Eddie Murphy is set to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes

Helen Hoehne, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, said in a statement: "We're honoured to present this year's Cecil B.DeMille Award to the iconic and highly esteemed Mr. Eddie Murphy.

"We're thrilled to be celebrating the lasting impact on film and television that his career - in front of and behind the camera - has had through the decades."

Previous winners of the prestigious accolade include Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, Audrey Hepburn, Harrison Ford and Jodie Foster.

In 2007, Eddie won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in 'Dreamgirls', the Bill Condon-directed musical drama that also featured Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson.

He's also earned nominations for '48 Hrs', 'Trading Places', 'Beverly Hills Cop', 'The Nutty Professor' and 'Dolemite Is My Name'.

Meanwhile, Eddie previously revealed that his dad actually discouraged him from following his comedy ambitions.

However, his life was transformed when he landed a role on the late-night comedy show 'Saturday Night Live', and that experience led him to a career in Hollywood.

Eddie explained: "My father was like, 'You're gonna get a job, a real job. You're not going to be telling any jokes. You've got to get up and go to work. You've got to get up at nine in the morning and you can't come back in the house until five o'clock.'

"So, I had a half a year where I had a job at a shoe store. I was still doing comedy. You would work the weekend, every two weeks, you had gigs all the time. And I enrolled in college. Then six months into that, I got the 'Saturday Night Live' audition."