Golden Globes facts and history: 9 things to know

Ricky Schroder is the youngest Globe winner of all time

The Golden Globes have flirted with a number of categories over the years – television special (variety or musical), black-and-white cinematography, juvenile performance, outdoor drama – only to later drop them. One of the longer-running categories was new star of the year, which initially appeared in 1948. The award in 1980 was given to then 9-year-old Ricky Schroder, the youngest recipient of a Globe, for "The Champ."

Freddie Prinze Jr. was once Mr. Golden Globe

Every year the spawn of a prominent performer is named Mr. or Ms. Golden Globe. The tradition, according to hfpa.org, dates to 1963, and the title has been worn by such well-documented kids as Laura Dern (1982), born to Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, and Rumor Willis (2009), daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Freddie Prinze Jr. was Mr. GG in 1996, alongside that year's Ms. Jaime Nicole Dudney, whose mother is singer Barbara Mandrell. Your 2015 ambassador of Hollywood connections is Kelsey Grammer's daughter Greer Grammer.

There was a 3-way tie in 1989

In 1989, three performers shared the best actress in a drama title: Sigourney Weaver ("Gorillas in the Mist"), Jodie Foster ("The Accused") and Shirley MacLaine (“Madame Sousatzka”). Weaver also won a best supporting actress statuette that year for "Working Girl," a film that garnered six nominations and four wins total.

The first Cecil B. DeMille Awards went to ... Cecil B. DeMille

Filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille was given the inaugural Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1952 for his many cinematic contributions from the silent era on through his talkies. (Pictured, at left, he's on the set of his 1923 "The Ten Commandments" with Richard Dix, center; DeMille re-made the film in 1956.) Next up, in 1953, was Walt Disney; other winners have included Judy Garland (1961), Sidney Poitier (1982) and Jodie Foster (2013).

It's a party

Unlike its main competition, the very formal Academy Awards, the Golden Globes embrace a party atmosphere. Rather than the seat-filler attitude of the Oscars, the GGs take place in a hotel banquet room where the celebrities are free to roam from table to table. And the hosts – including Ricky Gervais in 2011 and 2012 – might just bring an adult beverage to the podium.

Best animated feature was introduced in 2007

Animated feature films didn't get their due at the Globes until 2007. Three films were nominated that year – "Monster House," "Happy Feet" and winner "Cars." Subsequent winners were "Ratatouille," "Wall-E," "Up" (pictured), "Toy Story 3," "The Adventures of Tintin," "Brave" and, last year, "Frozen."

2014's Golden Globes telecast saw 20.9 million viewers

The 2014 Golden Globes telecast drew 20.9 million viewers. While critics tended to love Amy Poehler and Tina Fey as co-hosts, the numbers bear out why they've been asked to return: total viewership was up 6 percent from 2013 and 24 percent over 2012.

Meryl Streep has the most individual nominations

Meryl Streep has been nominated for a whopping 29 awards over the years, beginning with her best actress in a drama win in 1982 for "The French Lieutenant's Woman" on through 2015's supporting actress nod for "Into the Woods" (in which she plays The Witch, pictured). She's also been nominated for television for "Angels in America," winning in 2004. Streep even made the ballot for her turn in the 1990 comedy "She Devil," but did not win.

Jack Lemmon has the most noms for an actor

Jack Lemmon is the actor who can claim the most nominations – 22 in all – plus he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1991. Lemmon won four Globes in total, best actor in a film (comedy or musical) for "Avanti!" (1973), "The Apartment" (1961) and "Some Like It Hot" (1960) and actor in a mini-series or motion picture made for television for "Inherit the Wind" (2000). His nominations also include "The China Syndrome" (pictured) in 1980.