From Hollywood actors to Olympic athletes and politicians, California\u2019s newest Hall of Fame class runs the gamut in talent and achievements.<\/p>\n
Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and former governor\/action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olympic champions Janet Evans and Carl Lewis, authors Riane Eisler and Terry McMillan, chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, groundbreaking ensemble Mariachi Reyne de Los \u00c1ngeles and former state Democratic leader John L. Burton all earned a spot into the assembly of distinct Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n This class, the 19th in state history, will be formally enshrined during a ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento on March 19 as a \u201ccelebration of their contributions to civic life, creativity, and social progress,\u201d according to Newsom\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The inductees \u201chave reshaped our culture and our communities. Resilient and innovative, these leaders and luminaries represent the best of the California spirit,\u201d Newsom said in a statement.<\/p>\n To be inducted, candidates must have lived in California for at least five years and \u201chave made achievements benefiting the state, nation and world,\u201d according to the California Hall of Fame website<\/a>. To date, 166 Californians have been selected by three governors since 2006.<\/p>\n Schwarzenegger, 78, served as the state\u2019s 38th governor<\/a> and last Republican head of state from 2003 to 2011. His renaissance man biography includes a career as a body builder, highlighted by his Mr. Universe titles<\/a>, action film success<\/a>, political stardom and even tabloid-fodder infidelity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Curtis, 67, a Santa Monica native, is among Hollywood\u2019s elite and teamed with Schwarzenegger in the action blockbuster \u201cTrue Lies\u201d<\/a> in 1994. Her acting career dates to 1977,<\/a> and she earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2023 for \u201cEverything Everywhere All at Once.\u201d<\/p>\n Evans, 54, is a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer<\/a> and Fullerton native<\/a> who attended Placentia El Dorado High School, Stanford University and USC. She serves as chief athletic officer for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.<\/p>\n Lewis, 64, is considered by many one of the greatest athletes<\/a> of the 20th century. The track star won 10 medals, nine of them gold, in four Olympics. <\/p>\n Eisler, 88, and McMillan, 74, added multiple bestsellers to this Hall of Fame class. <\/p>\n Eisler\u2019s critically acclaimed \u201cThe Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future\u201d examines roughly 20,000 years of partnership<\/a> between men and women and male domination over the last 5,000 years. The futurist, cultural historian and Holocaust survivor who has degrees in sociology and law from UCLA said she was informed of the honor last year by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and recently was honored by the Austrian government with its Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very honored at this time in my life to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame,\u201d Eisler wrote in an email. \u201cI have worked tirelessly to help create a better world, and firmly believe that a new paradigm, a new way of looking at our world and our place in it, is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n McMillan has written a series of smash hits, including a couple that became major studio films in the \u201890s, \u201cWaiting to Exhale\u201d and \u201cHow Stella Got her Groove Back,\u201d centered on Black women\u2019s voices<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matsuhisa, 76, know for his iconic Japanese restaurant Nobu,<\/a> which has six locations in California, owns businesses across five continents.<\/p>\n Mariachi Reyna de Los \u00c1ngeles, founded in South El Monte, <\/a>rewrote the rules of music, becoming the first all-woman mariachi ensemble that has entertained for more than three decades.<\/p>\n