American singer and actor Harry Belafonte, French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, Japanese animated film director Hayao Miyazaki and Irish actress Maureen O’Hara will be honoured with Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said.

The academy, which hosts Hollywood’s annual Oscars ceremony, bestows the Governors Awards to honour a person’s lifetime achievements in film. Also called honorary Oscars, these awards are handed out at a star-studded ceremony in November.

Belafonte, 87, will be given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award for his work in social causes, including famine relief and education. Through his film work, which includes Carmen Jones and Odds Against Tomorrow, Belafonte strived to spotlight racial issues.

Miyazaki, 73, is a renowned animator and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, winning the Oscar for best animated feature film in 2002 for Spirited Away. The Wind Rises earned Miyazaki his third Oscar nomination earlier this year but may be the final work for the director, who announced his plans to retire from film-making last year.

Dublin native O’Hara, 94, is best known for the films Miracle on 34th Street and Sinbad the Sailor. The red-haired screen siren was also a frequent collaborator with director John Ford, appearing in five of his films, including The Quiet Man.

Carriere, 82, began his career as a novelist before switching to film writing, winning an Oscar for best short subject in 1962 for co-writing Heureux Anniversaire with Pierre Etaix.