Ahead of the 2022 version of the D23 Expo, which will kick off next month, The Walt Disney Company has confirmed the 14 honorees that will be acknowledge as Disney Legends during their special event. Among those confirmed to be awarded the honor will be much of the Frozen cast including Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, and Idina Menzel, plus the late Marvel star Chadwick Boseman. Disney awards each of their “Disney Legends” with two-foot-tall bronze sculpture with their bronzed hand prints displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters. Check out the full list of honorees below.
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“For nearly a century, Disney has been entertaining and inspiring people around the world,” said Bob Chapek, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “I can’t wait to give fans a first look at what we have in store for our hundredth anniversary, and how we’re using this occasion to celebrate all the fans and families who have welcomed Disney into their lives.”
The Disney Legends Awards Ceremony, which will be streamed as part of D23 Expo [LIVE], will feature musical performances, special guests, and surprises for the audience, including a special performance by cast members from Disney On Broadway’s productions of Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as The North American Tour of Frozen. D23 Expo will begin Friday, September 9.
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson starred in and executive produced ABC’s Emmy-nominated sitcom black-ish, winning seven NAACP Image Awards and earning seven Emmy and three Golden Globe® nominations for his role as Andre “Dre” Johnson in the series. He also executive produced and appeared in the black-ish spinoff series grown-ish and mixed-ish.
Kristen Bell
Bell lent her voice to the two highest-grossing animated features of all time, Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019) playing Anna. She reprised the role in Frozen Fever (2015), Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (2017), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and Once Upon a Snowman (2020), along with numerous video games, theme park experiences, and consumer products. Kristen also voiced Priscilla the sloth in 2016’s Oscar-winning Zootopia and in the upcoming Disney+ series Zootopia+.
Chadwick Boseman
In addition to his breakout roles as Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall, Boseman is best known for joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the African Super Hero Black Panther. Having appeared in four feature films MCU movies before his death, Boseman recently received an Emmy nomination for his work in the Disney+ animated series What If…?, a posthumous release.
Rob’t Coltrin
A Disney Imagineer who had a hand in the creation of several attractions including Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Muppet*Vision 3D, and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. More recently, he was a major creative force behind some of our most ambitious projects, including Radiator Springs Racers, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and recent expansions at Tokyo Disney Resort.
Patrick Dempsey
Best known to fans as Dr. Derek Shepherd in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, a role he portrayed for 11 seasons, Dempsey’s other Disney credits include Touchstone’s Can’t Buy Me Love (1987), the Hollywood Pictures film Run (1991), Touchstone’s Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Brother Bear 2 (2006) as the voice of Kenai, Enchanted (2007), and the upcoming Disney+ film Disenchanted (2022).
Robert Price “Bob” Foster
He began his Disney career in 1956, joining the Walt Disney Productions legal department. He later served as a member of the Park Operations Committee for Disneyland and was promoted to Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel in 1958. Two years later, he was named Assistant Secretary, Walt Disney Productions, and Resident Counsel for Disneyland. In 1963, Walt and Roy O. Disney selected Bob to head the land search for their top-secret “Florida Project.” Bob took extraordinary measures to ensure that the identity of Walt Disney Productions remained classified while initiating and executing the property research and acquisition effort. He acquired 43 square miles of land for what would eventually become the Walt Disney World Resort. Bob was later named Vice President (Legal), Secretary, and General Counsel for the Walt Disney World Co. and in 1970 was promoted to President of the Buena Vista Land Company. In this role, Bob was responsible for overseeing development of the resort community of Lake Buena Vista. In 1974, Bob retired from Walt Disney Productions as Vice President, Real Estate.
Josh Gad
The Tony Award-winning actor and singer has lent his voice to the loveable snowman Olaf in Frozen, Frozen 2, plus Frozen Fever (2015), LEGO Disney Frozen: Northern Lights (2016), Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (2017), At Home with Olaf (2020), Once Upon a Snowman (2020), and Olaf Presents (2021). Gad also starred as LeFou, the memorable and iconic sidekick to Gaston, in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, and in 2020, he portrayed Mulch Diggums in Artemis Fowl.
Jonathan Groff
In addition to voicing Kristoff in both Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019), Groff also appeared as Jesse St. James on the Emmy- and Golden Globe-award-winning television series Glee and originated the role of King George III in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Hamilton on Broadway.
Don Hahn
Hahn joined The Walt Disney Studios in 1976 and would go on to work on Pete’s Dragon (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), The Black Cauldron (1985), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), later producing Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and The Lion King (1994).His other credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), Maleficent (2014), and the live-action Beauty and the Beast (2017).
Doris Hardoon
A member of Walt Disney Imagineering since 1979, Doris worked as lead designer, art director, and producer on a variety of groundbreaking projects around the globe including EPCOT Center, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, as well as Disney Cruise Line and Disney entertainment centers nationwide.
Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel would lend her voice to Queen Elsa in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen (2013) and reprised the role in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and Frozen 2 (2019), along with numerous animated shorts, theme park experiences, and consumer products. Idina also appeared as Nancy Tremaine in Enchanted (2007) and is soon to reprise the role in the Disney+ sequel, Disenchanted.
Chris Montan
Chris Montan joined The Walt Disney Company in 1984, and within three years was named vice president of music for motion pictures and television. In 1997, Variety named him “musical supervisor of the decade” after he oversaw such classic and best-selling film soundtracks as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Pretty Woman, Sister Act, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules.
Ellen Pompeo
Still leading the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history, Grey’s Anatomy, audiences remain glued to screens week after week watching Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross starred in the groundbreaking ABC comedy series black-ish, during which she also served as a producer and director. Nominated five times for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and won the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2020 NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Her other Disney television credits include roles on grown-ish and mixed-ish-the latter of which she was both co-creator and executive producer-The Premise, and Private Practice.
