The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted by cheering crowds at the red carpet event Staff in bowler hats and Union flag-inspired outfits gave the £15,000-a-table ($25,000) event a British feel.
Earlier, Prince William scored four goals at a charity polo match.
That performance also drew a celebrity crowd at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club for an event which raised millions of dollars for good causes for the club's centenary.
Guests paid anything from $400 (£250) to $4,000 for the privilege of watching the prince, who helped his side to victory wearing the number 4 jersey.
At Bafta's black-tie dinner that evening, the menu included bite-size fish and chips and a version of the dessert Eton Mess.
The duchess chatted to stars including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson The royal couple sat opposite Barbra Streisand and Nicole Kidman. Other stars at the reception included Jennifer Lopez, Sopranos' star James Gandolfini and producer Harvey Weinstein.
Hundreds of fans gathered behind crash barriers at the 1920s art-deco Belasco theatre and cheered as the couple arrived and stepped out onto the traditional red carpet.
The duke and duchess responded by walking over and shaking a few hands.
New talent Prince William is president of Bafta and used the dinner to introduce a group of 42 emerging actors, producers, writers and videogame designers to the movers and shakers of the entertainment capital of the world.
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Prince makes King's Speech joke at the start of his address to the audience
Ahead of a reception in the theatre's ballroom, Duncan Kenworthy, the Academy's vice-president, told the celebrities and other guests in the room to "be cool" and not to rush at the royals when they came in, but the couple proved a big draw.
Stephen Fry, who was also at the dinner, explained the couple's stateside appeal: "We have something we can give them that no other nation on earth can give.
"If the grandson of the President of Italy arrived in Hollywood it wouldn't make half a paragraph, but the grandson of the head of state of Britain, ie. the Queen, arrives and it is big, big news."
The couple's California trip follows a nine-day visit to Canada by the royals.
The duchess has drawn compliments for her fashion sense, with actress Rosario Dawson calling her style "effortless and elegant".
Later in their visit, William and Catherine are to visit a community arts organisation working in the deprived Skid Row area of the city, as well as a jobs fair staged by charities that support the reintegration of servicemen and women into civilian life.
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