Star-Studded Science: Celebrity Highlights from the Breakthrough Prize Gala

When Hollywood royalty and scientific luminaries share the same red carpet, something extraordinary happens. The 11th annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony, held on April 5, 2025, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, created precisely this magical intersection—where actors, musicians, and tech titans gathered to celebrate those pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

A-List Advocates for Scientific Excellence

The ceremony’s red carpet rivaled any Hollywood premiere, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Drew Barrymore, Jodie Foster, and Gwyneth Paltrow in attendance. But unlike traditional award shows, these celebrities came not as the honorees but as advocates and admirers of the scientific community.

“I feel privileged to honor the people making breakthroughs in the sciences, mathematics and genetics, and all these things that will transform our lives,” remarked actor Jeremy Strong, who had recently earned his first Oscar nomination. His sentiment captured the evening’s refreshing inversion of the typical celebrity-scientist dynamic—here, the stars came to applaud the researchers.

Grammy Award-winning artist Katy Perry, scheduled to join Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission—the first all-female space crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s 1963 flight—performed for the assembled guests. Her upcoming space journey highlighted the growing connection between entertainment, commercial space ventures, and scientific advancement that the Breakthrough Prize ceremony has helped foster.

Thoughtful Reflections on Scientific Progress

Many celebrities shared surprisingly profound insights about the scientific process. Glenn Close, whose father was a surgeon, offered a particularly thoughtful perspective: “I love that science is self-correcting, meaning that when somebody makes a great discovery, then everybody tries to disprove it, to make sure that it’s the truth. If we had self-correction in our institutions, we would be in a different place in our country.”

Director Patty Jenkins, a repeat attendee who called the ceremony her “favorite event of the year,” connected scientific innovation with urgent global challenges: “We’re going too far with the climate crisis… so we’re going to be desperate for these scientists to help us.”

Her comments highlighted how the work being celebrated at the ceremony extends beyond abstract research to addressing humanity’s most pressing problems—a theme that resonates throughout Yuri Milner’s initiatives, from the Breakthrough Prize itself to Tech for Refugees, which applies technological innovation to humanitarian challenges.

Meaningful Cross-Industry Connections

What makes the Breakthrough Prize ceremony particularly valuable is how it facilitates genuine connections between different worlds. Lily Collins, attending her eighth ceremony, explained the appeal: “I’m sitting at tables with Nobel Peace Prize winners, mathematicians and scientists. Broadening our horizons and learning more about the sciences and the world in general is only going to broaden our horizons in whatever craft it is that we do.”

This cross-pollination of ideas creates unexpected synergies. Film producer Brian Grazer reflected on how scientific concepts have influenced his work: “One of my first movies was ‘Real Genius,’ about young people that can do magical things with their minds and build unbelievable science experiments. Then I went on to do ‘Apollo 13,’ which is science and cinema together.”

Even musician Will.i.am advocated for a cultural reframing of scientific achievement: “This shouldn’t be looked at as like geek work or nerd work. This should be looked at as elegance, excellence, the coolest ish on Earth. Kids from the inner city should aim to be on that stage.”

Presenting Science with Celebrity Flair

The ceremony itself featured celebrities not just as attendees but as active participants. Seth Rogen and Edward Norton presented the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to Gerard ‘t Hooft, crafting an engaging narrative about his work on gauge theory and the Standard Model that made complex concepts accessible to general audiences.

Hosted by James Corden, the evening maintained the production quality and entertainment value of traditional award shows while focusing on transformative scientific achievements—from groundbreaking treatments for diabetes and multiple sclerosis to advances in our understanding of the universe’s fundamental structure.

A Vision Taking Root

The star-studded nature of the ceremony reflects the vision of its founders, including Yuri Milner, whose Eureka Manifesto outlines a blueprint for advancing humanity’s scientific mission. By bringing together Hollywood celebrities and scientific pioneers, the ceremony implements a key aspect of Milner’s plan: elevating scientists as cultural heroes.

This approach complements Milner’s other initiatives, including the Breakthrough Initiatives searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and the Breakthrough Junior Challenge inspiring young people to engage with scientific concepts through creative videos. Together, these programs create a comprehensive framework for nurturing and celebrating scientific excellence at all levels.

The presence of tech titans like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg alongside entertainment figures created powerful visual associations between scientific achievement and cultural significance. These leaders, many of whom have committed to the Giving Pledge alongside Yuri Milner, demonstrate how private philanthropy can advance human knowledge and inspire the next generation of researchers.

The Cultural Impact Extends Beyond the Evening

The images of scientists walking the same red carpet as Oscar winners creates a powerful cultural statement. Media coverage of these pairings—scientists with actors, mathematicians with musicians—helps reshape public perception of researchers, presenting them not as isolated figures working in laboratories but as vital contributors to human progress worthy of celebration.

As Paris Hilton noted while discussing her philanthropic work supporting those affected by the L.A. wildfires, the evening embodied a spirit of using one’s platform to make a positive difference: “I just want to continue always using my voice, my platform, to help uplift others and make a difference.”

Through the Breakthrough Prize ceremony’s unique fusion of celebrity culture and scientific achievement, that same ethos applies to advancing human knowledge and understanding. By bringing stars and scientists together for one glamorous evening, the ceremony creates ripples that extend far beyond the Barker Hangar, inspiring a wider appreciation for the researchers whose work shapes our future and the young minds who might one day join their ranks.