SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he will induct former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, retired San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, the musician Joni Mitchell, the band Metallica and actors Edward Asner and Robin Williams to the California Hall of Fame next month.
The list includes a total of 18 Californians selected by the governor and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, for their contributions to film, viticulture, sports, dining, art, literature, music, education, politics and business.
“This historic class reflects the very best of California and what’s possible when people have the courage to think big and make a difference,” Newsom said in a statement. “Their legacy will inspire the next generation to keep pushing boundaries and showing the world what Californians can do.”
The California Hall of Fame began in 2006 under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over 180 inductees, who are required to live in California for at least five years, have been recognized over the last 20 years.
This year’s inductees include:
- The late Edward Asner, the first actor to win Emmys for playing the same role, Lou Grant, in both a comedy and a drama and a former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
- Andy Beckstoffer, a vineyard owner and leader in American viticulture, whom the governor is honoring for “pioneering precision farming technologies and advancing farm worker equity, he helped reshape vineyard stewardship and the industry’s economics.”
- Barry Bonds, the left fielder who played 15 seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Bonds holds MLB records for career and single season home runs, and the most National League MVP Awards, among other baseball accolades.
- The late Betty Charbonnet Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time National Park Service ranger who retired at age 100 and “inspired generations by bringing history to life through her own experiences of segregation and resilience.”
- Dominique Crenn, the celebrated chef and co-owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco and the first woman chef in the United States to earn three Michelin stars.
- Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
- Shepard Fairey, the street and graphic artist best known for his 2008 portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
- Maxine Hong Kingston, an author and the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction, the National Book Award, National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts.
- The late Diane Ladd, a three-time Academy Award nominated actress, the mother of actor Laura Dern and a 30-year member of the SAG-AFTRA National Board.
- Huey Lewis, the musican and frontman of the Grammy Award-winning band Huey Lewis and the News.
- The late Felicitas Méndez, an advocate for public education who challenged Mexican American student segregation.
- Metallica, the San Francisco rock band that has sold 125 million albums worldwide and is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- Joni Mitchell, the acclaimed singer and songwriter and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- Nancy Pelosi, the Bay Area politician who served nearly four decades in Congress and became the first woman elected speaker of the House.
- Bonnie Raitt, the 13-time Grammy Award winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- The late Rob and Michele Reiner, who the governor’s office said “built careers in entertainment while collaborating on public education and civil rights initiatives in California.”
- Susie Tompkins Buell, the co-founder of the brands Esprit and the North Face, who is being recognized for her work that “challenged the notion that business success and social responsibility were separate pursuits, pairing extraordinary growth with progressive workplace practices and socially conscious marketing.”
- Robin Williams, the late actor, comedian, Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy winner.
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