ANNOUNCING 2026 “THE CAROL” AWARD HONOREE FOR LEGENDARY EXCELLENCE -ELIZABETH BETTY BUCKLEY

​​WIFT TEXAS ANNOUNCES ELIZABETH BUCKLEY AS “THE CAROL” AWARD 2026 HONOREE FOR LEGENDARY EXCELLENCE

Emmy and Peabody Award-Winning Producer, Women’s Advocate, and Educator Elizabeth (Betty) Buckley, will be Honored at The Celestial Awards™ Show on January 17th with “The Carol” Award Named in Honor of Carol Burnett

SAN ANTONIO, December 9, 2025 – Today, Women in Film & Television Texas (WIFT Texas) is honored to announce Elizabeth (Betty) Buckley — Emmy and Peabody Award–winning producer, director, educator, and longtime industry advocate — as the 2026 recipient of “The Carol” Award for legendary excellence in media, entertainment, and advocacy for women.

The Celestial Awards™ honor trailblazing women of achievement in the media and entertainment industry, recognizing excellence across all verticals. The awards show will take place on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, at The Tobin Center’s world-class H-E-B Performance Hall in downtown San Antonio, following the Texas Media+Entertainment Summit™ on January 15th and 16th at the Gunter Hotel. Actress and producer Renae Treviño will host the high-profile, entertainment-filled awards show.

“I am incredibly honored to receive “The Carol” award from Women in Film & Television Texas. I so love and admire Carol Burnett. As a filmmaker who has produced a wide range of television series and a feature film in San Antonio, this beautiful city holds a special place in my heart as it still does for Carol Burnett. Whether filming a chase scene along the River Walk for ‘Line of Duty’ or producing an HBO comedy special inside the iconic Majestic Theatre, I have always felt embraced by this community. San Antonio’s support for filmmakers — paired with its forward-looking incentives — continues to elevate and inspire a creative industry poised for extraordinary growth,” said Betty Buckley.

Betty Buckley’s career spans some of the most respected platforms in documentary, factual, and narrative entertainment. Her creative work, leadership, and mentorship have made her one of the most influential champions of Texas storytelling in the national media landscape. In the same spirit of excellence, she recently produced “What’s the Story Wishbone?,” a feature documentary celebrating the iconic PBS series, and wrote and directed “The Stars at Night” which premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2023 and led to invited screenings and speaking engagements aboard ATLAS Ocean Voyages. Her producing credits span platforms including HBO (Entre Nos), Curiosity Stream (Easter Island Eclipse), National Geographic, HISTORY Channel (Jurassic Fight Club), and Scripps Network (It’s Easy Being Green, featuring Paul Newman’s final television interview).

Her independent feature credits include “Edge of the World,” “Hoovey” (Amazon), and Showtime’s “Dog Days of the West,” part of the award-winning Wishbone universe. Buckley received the George Foster Peabody Award for her work on “Wishbone,” which earned four Emmy Awards and the Television Critics Award.

“When selecting who would be the inaugural recipient of our organization’s most prestigious award — ‘The Carol’ named in honor of and endorsed by Carol Burnett — it was an agonizing yet exciting process. We set the bar even higher for who would be that forever ‘first one,’ and I kept coming back to this passage in Carol Burnett’s statement: ‘…The importance of women supporting women of all cultures in our industry can not be overstated. There have been women in my life who advocated for me, and in turn, I have carried that practice forward throughout my career. ‘The Carol’ Award is a symbol of this action…’ This statement authentically describes Betty Buckley. She deserves this award for her body of work, advocacy for women, and excellence in all she does. Congratulations Betty!,” said WIFT Texas CEO & Executive Producer of the Texas Media+Entertainment Summit™ and The Celestial Awards™, Ceslie Armstrong.

A longtime advocate for women in the industry, Buckley founded Women in Film Dallas in 1984 — laying the groundwork for what would eventually become a multi-chapter network of support and mentorship for women across Texas. She received WIF.D’s Achievement Award and went on to mentor the founding of Women in Film & Television Austin, where she spearheaded the creation of the organization’s Advisory Board. In 2025, she received WIFT Austin’s Champion Award, which will bear her name in future years — a testament to her enduring legacy of empowerment, generosity, and visionary leadership.

In addition to her creative work, Buckley serves as an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Cinema Arts at Texas State University, shaping the next generation of filmmakers through producing, distribution, and professional practice. Betty’s documentary and feature projects have deep ties to Texas — filming in San Antonio, Austin, and throughout the Hill Country — often celebrating regional culture, community, and the transformative power of storytelling.

“Betty Buckley exemplifies the power of women leading with purpose and excellence. Her achievements advance our mission to support, promote, and elevate women working in every corner of film, television, and digital media,” ssaid Eileen Kret, VP of Women in Film & Television Texas, Executive Producer of the Texas Media+Entertainment Summit™ and The Celestial Awards™.

A member of the Directors Guild of America, the Alliance of Women Directors, and three Women in Film chapters in Texas, she is also founder and president of the nonprofit Environmental Arts Alliance, Inc., and a board member of Comal Dark Skies.

With a career defined by artistic excellence, mentorship, and advocacy, Elizabeth Buckley embodies the spirit of The Celestial Award™ presented by Women in Film & Television Texas that illuminates the path for women in media and inspiring future generations to imagine boldly, create fearlessly, and lead with purpose.

Statement by Carol Burnett, 2024:

“I’m thrilled that San Antonio is home base for an official chapter of Women in Film & Television and mounting The Celestial Awards™ downtown just steps from The Nix Building (former hospital) where I was born. I could not have imagined as a little girl living with my grandmother on West Commerce Street that in 2024 The Carol Award will be presented to celebrate a woman for her legendary excellence in media, entertainment, and advocacy for women.
I’m honored to have this award named for me and it truly seems a natural fit considering that the first theatre to use ‘Vaudeville’ in its name was founded in downtown San Antonio (1872) and Wings (1927) was the first Academy Award-winning film for the Outstanding Picture Award starring ‘The It Girl’ Clara Bow. The film had its first screening at The Texas Theatre on Houston Street steps from where The Carol Award will be presented. This is a big Texas sky-sized full-circle moment!

The importance of women supporting women of all cultures in our industry can not be overstated. There have been women in my life who advocated for me, and in turn, I have carried that practice forward throughout my career. The Carol Award is a symbol of this action. Through consistent storytelling by and about women across all formats, and, with organizations like Women in Film & Television Texas whose programming is dedicated to advancing equity for women across Texas, we have an even greater opportunity to educate and entertain audiences everywhere.”