At the FPAH's second World Film Favorite Festival held January 26, 1952, the Henrietta was a large statuette of a naked woman holding a flower.

Based on an international poll of 900 newspapers, magazines and radio stations, Alan Ladd and Esther Williams were presented the gold Henrietta for World Favorites.

while silver Henriettas for "Best Young Box Office Personality" were presented to Leslie Caron, Tony Curtis, John Derek, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn Monroe and Patrice Wymore.

Similar to the Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite, the winner of the new HFPA Golden Globe was determined by a worldwide poll conducted by Reuters.

[9] Revenues generated from the annual ceremony have enabled the HFPA to donate millions of dollars to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals.

[13] On May 3, 2021, the HFPA announced plans for a reform package, including a 50% increase in members over the next 18 months, as well as new positions, term limits, and practices to improve its accountability.

[14] However, Time's Up and a group of 100 PR firms criticized the lack of given timelines for filling some of the new management positions, arguing that they would not be completed soon enough to have any material impact on the cycle of the upcoming 79th Golden Globe Awards in January 2022.

[19] WarnerMedia also boycotted the HFPA,[18] while Tom Cruise returned the awards he had won for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia in solidarity.

[21] On October 1, the HFPA released a list of 21 new members that it had recruited under these reforms, and named Todd Boehly (owner of ceremony producer Dick Clark Productions) as its "interim CEO".

[25][26] The 79th ceremony was conducted as a non-televised, private presentation, with limited guests (particularly beneficiaries of the HFPA's philanthropic activities) and strict COVID-19 protocol due to Omicron variant.

[27] In July 2022, the HFPA approved a major restructuring, under which Boehly would establish a for-profit entity via his holding company Eldridge Industries (owner of Dick Clark Productions—which has produced the Golden Globes' telecast since 1993,[28] as well as the entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter)[29] that will hold the Golden Globe Awards' intellectual property and oversee the "professionalization and modernization" of the ceremony, including "[increasing] the size and diversity of the available voters for the annual awards".

As of the 2023 ceremony, the HFPA removed a requirement that an exclusive press conference be hosted by the organization for each nominated film—a practice that had contributed to transparency issues.

[44] The HFPA had previously held a lucrative broadcasting agreement with NBC,[45] which began televising the Golden Globes ceremony locally in Los Angeles in 1958, then nationally in 1964.

[28] Enthusiastic over Clark's commitment, the HFPA's contract contained an unusual provision granting DCP the role of producer in perpetuity, provided that it continued to maintain a broadcast rights agreement with NBC.

While NBC sought to be the exclusive broadcaster of the press conference, the network faced conflicts with the HFPA and Dick Clark Productions over the proposed coverage, including a demand for a rights fee, and concerns over plans to have Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell of NBC's syndicated entertainment news program Access Hollywood serve as presenters.

[48] In April 2012, judge Howard Matz upheld the NBC perpetuity clause and ruled in favor of DCP, noting that the HFPA had a history of "unbusinesslike display[s] of misplaced priorities" and "[succumbing] to bouts of pronounced turmoil and personal feuds", in contrast to DCP, which had been "represented by one experienced executive who was adept at dealing fairly and effectively with the often amateurish conduct of HFPA."

Matz pointed out examples of the HFPA's enthusiasm over the relationship and their desire to "not get cancelled", such as having disregarded its own bylaws by approving an extension in 2001 without a formal vote.

[63] In acting categories, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most competitive wins with eight, followed by Alan Alda, Angela Lansbury, Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson, who have six awards each.

Behind them are Ed Asner, Carol Burnett, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Lange, Rosalind Russell, and Kate Winslet with five.

At the 46th Golden Globe Awards an anomaly occurred: a three-way tie for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (Jodie Foster for The Accused, Shirley MacLaine for Madame Sousatzka, and Sigourney Weaver for Gorillas in the Mist).

The organization had been criticized for the small size of its membership, the quality of the members, its exclusion of serious cinema journalists, and their closeness to the movie industry and stars.

[107][108][109][110] Former HFPA president Henry Gris resigned from the board in 1958 claiming that "certain awards are being given more or less as favors" with others querying why so many winners were represented by one public relations firm.

Movie critic Rex Reed, in a contemporary article about the broadcast, wrote: NBC's telcast of the Foreign Press Association's 25th annual Golden Globe Awards had to be seen to be disbelieved.

But award-giving, pointless as it is, is still big business, and it also gives viewers a chance to see their favorite stars make fools of themselves in public, so the Golden Globes were back, minus some of their sponsors, who backed out at the last minute.... Just last week Newsweek reported denials from the Foreign Press Association that its members give awards to the stars who throw the biggest feeds.

"We are not influenced by a glass of champagne," snapped [HFPA President Howard] Luft, "Kirk Douglas threw a party last year, and what did he win?

[109] In 1982, Pia Zadora won a Golden Globe in the category "New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture" for her performance in Butterfly, over such competition as Elizabeth McGovern (Ragtime) and Kathleen Turner (Body Heat).

The lawsuit alleged that HFPA members "abuse their positions and engage in unethical and potentially unlawful deals and arrangements which amount to a 'payola' scheme."

Depp's co-star Angelina Jolie reportedly had personally lobbied HFPA members, resulting in a nomination in a category the film did not belong in.

[110] Rumors then surfaced that Sony, the distributor of The Tourist, had influenced Globes voters with an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, culminating in a concert by Cher.

The decision to categorize Minari as a foreign language film, despite having an exclusively American production team and setting, was heavily condemned by many actors and filmmakers of Asian descent.