2026 Disney Legends: Bob Iger, Dwayne Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and 8 More Named at D23

Chris Berman

Chris Berman joined ESPN in 1979 as one of its earliest on-air talents, helping build the network into the global sports institution it is today. A six-time National Sportscaster of the Year, Berman has covered the NFL Draft, the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the U.S. Open across his career. ESPN renamed its NFL broadcast studio in Bristol, Connecticut the Chris Berman-Tom Jackson Studio in 2017, honoring a broadcasting partnership that spanned 29 years on NFL PrimeTime. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and will be part of ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl coverage in 2027.

Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer behind some of Disney’s biggest theatrical franchises, including Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, and the original Top Gun. His films have collectively grossed nearly $15 billion at the global box office across a 50-year career. Top Gun: Maverick became the biggest hit of his career with nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, earning six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. His most recent film, F1, became the highest-grossing sports movie of all time with over $631 million globally. On television, Bruckheimer’s three current CBS series, Fire Country, Sheriff Country, and Boston Blue, anchor the network’s Friday night lineup.

Susan Egan

Susan Egan made Disney history as the first actress to bring a Disney heroine to life on Broadway, originating the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast and earning a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress. She is also the voice of Megara in Hercules (1997). Beyond performing, Egan has built a career as a producer of live Disney concert events globally, including Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Concert at the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Princess: The Concert, which has toured 20 countries across five continents since 2021. In November 2025, she was named the Official Godmother of the Disney Destiny cruise ship, which features spaces inspired by her Disney roles, including Café Megara.

Eric Goldberg

Eric Goldberg is the animator behind some of the most beloved characters in Disney history. He joined Disney Animation in the early 1990s to design and animate the Genie in Aladdin (1992), creating one of the most technically demanding animated characters ever put to screen. He co-directed Pocahontas (1995), supervised the animation of Phil in Hercules (1997), and directed the Rhapsody in Blue and Carnival of the Animals sequences in Fantasia/2000. More recently, Goldberg oversaw the hand-drawn Mini Maui animation in Moana and Moana 2, led the hand-drawn animation in the Emmy-winning short Once Upon a Studio, and in 2025 directed a custom Hot Ones episode featuring Donald Duck. He is also part of the team supervising film restorations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella.

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway’s Disney career began with The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), the films that introduced her to global audiences. She went on to play the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), and voiced Haru in the English dub of Studio Ghibli’s The Cat Returns (2005). A recipient of Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Awards across her career, Hathaway returns to theaters in May 2026 in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Bob Iger

Bob Iger led The Walt Disney Company for two decades, overseeing the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2019. Under his leadership, Disney launched Disney+, opened Shanghai Disney Resort, and released more than 30 films that each grossed over $1 billion worldwide. Iger began his career at ABC in 1974 and joined Disney’s senior management in 1996. He served as CEO from 2005 through 2020, returned to the role in November 2022, and led the company until March 2026. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Ride of a Lifetime.

Kim Irvine

Kim Irvine spent 55 years at Walt Disney Imagineering, retiring in 2024 as Executive Creative Director of the Imagineering Anaheim office, where she oversaw concept design, color styling, and interior design for Disneyland Resort projects. She began her career at WED Enterprises in 1970 as a painter and model builder and went on to shape some of Disneyland’s most iconic spaces, including Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Disneyland Dream Suite, Club 33, and the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café. Her family history with Disney runs deep: her mother was Imagineer and Disney Legend Leota Toombs, the face of Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion. In 2001, Kim became the new face of Madame Leota for the attraction’s Nightmare Before Christmas seasonal overlay. In 2011, she became the first female recipient of the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievements.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson voiced the demigod Maui in Disney’s Moana (2016) and reprised the role in Moana 2 (2024), which grossed over $1 billion worldwide. He returns for the live-action Moana in theaters summer 2026. Johnson has appeared in more than 40 films across his career, grossing over $15 billion globally, making him one of the top five box-office stars of all time. His recent performance in The Smashing Machine earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama. He is also a producer through Seven Bucks Productions and a New York Times bestselling author.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda began writing songs for Moana in 2014, contributing How Far I’ll Go, which earned him an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy. He continued his Disney partnership with Encanto (2022), writing eight songs that all charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with We Don’t Talk About Bruno spending five weeks at No. 1 and surpassing 100 million streams. Miranda also starred as Jack the Lamplighter in Mary Poppins Returns (2018) and co-wrote three new songs for the live-action The Little Mermaid (2023). He is returning as a producer and music collaborator on the live-action Moana this summer. A Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award winner, Miranda created and starred in Broadway’s Hamilton, whose 2016 stage recording was released on Disney+ in 2020 and in theaters in 2025.

Alan Tudyk

Alan Tudyk has appeared in every Disney animated feature since Wreck-It Ralph (2012), where he voiced the villain King Candy. His Disney voice credits span Frozen (2013), Zootopia (2016), Moana (2016), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), Frozen 2 (2019), Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Encanto (2021), Zootopia 2 (2025), and Wish (2023), among others. Outside animation, Tudyk voiced and performed motion capture for the droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), his first Disney live-action voice role. He has also voiced characters in Monsters at Work and Zootopia+ on Disney+.

The Jonas Brothers

Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas rose to prominence through Disney Channel, starring in Camp Rock (2008), Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), and their own series JONAS (2009-2010). Their music defined a generation of Disney fans. After years of solo work and a hiatus, the brothers reunited in 2019 with the platinum-certified album Happiness Begins and the No. 1 hit Sucker. They were honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2023 and celebrated their 20th anniversary as a band in 2025 with JONASCON, a fan event that drew over 75,000 attendees. Their 2025 Disney+ holiday film A Very Jonas Christmas Movie marked a return to the network that made them stars. Camp Rock 3 is in development.