Morgan Freeman is an American actor, producer, and narrator. Throughout a career spanning five decades and multiple film genres, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. He has also been awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008, an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2011, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018.

The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for their lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television. The recipient is selected and honored at an annual ceremony, with the award presented by a master of ceremonies and, recently, the prior year's recipient.