1986 Golden Globes: Winners and Nominees

56 films were recognised at the 1986 Golden Globe Awards, across 24 categories. 18 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Prizzi's Honor, with 4 awards, ahead of Out of Africa with 3. The categories below run from Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture and Best Television Series - Drama 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 Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Miami Vice(1984)
Winner
Amos(1985)
Noriyuki “Pat” Morita
Death of a Salesman(1985)
John Malkovich
Dynasty(1981)
John James
Hill Street Blues(1981)
Bruce Weitz
North and South(1985)
David Carradine
St. Elsewhere(1982)
Ed Begley Jr.

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

Agnes of God(1985)
Meg Tilly
Winner
Kiss of the Spider Woman(1985)
Sônia Braga
Prizzi's Honor(1985)
Anjelica Huston
The Color Purple(1985)
Oprah Winfrey
Twice in a Lifetime(1985)
Amy Madigan
Witness(1985)
Kelly McGillis

Best Television Series - Drama

Murder, She Wrote(1984)
Winner
Cagney & Lacey(1982)
Dynasty(1981)
Dynasty (1981-1989)
Hill Street Blues(1981)
Miami Vice(1984)
St. Elsewhere(1982)

Best Director - Motion Picture

Prizzi's Honor(1985)
John Huston
Winner
A Chorus Line(1985)
Richard Attenborough
Out of Africa(1985)
Sydney Pollack
The Color Purple(1985)
Steven Spielberg
Witness(1985)
Peter Weir

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Out of Africa(1985)
Winner
Kiss of the Spider Woman(1985)
Runaway Train(1985)
The Color Purple(1985)
Color Purple, The
Witness(1985)

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Prizzi's Honor(1985)
Winner
A Chorus Line(1985)
Chorus Line: The Movie, A
Back to the Future(1985)
Cocoon(1985)
The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)
Purple Rose of Cairo, The

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

The Official Story(1985)
Official Story, The
Winner
A Year of the Quiet Sun(1984)
Year of the Quiet Sun, A
Colonel Redl(1985)
Ran(1985)
When Father Was Away on Business(1985)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Out of Africa(1985)
John Barry
Winner
The Color Purple(1985)
Quincy Jones
White Nights(1985)
Michel Colombier
Witness(1985)
Maurice Jarre
Year of the Dragon(1985)
David Mansfield

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

White Nights(1985)
Say You, Say Me
Winner
A View to a Kill(1985)
A View To a Kill
Back to the Future(1985)
The Power of Love
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome(1985)
We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
The Last Dragon (Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon)(1985)
Rhythm of the Night

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

Death of a Salesman(1985)
Dustin Hoffman
Winner
Amos(1985)
Kirk Douglas
Kane & Abel(1985)
Peter Strauss
The Rape of Richard Beck(1985)
Richard Crenna
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story(1985)
Richard Chamberlain

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Runaway Train(1985)
Jon Voight
Winner
Kiss of the Spider Woman(1985)
William Hurt
Kiss of the Spider Woman(1985)
Raul Julia
Twice in a Lifetime(1985)
Gene Hackman
Witness(1985)
Harrison Ford

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

Prizzi's Honor(1985)
Jack Nicholson
Winner
After Hours(1985)
Griffin Dunne
Back to the Future(1985)
Michael J. Fox
Murphy's Romance(1985)
James Garner
The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)
Jeff Daniels

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

Out of Africa(1985)
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Winner
Mask(1985)
Eric Stoltz
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins(1985)
Joel Grey
Runaway Train(1985)
Eric Roberts
Year of the Dragon(1985)
John Lone

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Miami Vice(1984)
Winner
Dynasty(1981)
John Forsythe
Hill Street Blues(1981)
Daniel J. Travanti
Magnum, P.I.(1980)
Tom Selleck
Miami Vice(1984)

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

The Cosby Show(1984)
Bill Cosby
Winner
Cheers(1982)
Ted Danson
Family Ties(1982)
Michael J. Fox
Moonlighting(1985)
Bruce Willis
Newhart(1982)
Bob Newhart

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

A Time to Live(1985)
Liza Minnelli
Winner
An Early Frost(1985)
Gena Rowlands
Consenting Adult(1985)
Marlo Thomas
Do You Remember Love(1985)
Joanne Woodward
The Jewel in the Crown(1984)
Peggy Ashcroft

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

The Color Purple(1985)
Whoopi Goldberg
Winner
Agnes of God(1985)
Anne Bancroft
Mask(1985)
Cher
Out of Africa(1985)
Meryl Streep
The Trip to Bountiful(1985)
Geraldine Page

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

Prizzi's Honor(1985)
Kathleen Turner
Winner
Desperately Seeking Susan(1985)
Rosanna Arquette
Maxie(1985)
Glenn Close
Murphy's Romance(1985)
Sally Field
The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)
Mia Farrow

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

An Early Frost(1985)
Sylvia Sidney
Winner
Benson(1979)
Inga Swenson
Death of a Salesman(1985)
Kate Reid
North and South(1985)
Lesley-Anne Down
Who's the Boss?(1984)
Katherine Helmond

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Cagney & Lacey(1982)
Sharon Gless
Winner
Cagney & Lacey(1982)
Tyne Daly
Dynasty(1981)
Joan Collins
Dynasty(1981)
Linda Evans
Murder, She Wrote(1984)
Angela Lansbury

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

Moonlighting(1985)
Cybill Shepherd
Winner
The Golden Girls(1985)
Estelle Getty
Winner
The Golden Girls(1985)
Beatrice Arthur
The Golden Girls(1985)
Rue McClanahan
The Golden Girls(1985)
Betty White

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)
Woody Allen
Winner
Back to the Future(1985)
Bob Gale
Out of Africa(1985)
Kurt Luedtke
Prizzi's Honor(1985)
Richard Condon
Witness(1985)
William Kelley

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television

The Jewel in the Crown(1984)
Jewel in the Crown, The
Winner
Amos(1985)
An Early Frost(1985)
Death of a Salesman(1985)
Do You Remember Love(1985)
Do You Remember Love?

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

The Golden Girls(1985)
Golden Girls, The
Winner
Family Ties(1982)
Kate & Allie(1984)
Moonlighting(1985)
The Cosby Show(1984)
Cosby Show, The

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