Ariana Grande, Brandi Carlile & Andrew Watt Among 534 People Invited to Join Motion Picture Academy

Ariana Grande, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, Branford Marsalis, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Raj Kapoor are among 534 individuals who were invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Thursday (June 26).

Of the 2025 invited class, 41% are women, 45% belong to what the academy calls “underrepresented communities” and 55% are from outside the U.S. The list of invitees includes 91 Oscar nominees, including 26 winners, and three Scientific and Technical Award recipients.

If all of these invitees accept membership, the total number of members (including Emeritus) in the academy will be 11,120 and the number of voting members will be 10,143. Furthermore, if all 2025 invitees accept membership, the academy will consist of 35% women, 22% individuals from underrepresented communities and 21% individuals from outside the U.S.

The academy notes that demographic information is provided by the candidate when possible or projected through publicly available research and will be confirmed by members upon acceptance. It also pointedly notes: “The academy’s membership process is conducted by sponsorship, not application. …Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the academy’s membership in 2025.”

It adds: “Membership selection is based on professional qualifications, with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority.”

Candidates must be sponsored by two academy members from the branch or category to which the candidate seeks admission. Academy Award nominees are automatically considered for membership in the year in which they are nominated and do not require sponsors.

Branch executive committees review candidates, and recommendations for membership are considered and approved by the academy’s board of governors.

Twelve individuals were invited to join the academy by multiple branches. These individuals must select one branch upon accepting membership.

Grande, whose film credits include Wicked and Don’t Look Up, was invited to join the actor’s branch. She was nominated for an Oscar in January for best supporting actress for Wicked.

Clément Ducol and Camille, who won an Oscar for best original song on March 2 for co-writing “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, and Daniel Blumberg, who won an Oscar for best original score for The Brutalist, were invited to join the music branch, as were such other current or past Oscar nominees as Carlile and Watt, who were nominated for co-writing “Never Too Late” for the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late; Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada, who were nominated for co-writing “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing; and Linda Thompson, who was nominated for co-writing “I Have Nothing” from the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

In addition, two past nominees for best sound, Jack Dolman (Wicked) and Maxence Dussère (Emilia Pérez), were invited to join the music branch.

O’Brien, who is set to host the Oscars on March 15, 2026, and four-time past host Kimmel were among those invited to join the academy as associate members. Associate membership is extended by invitation only through the membership committee and the board of governors to recognize service to the academy and commitment to the film industry. Associates are not eligible to vote for the Oscars or serve on academy governance committees.

Others who were offered associate memberships include Kapoor, who currently serves as an executive producer of both the Oscars and the Grammys; Eric Esrailian, Ray Halbritter, Molly McNearney, Katy Mullan, Dominic Ng and Rob Paine.

Here are the individuals who have been invited to join the music branch or as associate members.

Music Branch

Segun Akinola – The Bayou, Girl You Know It’s True

Abraham Alexander – Sing Sing

Chris Bacon – Heretic, Men in Black: International

Diego Baldenweg – In the Land of Saints and Sinners, The Reformer. Zwingli: A Life’s Portrait

Andranik Berberyan – Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev, Amerikatsi

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist, The World to Come

René G. Boscio – Lake George, Emergency

Camille – Emilia Pérez, Corsage

Brandi Carlile – Elton John: Never Too Late, Onward

Kwong Wing Chan – Peg O’ My Heart, The Dumpling Queen

Toby Chu – The Monkey King, Found

Lorenz Dangel – September 5, Dying

Jack Dolman – Wicked, Bones and All

Clément Ducol – Emilia Pérez, Chicken for Linda!

Maxence Dussère – Emilia Pérez, Le Principal

Stephanie Economou – My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Wei San Hsu – Invisible Nation, Another Woman

Amanda Delores Patricia Jones – Mea Culpa, Moving On

Siddhartha Khosla – A Family Affair, The Idea of You

Tom Kramer – Chupa, Captain Marvel

Michael A. Levine – Outbreak, Atypical Wednesday

Branford Marsalis – Rustin Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Nami Melumad – Thor: Love and Thunder, The Adventures of Thomasina Sawyer

Youssou N’Dour – Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love, Kirikou and the Sorceress

Ré Olunuga – Drift, Girl

Adrian Quesada – Home Free, Sing Sing

Nic Ratner – Bottoms, The Humans

Carlos Rafael Rivera – Ezra, Chupa

Linda Thompson – The Bodyguard, Pretty Woman

Amritha Vaz – Little Stones, Miss India America

Isobel Waller-Bridge – Magpie, Wicked Little Letters

Andrew Watt – Elton John: Never Too Late, Barbie

Anthony Willis – M3GAN, Saltburn

Rihards Zaļupe – Flow, Kaka, Pavasaris un Draugi

Associate Membership

Eric Esrailian

Ray Halbritter

Raj Kapoor

Jimmy Kimmel

Molly McNearney

Katy Mullan

Dominic Ng

Conan O’Brien

Rob Paine