Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn will receive a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs September 2 through 12. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the honor.
Burstyn, 93, will attend the festival to receive the award at the screening of Flesh Impact, a new short film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film also stars Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sepideh Moafi.
"Wow! I not only get to travel to one of my top most favorite cities in the whole world. I get to return home carrying a Golden Lion in my arms!," Burstyn said in a statement. "I feel so honored— so happy — so filled with gratitude! Wow indeed!"
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera called Burstyn an actress "of rare intensity and truth" who has spent more than fifty years bringing "depth and complexity to unforgettable female characters embodying the contradictions and transformations in the contemporary woman."
Barbera pointed to several of Burstyn's most celebrated roles, including her Academy Award-nominated performances in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), and Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her role in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) won her the Best Actress Oscar.
"Over the years she worked with some of the most important film directors of the time: Alain Resnais in Providence, Paul Schrader in Hardcore, Bob Rafelson in The King of Marvin Gardens, Paul Mazursky in Alex in Wonderland and Harry and Tonto," Barbera said, also noting her work with Christopher Nolan on Interstellar (2014).
Burstyn has received six Oscar nominations total, five of them in the Best Actress category. She is also an Emmy, Tony, BAFTA, and Golden Globe winner. She remains active, having recently re-teamed with Pieces of a Woman director Kornél Mundruczó for his upcoming drama Place to Be.
The festival's full 2026 lineup is scheduled to be announced on July 23.
