers, and musicians that if you stay passionate about your craft and do the work, you can go far.”
As a dancer, Allen has choreographed the Academy Awards 10 times and has worked with the likes of Mariah Carey, Phylicia Rashad, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Gwen Verdon, Diane Carroll, Lena Horne, and Dolly Parton. She has created original works as an artist in residence at the Kennedy Center, and started the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in order to teach dance and theater arts to marginalized youth. Since its 2000 launch, the nonprofit has grown to also offer classes to cancer patients, seniors, and domestic abuse survivors.
Allen’s best-known screen credits include “Fame,” its spinoff series of the same name, and “Grey’s Anatomy.” The latter is among her many directing credits, as are “Scandal,” “Insecure,” and “Jane the Virgin.” She has produced titles including “Grey’s,” the “Fame” series, and “A Different World.”
Allen holds four honorary doctorates and is a Kennedy Center Honoree. Earlier this month, she signed on for the DGA’s inaugural Women’s Steering Committee Squad Mentorship Program. The initiative will see her mentoring Morenike Joela Evans for six months.
The Emmys will air September 19 on CBS. This year’s nominees include “I May Destroy You,” “Hacks,” and “Pen15.”
