Celebrity activists in Hollywood are demonstrating measurable results from their philanthropy and advocacy, including policy pauses on fossil fuel projects and job placements for underrepresented groups, recent industry awards and reports show.
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen
The Television Academy plans to honor actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen with its Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for their decades of environmental and humanitarian work. The award will be presented at the 77th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, Variety reported July 30, 2025. It marks the first time the award has gone to a couple and the first since 2022.
“Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have long used their voices — and their hearts — to champion causes that uplift the planet and its people,” Television Academy chair Cris Abrego said in the announcement. “From environmental advocacy to humanitarian relief, they lead with grace, integrity and purpose.”
Danson co-founded the American Oceans Campaign in the 1980s to highlight issues including oil spills, offshore development, toxic waste and sewage pollution. The group later merged with Oceana, where he has served on the board and testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources. Steenburgen has championed various initiatives, such as arts education programs in schools. She also helped establish Angels at Risk in 2007, an organization dedicated to assisting families grappling with the dangers of substance abuse.
The couple has also advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and received the Nancy Pelosi Equality Ally Award in 2024.
Jane Fonda
Actress Jane Fonda, a climate activist for more than 50 years, described celebrity involvement as effective in a Feb. 5, 2026, interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She pointed to her Fire Drill Fridays protests in Washington, D.C., beginning in 2019, which included multiple arrests, and her 2022 founding of the Jane Fonda Climate PAC.
The PAC works to elect local “climate champions,” with about 70% of supported candidates being women of color focused on fairness, economic equality and human welfare.
Fonda said her efforts with Greenpeace contributed to the Biden administration’s January 2024 pause on new liquefied natural gas export approvals. She co-produced the documentary “Gaslit,” which premiered Feb. 5, 2026, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and examines LNG impacts in Texas and Louisiana communities, including elevated cancer rates and methane leaks.
“It can totally be effective,” Fonda said of celebrity activism. “Actors, musicians, any person in the public in the limelight has a great role to play right now. We can make such a difference.”
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
A fiscal sponsor has enabled additional celebrity-driven efforts. The Social Impact Fund, a 10-year-old nonprofit, has hosted more than 50 charitable programs that collectively raised nearly $80 million, according to a 2023 Hollywood Reporter article. The fund handles administrative tasks such as IRS compliance so celebrities can focus on programming.
Among those efforts is the Group Effort Initiative by actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. It has placed more than 1,000 people from underrepresented communities in Hollywood jobs and internships in its first three years. “We are incredibly pleased and we wouldn’t be where we are today without the Social Impact Fund, whose unique structure allows the ability to focus on fundraising and programming,” Reynolds said.
Kerry Washington
Actress Kerry Washington established her KW Foundation through the fund to support social impact work. Other participants include actor Bradley Cooper’s One Family Foundation, which aids low-income cancer patients, and singer Shawn Mendes’ foundation, which provides grants and scholarships to youth activists.
Lily Collins
Lily Collins, whose empowerment fund supports girls’ education and self-esteem programs through the Social Impact Fund since 2015, said the structure allows organized responses to crises. “That is how you want to be making change — knowing that your funds and your donations are being properly handled,” she said.
The examples reflect a pattern in which celebrities pair fame with structured giving. Danson and Steenburgen’s award underscores recognition of lifetime service. Fonda’s PAC and protests illustrate direct policy influence. Initiatives backed by the Social Impact Fund show scaled philanthropy without the overhead of independent foundations.
Industry officials note such work extends beyond one-off donations.
The Television Academy’s selection of Danson and Steenburgen, alongside Fonda’s ongoing PAC activities, highlights how celebrity platforms can sustain long-term advocacy on issues ranging from ocean conservation to climate policy and workforce access.
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