The Princess Grace Foundation-USA has announced 18 Princess Grace Award winners and 12 Honoraria recipients for 2025, continuing its decades-long mission to support emerging artists who often go on to achieve extraordinary success.
This year’s recipients span theatre, dance and film, including directors and designers, choreographers, performers and a playwriting fellowship offered through partnership with New Dramatists. The award ceremony will take place on 29th October at the Plaza in New York City, presided over by Prince Albert II. Winners will receive cash grants of $15,000, while Honoraria recipients will receive $1,500.
This year’s Princess Grace Statue Award, recognising previous winners who have achieved continued excellence, goes to Isabella Boylston, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, and Sky Hoping, a MacArthur Fellow and filmmaker. Both will receive $25,000 unrestricted grants.
“The arts change lives and the nurturing impact of the Princess Grace Foundation on the development of so many young artists is immeasurable,” said Boylston.
The foundation has also launched its inaugural Princess Grace Artist Fellowship programme, offering $10,000 grants paired with coaching through the MAP Fund’s Scaffolding for Practicing Artists programme.
2025 Award Winners
This year’s winners span all artistic disciplines. In theatre, recipients include Tramaine Raphael Gray, Christine Lyons, Germán Martinez, Dionne McClain-Freeney, and Taji Senior, with theatre honoraria going to Hamid Dehghani, Dina El-Aziz, Maleek Rae, and Roman Sanchez. Zoë Rhulen receives the New Dramatists Playwriting Fellowship.
Dance performance awards go to Madison Jenne’ Brown, Kayla Mak, and William Okajima, whilst choreography winners include Hannah Garner, Houston Thomas, and Christian A. Warner. Dance honoraria recipients are Anna Mains, Cyrie Topete, Marco Palomino, and Ogemdi Ude.
Film and animation winners include Isabela Fraga-Abaza, Luke Alexander Harris, Haisi Hu, Gabriella Mykal, Philip Thompson, and Fatima Wardy, with film honoraria awarded to Matt Feldman, Jared Hall, Karina Lomelin Ripper, and Loren Waters.
Prince Rainier III award
As previously announced by Monaco Life, Director Jon M. Chu, whose credits include Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights and the upcoming Wicked, will receive the Prince Rainier III Award, the foundation’s highest honour.
The award marks its 20th anniversary and includes a $25,000 grant to the recipient’s chosen charity. Chu, himself a 2001 Princess Grace Award winner, has chosen to direct his grant back to the Princess Grace Foundation itself.
Beyond the main awards, the foundation continues its commitment to nurturing young artists through the Grace Kelly Scholarships. This programme, created in partnership with the Educational Theatre Foundation, identifies and supports high school theatre students with four-year college scholarships paired with mentorship from Princess Grace Award winners, as well as one-time artistic training scholarships.
Foundation legacy
Established in 1982 by Prince Rainier III to honour his late wife Princess Grace of Monaco, the foundation has supported over 900 artists throughout its history.
Diana Kemppainen, the foundation’s president, said: “Each of these extraordinary emerging artists brings a distinctive voice and remarkable artistic technique. We look forward to supporting these artists as their careers unfold”.
See also:
Interview: Musical Theater Writer, Composer, and Princess Grace Award Winner Julia Riew
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Main photo credit: Dance Performance Honoraria Cyrie Topete, of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, in ‘Echoes of Our Ancestors’ by Maria Torres – Photo by Kristie Kahns