1981 Golden Globes: Winners and Nominees

58 films were recognised at the 1981 Golden Globe Awards, across 24 categories. 16 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Ordinary People, with 5 awards, ahead of Shōgun with 3. The categories below run from Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language, Best Original Score - Motion Picture and Best Original Song - Motion Picture to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Stunt Man(1980)
Dominic Frontiere
Winner
American Gigolo(1980)
Giorgio Moroder
Fame(1980)
Michael Gore
Somewhere in Time(1980)
John Barry
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
John Williams
The Competition(1980)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Fame(1980)
Winner
American Gigolo(1980)
Call Me
Endless Love(1981)
Falling in Love Again(1980)
Yesterday's Dreams
Nine to Five(1980)
The Jazz Singer(1980)
Love on the Rocks

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Ninth Configuration(1980)
William Peter Blatty
Winner
Ordinary People(1980)
Alvin Sargent
Raging Bull(1980)
Mardik Martin
Raging Bull(1980)
Paul Schrader
The Elephant Man(1980)
The Stunt Man(1980)
Lawrence B. Marcus

Best Television Series - Drama

Shōgun(1980)
Winner
Dallas(1978)
Hart to Hart(1979)
Lou Grant(1977)
Moviola(1980)
Vega$(1978)

Best Director - Motion Picture

Ordinary People(1980)
Robert Redford
Winner
Raging Bull(1980)
Martin Scorsese
Tess(1979)
Roman Polanski
The Elephant Man(1980)
The Stunt Man(1980)
Richard Rush

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Ordinary People(1980)
Winner
Raging Bull(1980)
The Elephant Man(1980)
The Ninth Configuration(1980)
Ninth Configuration, The
The Stunt Man(1980)
Stunt Man, The

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Winner
Airplane!(1980)
Fame(1980)
Melvin and Howard(1980)
The Idolmaker(1980)
Idolmaker, The

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Raging Bull(1980)
Robert De Niro
Winner
Ordinary People(1980)
Donald Sutherland
The Elephant Man(1980)
The Stunt Man(1980)
Peter O’Toole
Tribute(1980)
Jack Lemmon

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

The Idolmaker(1980)
Ray Sharkey
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Tommy Lee Jones
Hopscotch(1980)
Walter Matthau
Melvin and Howard(1980)
Paul Le Mat
The Jazz Singer(1980)
Neil Diamond

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Alice(1976)
Winner
One Day at a Time(1975)
Winner
Flo(1980)
Geoffrey Lewis
Taxi(1978)
Danny DeVito
Taxi(1978)
Andy Kaufman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Ordinary People(1980)
Timothy Hutton
Winner
Melvin and Howard(1980)
Jason Robards Jr.
Ordinary People(1980)
Judd Hirsch
Raging Bull(1980)
Joe Pesci
The Ninth Configuration(1980)
Scott Wilson

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Shōgun(1980)
Richard Chamberlain
Winner
Dallas(1978)
Larry Hagman
Hart to Hart(1979)
Lou Grant(1977)
Vega$(1978)
Robert Ulrich

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

M*A*S*H(1972)
Winner
Barney Miller(1975)
House Calls(1979)
Wayne Rogers
Taxi(1978)
Judd Hirsch
The Love Boat(1977)
Gavin MacLeod

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Ordinary People(1980)
Mary Tyler Moore
Winner
Gloria(1980)
Gena Rowlands
Resurrection(1980)
Ellen Burstyn
Tess(1979)
Nastassja Kinski
Touched by Love(1980)
Deborah Raffin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Sissy Spacek
Winner
Divine Madness(1980)
Bette Midler
Fame(1980)
Irene Cara
Nine to Five(1980)
Private Benjamin(1980)
Goldie Hawn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Alice(1976)
Winner
One Day at a Time(1975)
Winner
Alice(1976)
Lou Grant(1977)
Taxi(1978)
Marilu Henner

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Melvin and Howard(1980)
Mary Steenburgen
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Beverly D’Angelo
Raging Bull(1980)
Cathy Moriarty
The Jazz Singer(1980)
Lucie Arnaz
Urban Cowboy(1980)
Debra Winger

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Shōgun(1980)
Yoko Shimada
Winner
Dallas(1978)
Barbara Bel Geddes
Dallas(1978)
Linda Gray
Hart to Hart(1979)
Little House on the Prairie(1974)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Soap(1977)
Katherine Helmond
Winner
Alice(1976)
Flo(1980)
Polly Holliday
House Calls(1979)
Lynn Redgrave
WKRP in Cincinnati(1978)
Loni Anderson

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Taxi(1978)
Winner
Alice(1976)
M*A*S*H(1972)
Soap(1977)
The Love Boat(1977)

New Star Of The Year - Actor

Ordinary People(1980)
Timothy Hutton
Winner
Altered States(1980)
William Hurt
The Blue Lagoon(1980)
The Great Santini(1979)
The Stunt Man(1980)
Steve Railsback

New Star Of The Year - Actress

Tess(1979)
Nastassja Kinski
Winner
Dressed to Kill(1980)
Nancy Allen
Nine to Five(1980)
Raging Bull(1980)
Cathy Moriarty
Urban Cowboy(1980)
Debra Winger

Television Movie

The Shadow Box(1980)
Shadow Box, The
Winner
A Tale of Two Cities(1980)
Tale of Two Cities, A
Playing for Time(1980)
The Diary of Anne Frank(1980)
The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd(1980)
Ordeal of Dr. Mudd, The

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