2026 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony Hosted by James Corden: Hollywood Honors Scientific Achievement
LOS ANGELES — April 18, 2026 — Under the lights of Hollywood, the twelfth Breakthrough Prize ceremony honored scientists responsible for landmark advances in gene therapy, neurodegenerative disease, theories of fundamental particles and forces, and the mathematics of critical systems.
Known around the world as “the Oscars® of Science,” the gala gathered prominent figures from across science, technology, business, entertainment and the arts — alongside current and past Breakthrough Prize laureates — for an evening devoted to celebrating scientific progress and the people who make it possible. After walking the red carpet, scientists were welcomed onstage by celebrity presenters to receive their awards.
The ceremony was held in Los Angeles, with actor and Emmy Award winner James Corden returning for the fourth time to host the evening.
Full recap of presenters and awards can be found at https://breakthroughprize.org/News/99.
00:10 James Corden Opening Monologue
07:47 Octavia Spencer and Sean Penn Award Breakthrough Prize to Stuart Orkin and Swee Lay Thein
13:05 Sam Altman and Brian Chesky Present the Muon g-2 Collaborations at CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermilab
18:02 Jensen Huang and Yuri Milner Announce Vera Rubin Prize and Carolina Figueiredo
24:59 Gigi Hadid and Tekedra Mawakana Announce Katherine High, Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire and Hannah Reif
31:46 Mark Rober and James Corden Science Demonstration
34:38 Eileen Gu and Magnus Carlsen Honor Cliff Brangwynne and Anthony Hyman
38:45 Sergey Brin and GG Soto Present Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics to Frank Merle
42:30 Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks Honor Jim Lovell and In Memoriam with Renée Fleming, Billy Childs and Robert Downey Jr.
51:30 John Legend and Demis Hassabis Announce Rosa Rademakers, Bryan Traynor and Yentli Soto Albrecht
1:01:16 Michelle Williams and Lily Collins Honor David Gross
1:05:30 Julia Milner and Mark Rober Presented Breakthrough Junior Challenge Winner Matea Cañizares
1:10:15 Lionel Richie and Choir Sing We are the World
1:13:56 Anne Hathaway and climber Alex Honnold presented a video telling the story of Baby KJ
1:20:20 David Guetta and Ava Max Perform “Forever Young” and Laureate Final Bow