British actors who have received UK honours

To celebrate the film award season, we look at some famous actors who have received a knighthood, damehood, CBE, OBE or MBE British honour.

Actors who have received a knighthood or damehood

Some of the United Kingdon’s most celebrated actors and directors have been honoured with knighthoods and damehoods through the years. Past stage and screen greats such as Sir John Gielgud (Gazette issue 39863) and Sir Alec Guinness (Gazette issue 41589) were knighted, while acting royalty Laurence Olivier was also appointed a Knight Bachelor (Kt) in the 1947 Birthday Honours “for services to the stage and to films” (Gazette issue 37977).

Olivier was also later appointed to the Order of Merit in 1981 (Gazette issue 48524) and remains the first and only life peer created predominantly for his acting abilities (Gazette issue 45117).

More recently, acting legends Dame Judi Dench (Gazette issue 51171), Sir Ian McKellen (Gazette issue 52382) and Dame Julie Walters (Gazette issue 61962) have also been recognised for their careers.

While all female actors with damehoods have been appointed Dame Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), male actor knighthoods have varied. In the past, the likes of Sir Charlie Chaplin (Gazette issue 46444) and Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Gazette issue 48041) were appointed Knight Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). However, in more recent history, male actors have tended to be appointed as Knight Bachelors (Kt); a basic rank of knighthood in the British honours system, which entitles them to the title ‘Sir’ but does not involve induction into an order of chivalry.

Living actors with a knighthood or damehood

Here is a list of notable living actors who have received a knighthood or damehood:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Dame Judi Dench	DBE	51171	30 December 1987
Sir Ian McKellen	Kt	52382	28 December 1990
Sir Anthony Hopkins	Kt	53153	31 December 1992
Dame Julie Andrews	DBE	55710	31 December 1999
Sir Michael Caine	Kt	55879	19 June 2000
Sir Ben Kingsley	Kt	56430	31 December 2001
Dame Helen Mirren	DBE	56963	14 June 2003
Sir Patrick Stewart	Kt	59282	31 December 2009
Sir Kenneth Branagh	Kt	60173	16 June 2012
Sir Daniel Day-Lewis	Kt	60895	14 June 2014
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas	DBE	61092	31 December 2014
Dame Julie Walters	DBE	61962	16 June 2017
Sir Mark Rylance	Kt	61803	31 December 2016
Dame Emma Thompson	DBE	62310	9 June 2018
Sir Jonathan Pryce	Kt	63377	12 June 2021
Dame Vanessa Redgrave	DBE	63571	31 December 2021
Dame Imelda Staunton	DBE	64423	15 June 2024
Sir Stephen Fry	Kt	64607	31 December 2024
Sir Gary Oldman	Kt	64759	14 June 2025
Sir Idris Elba	Kt	64940	30 December 2025

Former actors who received a knighthood or damehood

Here is a list of notable former actors who received a knighthood or damehood:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Sir Laurence Olivier	Kt	37977	12 June 1947
Sir John Gielgud	Kt	39863	26 May 1953
Sir Alec Guinness	Kt	41589	30 December 1958
Dame Gladys Cooper	DBE	44326	10 June 1967
Sir Charlie Chaplin	KBE	46444	31 December 1974
Sir Alfred Hitchcock	KBE	48041	28 December 1979
Dame Maggie Smith	DBE	51981	29 December 1989
Sir Dirk Bogarde	Kt	52767	31 December 1991
Sir Michael Gambon	Kt	54993	31 December 1997
Sir Ian Holm	Kt	55155	13 June 1998
Sir Sean Connery	Kt	55710	31 December 1999
Dame Elizabeth Taylor	DBE	55710	31 December 1999
Sir Roger Moore	KBE	56963	14 June 2003
Dame Angela Lansbury	DBE	60728	31 December 2013
Sir John Hurt	Kt	61092	31 December 2014

Living actors who have received British honours

If they have not received a knighthood or damehood, the majority of notable living actors with British honours have been appointed either a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) or a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

One notable exception is Daniel Craig, who was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2022 New Year Honours for “services to Film and Theatre” (Gazette issue 63571). This matches the CMG given to James Bond in the fictional series.

