Academy invites Billie Eilish, Ariana DeBose, Jamie Dornan, more as Oscar-voting members

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 397 new members to join, including Oscar best original song winner Billie Eilish, "50 Shades" star Jamie Dornan and recent supporting actress and actor winners Ariana DeBose ("West Side Story") and Troy Kotsur ("CODA").

Members are chosen for their professional qualifications, "with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority," the Academy announced Tuesday. Members' duties include voting on Academy Awards.

The 2022 class is 44% women, 37% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 50% are from 53 countries and territories outside the U.S. The invitees include 71 Oscar nominees and 15 winners.

Michael J. Fox: Earns Academy humanitarian award; Diane Warren finally gets her Oscar

Others on the list include actors Caitríona Balfe, Jessie Buckley, Michael Greyeyes, Olga Merediz, Jesse Plemons, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Anya Taylor-Joy; musician Finneas O’Connell; writers Zach Baylin, Adele Lim and Jon Spaihts; and film historian Leonard Maltin.

Increasing diversity within the group has been a major initiative since the outcry resulting from #OscarsSoWhite in January 2016, when the Academy nominated an entirely white slate of actors for a second year in a row.

On June 21, the Academy announced that songwriter Diane Warren will receive a career achievement Oscar, along with filmmaker Euzhan Palcy and director Peter Weir. "Back to the Future" star Michael J. Fox will receive the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Governors Awards on Nov. 19.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oscars invite Billie Eilish, Ariana DeBose, more stars to join Academy