1988 Golden Globes: Winners and Nominees

73 films were recognised at the 1988 Golden Globe Awards, across 24 categories. 19 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Last Emperor, with 4 awards, ahead of Escape from Sobibor with 2. 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 Motion Picture - Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television 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

Escape from Sobibor(1987)
Rutger Hauer
Winner
Billionaire Boys Club(1987)
Brian McNamara
Dynasty(1981)
Gordon Thomson
Growing Pains(1985)
Kirk Cameron
L.A. Law(1986)
Alan Rachins
Magnum, P.I.(1980)
John Hillerman
Night Court(1984)
John Larroquette
Sworn to Silence(1987)
Dabney Coleman

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Last Emperor(1987)
Last Emperor, The
Winner
Cry Freedom(1987)
Empire of the Sun(1987)
Fatal Attraction(1987)
La Bamba(1987)
Nuts(1987)

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

LBJ: The Early Years(1987)
Randy Quaid
Winner
After the Promise(1987)
Mark Harmon
Billionaire Boys Club(1987)
Judd Nelson
Escape from Sobibor(1987)
Alan Arkin
In Love and War(1987)
James Woods
Long Day's Journey Into Night(1987)
Jack Lemmon

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

Good Morning, Vietnam(1987)
Robin Williams
Winner
Broadcast News(1987)
William Hurt
Dirty Dancing(1987)
Patrick Swayze
Moonstruck(1987)
Nicolas Cage
Roxanne(1987)
Steve Martin
Throw Momma from the Train(1987)
Danny DeVito

Best Television Series - Drama

L.A. Law(1986)
Winner
A Year in the Life(1987)
Year in the Life, A
Beauty and the Beast(1987)
Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Murder, She Wrote(1984)
St. Elsewhere(1982)
thirtysomething(1987)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

The Golden Girls(1985)
Golden Girls, The
Winner
Cheers(1982)
Family Ties(1982)
Frank's Place(1987)
Hooperman(1987)
Moonlighting(1985)

Best Director - Motion Picture

The Last Emperor(1987)
Bernardo Bertolucci
Winner
Broadcast News(1987)
James L. Brooks
Cry Freedom(1987)
Richard Attenborough
Fatal Attraction(1987)
Adrian Lyne
Hope and Glory(1987)
John Boorman

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Hope and Glory(1987)
Winner
Baby Boom(1987)
Broadcast News(1987)
Dirty Dancing(1987)
Moonstruck(1987)

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

My Life as a Dog(1985)
Winner
Au Revoir les Enfants(1987)
Goodbye, Children
Dark Eyes(1987)
Jean de Florette(1986)
Jean De Florette
Repentance(1987)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Last Emperor(1987)
David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cong Su
Winner
Cry Freedom(1987)
George Fenton
Empire of the Sun(1987)
John Williams
The Glass Menagerie(1987)
Henry Mancini
The Untouchables(1987)
Ennio Morricone

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Dirty Dancing(1987)
(I've Had) The Time of My Life
Winner
Beverly Hills Cop II(1987)
Shakedown
Mannequin(1987)
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
The Secret of My Success(1987)
The Secret Of My Success
Who's That Girl(1987)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Wall Street(1987)
Michael Douglas
Winner
Cry Freedom(1987)
Denzel Washington
Ironweed(1987)
Jack Nicholson
The Last Emperor(1987)
John Lone
Weeds(1987)
Nick Nolte

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

The Untouchables(1987)
Sean Connery
Winner
Full Metal Jacket(1987)
R. Lee Ermey
Nuts(1987)
Richard Dreyfuss
Square Dance(1987)
Rob Lowe
Street Smart(1987)
Morgan Freeman

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

A Year in the Life(1987)
Richard Kiley
Winner
L.A. Law(1986)
Harry Hamlin
L.A. Law(1986)
Michael Tucker
Magnum, P.I.(1980)
Tom Selleck
The Equalizer(1985)
Edward Woodward

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

The Slap Maxwell Story(1987)
Dabney Coleman
Winner
Family Ties(1982)
Michael J. Fox
Growing Pains(1985)
Alan Thicke
Hooperman(1987)
John Ritter
Moonlighting(1985)
Bruce Willis

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

The Betty Ford Story(1987)
Gena Rowlands
Winner
Out on a Limb(1987)
Shirley MacLaine
Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story(1989)
Farrah Fawcett
Right to Die(1987)
Raquel Welch
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles(1987)
Ann-Margret Olsson

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Anna(1987)
Sally Kirkland
Winner
Barfly(1987)
Faye Dunaway
Fatal Attraction(1987)
Glenn Close
Gaby: A True Story(1987)
Rachel Levin
Nuts(1987)
Barbra Streisand

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

Moonstruck(1987)
Cher
Winner
Baby Boom(1987)
Diane Keaton
Broadcast News(1987)
Holly Hunter
Dirty Dancing(1987)
Jennifer Grey
Outrageous Fortune(1987)
Bette Midler

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

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles(1987)
Claudette Colbert
Winner
Amerika(1987)
Christine Lahti
Cheers(1982)
Moonlighting(1985)
Allyce Beasley
Newhart(1982)
Julia Duffy

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

Moonstruck(1987)
Olympia Dukakis
Winner
Fatal Attraction(1987)
Anne Archer
Gaby: A True Story(1987)
Norma Aleandro
Prick Up Your Ears(1987)
Vanessa Redgrave
Throw Momma from the Train(1987)
Anne Ramsey

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Beauty and the Beast(1987)
Linda Hamilton
Cagney & Lacey(1982)
Sharon Gless
L.A. Law(1986)
Susan Dey
L.A. Law(1986)
Jill Eikenberry
Murder, She Wrote(1984)
Angela Lansbury

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

The Tracey Ullman Show(1987)
Tracey Ullman
Winner
Moonlighting(1985)
Cybill Shepherd
The Golden Girls(1985)
Beatrice Arthur
The Golden Girls(1985)
Rue McClanahan
The Golden Girls(1985)
Betty White

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Last Emperor(1987)
Bernardo Bertolucci
Winner
Broadcast News(1987)
James L. Brooks
Hope and Glory(1987)
John Boorman
House of Games(1987)
David Mamet
Moonstruck(1987)
John Patrick Shanley

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

Escape from Sobibor(1987)
Escape From Sobibor
Winner
Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story(1989)
Winner
After the Promise(1987)
Echoes in the Darkness(1987)
Foxfire(1987)

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