Science Stars Shine with Hollywood at the 2026 Breakthrough Awards

A bright night in Los Angeles turned into a science‑theatre spectacle when the world’s leading researchers met Hollywood celebrities for the 12th Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The event, often dubbed “the Oscars of Science, ” highlighted groundbreaking work that could change lives. The Breakthrough Prize was launched in 2012 by tech founders and philanthropists who wanted to reward the planet’s brightest minds. In 2026, six awards—each worth $3 million—were handed out in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics, bringing the total prize money to $345 million over fifteen years. The gala was a star‑studded affair, with Emmy winner James Corden hosting for the fifth time. Actors like Gigi Hadid, Lily Collins, Anne Hathaway and Tom Hanks joined the ceremony, while newer faces such as Olympic skier Eileen Gu, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana made headlines. In Life Sciences, the prize went to Stuart H. Orkin and Swee Lay Thein for gene‑editing treatments that turn sickle cell disease and beta‑thalassemia from fatal conditions into manageable ones. Thein, who grew up on Malaysian railway tracks, spoke emotionally about her journey to the stage. Other laureates included Katherine A. High and the Bennett‑Maguire duo, who developed an FDA‑approved gene therapy restoring sight to patients with Leber congenital amaurosis. Rosa Rademakers and Bryan Traynor were honored for discovering the C9orf72 mutation that underlies ALS and frontotemporal dementia.Yentli Soto Albrecht, a scientist who carries the same mutation, shared her personal story and thanked researchers for mapping her genetic “battlefield. ” Eileen Gu and chess champion Magnus Carlsen presented the 2023 Life Sciences prize to Anthony Hyman and Clifford Brangwynne for uncovering a new mechanism of cellular organization, a discovery delayed by the pandemic. In Fundamental Physics, the Muon g–2 collaborations at CERN, Brookhaven and Fermilab received recognition for measuring the muon’s magnetic moment with unprecedented precision. A ballerina’s spontaneous performance echoed the muon’s spinning nature. Co‑founder Yuri Milner and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang introduced the Vera Rubin New Frontiers Prize, a new award for early‑career women physicists. Carolina Figuerido became the first recipient, revealing hidden links in quantum field theory. Actresses Michelle Williams and Lily Collins highlighted the legacy of David J. Gross, a Special Breakthrough Prize winner whose decades of work shaped modern physics. Gross urged that scientific discoveries belong to humanity and must be used wisely. The sole Mathematics award went to Frank Merle for redefining nonlinear evolution equations, showing that some seemingly stable systems can explode in finite time. The evening concluded with musical performances: Lionel Richie sang “We Are the World” with children, Renée Fleming performed “Hallelujah, ” and David Guetta with Ava Max closed the show, as all laureates took a final standing ovation.