The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment event, presented by Lifetime, returned on Wednesday for its yearly celebration of Hollywood’s most powerful ladies.
This year, the star-studded event — which coincided with the publication of THR’s annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 — honored Nicole Kidman with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, highlighting a woman who is a pioneer in her field.
Selena Gomez was also recognized with the Equity in Entertainment Award, honoring her work amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry.
The most powerful women in Hollywood, assembled here together in the same room.
The group brought up Molly Shannon, who was on hand to present Gomez with the Equity in Entertainment Award.
Lifetime’s annual celebration of Hollywood’s most influential women, the Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment event, returned on Wednesday.
This year’s star-studded event, which took place in conjunction with the release of THR’s annual Women in Entertainment Power 100, saw Nicole Kidman receive the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, recognizing a trailblazing woman in her industry. In addition, Selena Gomez received the Equity in Entertainment Award in recognition of her efforts to elevate the voices of marginalized groups in the entertainment sector. Refer to the event’s photos. ).
Nikki Glaser opened the breakfast, which was hosted at the Beverly Hills Hotel this year, by making the joke, “What better time to honor women than at 8 a.m. m. “We are women in Hollywood, hear us roar!” before the industry is even conscious, in that coveted post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas Hollywood dead zone.
“Let’s pause for a moment and truly appreciate the firepower in this room.”. Take a look—this is the Power 100. Here in one room, the most influential women in Hollywood are gathered. When the industry pits women against one another, it can be difficult to be supportive, Glaser joked. “We’re like the Avengers of people who haven’t seen The Avengers.”. “I know that I have trouble supporting women sometimes, and I’m willing to bet that you do too. I wish I wasn’t a jealous bitch like I am. I have had to mute at least thirty of you on Instagram because you either had a job I wanted, a relationship I envied, or, worst of all, your hair air-dries straight. “.”.
As the audience continued to laugh, she added, “And muting is fine when you need to protect yourself from the comparing and despairing, but the thing I’ve found that has helped me in this business more than anything — is sleeping with powerful men—”. No, Adderall is the cause. However, aside from those two things, the reality is that being kind—not Ellen kind, but kind, kind—is the hardest thing to do. Bringing women in, offering them opportunities, and giving them advice is more difficult than simply condemning and resenting them because you think they will replace you in this industry. When I first started this business, I really tried to push myself to do exactly what I truly wanted women to do for me. “.”.
As they congratulated this year’s honorees and thanked the event sponsors, THR deputy editorial director Jeanie Pyun, writer-at-large Lacey Rose, THR president Joe Shields, and senior VP of entertainment, digital sales, and strategy Lori O’Connor took the stage. Molly Shannon, who was present to give Gomez the Equity in Entertainment Award, was mentioned by the group.
“I knew I was in the presence of someone truly extraordinary from the moment we met,” exclaimed Shannon, who co-starred with Gomez on season four of Only Murders in the Building. Yes, she is a multi-platinum Grammy-nominated recording artist, a phenomenally talented actress, and a trailblazing producer. Above all, though, she is someone who truly cares about other people and the environment. She makes a significant, long-lasting difference by using her position. “.”.
As she accepted her prize, Gomez recalled what it was like to be fifteen years old and film Wizards of Waverly Place in front of a live studio audience. “I’m so happy and excited, thank you for being someone that looks like my daughter on TV because she can finally look up to someone like her,” the star recalled when a young mother from the audience came down with her daughter. I knew I was extremely appreciative, and I wanted to do my best to live up to that, however that might look, even though at that age I wasn’t really considering the representation or the seriousness of those words. “.”.
Gomez, who is currently starring in Emilia Pérez on Netflix, said that she is particularly inspired by the younger generation in her work because they are the ones who are demanding to be seen and aren’t content with the status quo. Furthermore, I would like to point out that we have a lot of power as consumers. By deciding to support movies and television programs that emphasize fair representation, we make it very evident to business executives that we want narratives that accurately depict the diversity of our world. Women’s voices can be heard, barriers can be removed, and a future where everyone’s story is heard if we work together. “.”.
Entering the morning’s scholarship segment, Amanda Zurawski, the principal plaintiff in Zurawski v. A video featuring the current and former high school mentees of THR’s long-running mentorship program—which matches some of the most talented high school girls from underprivileged communities in Los Angeles with some of the most influential female executives in film and television—was shown in support of the State of Texas, a Texas reproductive rights lawsuit featured in the 2024 documentary feature film Zurawski v. Texas, which Lawrence produced.
The incoming 2025 class received a MacBook, and the current mentorship class received a $10,000 scholarship from Lifetime to attend the university of their choice. Additionally, four full-ride university scholarships totaling over $1 million were distributed. The first two were given by Lawrence and Zurawski on behalf of the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation to mentees Leslie and Josie at Chapman University and Loyola Marymount University, respectively.
The Equity in Entertainment Award winner from the previous year, Kerry Washington, then took over to announce that The Roybal School of Film and Television Magnet, where Washington is on the advisory board, has become a new partner school of the mentorship program. This will pave the way for Roybal students to become future mentees. She then gave mentee Kenya the scholarship from the National Association of Theatre Owners California Nevada to Chapman University.
This year, Washington gave mentee Bryanna a scholarship to Loyola Marymount University, sponsored by writer-EP Melissa Blake, who is well-known for her work on Peacock’s Based on a True Story and Amazon’s The Wilds.
As the main event’s highlight, Laura Dern took the stage to give Kidman the Sherry Lansing award while reminiscing about their friendship and work together on Big Little Lies for two decades. Noting that four of Kidman’s six projects in the past year were directed by women, she also praised Kidman’s 2017 pledge to collaborate with a female director every 18 months.
Nicole’s consistent attendance is just one of the many ways she exhibits her extraordinary leadership. Nicole is constantly creating stories and expanding opportunities. In spite of her never-ending obligations, Nicole consistently shows up as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, advocate, and, yes, neighbor in addition to her roles as an actor and producer, Dern said. “She makes a real home.”. She always has a cup of tea ready, her heart and ears open, and with Nicole by her side, nothing slips through the cracks. Nicole has taught me how to create the path for inspirational and magical leadership ever since I had the honor of seeing her on screen for the first time and our most recent encounter, which included a delicious cup of tea. “”.
Accompanied by a standing ovation, Kidman, who this week appears on the cover of THR, began by honoring Lansing, who she described as “the first executive I met” when she first arrived in Los Angeles and who helped support The Hours after it lost funding, a movie that “changed my life.”. “.”.
She went on to say, “Yes, this is a leadership award, but it’s really important to acknowledge that this is about mentorship: being a mentor and having good mentors.”. That’s what Sherry has given me, and she’s given it to all of us. “”.
Along with her producing team, longtime agent Kevin Huvane, husband Keith Urban, daughters, and mother, who died three months ago, Kidman also praised the previous Sherry Lansing Leadership Award honorees and the “young emerging talent” she has recently collaborated with.
“When you walk out of this room today, reach out and mentor someone because you have no idea what it means to receive that support and that guidance from someone else,” the celebrity went on. There are a lot of influential people in this room, so make an effort to help and support someone; the world will benefit. In the same way that Sherry Lansing affected my life, you might have an impact on someone else’s. “.”.
Pam Anderson, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Natasha Rothwell, Danielle Brooks, Ariana Madix, Kathy Bates, Julia Fox, Anna Konkle, Gia Coppola, Diane Warren, and Rachel Morrison were among the prominent figures who attended the gala as well as WIE honorees.
