The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented is a major part of the film industry's awards season, which culminates each year with the Academy Awards.

The 1st Golden Globe Awards were held in January 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles. The 69th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2011, were presented on January 15, 2012, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where they have been held annually since 1961.

The first Golden Globe Awards were held in 1944, at the 20th Century Fox studios. Subsequent ceremonies would be held at various venues throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as an international figure within the entertainment industry, the first award was presented to director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille. The official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (/dɨˈkæpri.oʊ/; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. He has been nominated for the Golden Globe Award eight times as an actor, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator (2004). He has also been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Awards, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, DiCaprio started his career by appearing in television commercials prior to landing recurring roles in TV series such as the soap opera Santa Barbara and the sitcom Growing Pains in the early 1990s. He made his film debut in the comedic sci-fi horror film Critters 3 (1991) and received first notable critical praise for his performance in This Boy's Life (1993). DiCaprio obtained recognition for his subsequent work in supporting roles in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Marvin's Room (1996), as well as leading roles in The Basketball Diaries (1995) and Romeo + Juliet (1996), before achieving international fame in James Cameron's Titanic (1997).

Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor, film producer and musician. Renner appeared largely in independent films throughout the 2000's such as Dahmer (2002) and Neo Ned (2005). He also offered supporting acting work in bigger films, S.W.A.T. and 28 Weeks Later (2007). He eventually came to prominence for his critically acclaimed performance in The Hurt Locker (2009) which garnered him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He then turned out another praised performance for his role in The Town for which he received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This subsequent recognition gave him the opportunity to star alongside some of Hollywood's biggest talent in blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and The Avengers (2012) which broke records grossing more than a billion dollars internationally.

Renner was born in Modesto, California, the first child of Valerie and Lee Renner, who managed a bowling alley. His parents married as teenagers and divorced when he was ten. He has five younger siblings, He graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School and attended Modesto Junior College. Renner is of German and Irish descent.