Here is a list of notable actors and their honours:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Liam Neeson	OBE	55710	31 December 1999
Brian Cox	CBE	56797	31 December 2002
Tom Wilkinson	OBE	57509	31 December 2004
Hugh Laurie	CBE	58196	30 December 2006
Catherine Zeta-Jones	CBE	59446	12 June 2010
Colin Firth	CBE	59808	11 June 2011
Helena Bonham Carter	CBE	60009	31 December 2011
Kate Winslet	CBE	60173	16 June 2012
Ewan McGregor	OBE	60367	29 December 2012
Emily Watson	OBE	61092	31 December 2014
Benedict Cumberbatch	CBE	61256	13 June 2015
Chiwetel Ejiofor	CBE	61256	13 June 2015
Eddie Redmayne	OBE	61256	13 June 2015
Naomie Harris	OBE	61803	31 December 2016
Tom Hardy	CBE	62310	9 June 2018
Keira Knightley	OBE	62310	9 June 2018
Thandiwe Newton	OBE	62507	29 December 2018
Olivia Colman	CBE	62666	8 June 2019
Daniel Craig	CMG	63571	1 January 2022
Stephen Graham	OBE	63918	31 December 2022
Carey Mulligan	CBE	64607	31 December 2024
Samantha Morton	OBE	64759	14 June 2025
Warwick Davis	OBE	64940	30 December 2025
Cynthia Erivo	MBE	64940	30 December 2025

Former actors who have received British honours

Here is a list of notable former actors who were appointed a CBE, OBE or MBE:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Paul Scofield	CBE	40669	2 January 1956
Peter Sellers	CBE	44004	11 June 1966
Richard Burton	CBE	45117	13 June 1970
Glenda Jackson	CBE	47549	3 June 1978
Margaret Lockwood	CBE	48467	31 December 1980
Deborah Kerr	CBE	55155	13 June 1998
Dudley Moore	CBE	56237	16 June 2001
Lynn Redgrave	OBE	56430	31 December 2001
Richard Briers	CBE	56963	14 June 2003
Pete Postlethwaite	OBE	57155	31 December 2003

Actors who are members of the Order of the Companions of Honour

The Companion of Honour (CH) is an honour given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the arts, science, medicine or the government over a long period of time. It was founded by George V in 1917 and is limited to just 65 people at any one time.

There are currently two actors who are members of the Companion of Honour:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Dame Judi Dench	CH	57665	11 June 2005
Sir Ian McKellen	CH	58557	29 December 2007

Here are some notable former actors who were members of the Companion of Honour:

Name	Honour	Gazette issue	Date
Dame Sybil Thorndike	CH	45117	13 June 1970
Sir John Gielgud	CH	47234	11 June 1977
Sir Alec Guinness	CH	53696	11 June 1994
Paul Scofield	CH	56070	30 December 2000
Dame Maggie Smith	CH	60895	14 June 2014

Foreign actors with honorary British honours

Anybody in the UK can make a recommendation for a British national to receive an honour. However, the Foreign Office does also recommend honorary awards for foreign nationals to be approved by the sovereign.

Should someone receive an honorary knighthood or damehood, the recipient is entitled to place initials after his/her name. However, unlike citizens of countries that do have the King as their head of state, they are not entitled to style themselves ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’.

Three notable actors have received honorary awards in recent years, with the first being Sidney Poitier who was appointed an honorary KBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974 for his outstanding contribution to the arts. Kevin Spacey also received the same honour in 2015, having previously been appointed an honorary CBE in 2010. In June 2014, Angela Jolie was appointed an Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) for “services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end warzone sexual violence”.

While not an actor, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg also received an honorary KBE in 2001.

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Publication date

2 March 2026

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