40th Aniversary of the Gracies Awards

The Alliance for Women in Media presented the

40th Anniversary of The Gracies Awards to a packed house at

The Beverly Hilton

Last night (May 19), The Alliance for Women in Media, presented the 40th Anniversary of The Gracies Awards to a packed house at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.  Tracee Ellis Ross hosted the gala, which also celebrated the organization’s 40 years of achievements.  In honor of that milestone, The Gracies Commemorative Awards were handed out on stage to honorees (which were previously announced on March 4, 2015; full list of honorees attached) in recognition of their stellar accomplishments over the years. Guests were greeted by the musical talents of DJ Amy Pham. During the Commemorative Awards ceremony, music icon Linda Perry performed a striped down version of “What’s Up,” and a moving rendition of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”

Tracee Ellis Ross onstage at the 40th Anniversary of the Gracies Awards. Photo Credit – Leroy Hamilton on behalf of The Alliance of Women in Media

Honorees that attended the ceremony included:

Alicia MenendezAmy Lee LavoieAngela RobinsonAnn DruyanCarol StiffCicely TysonDanielle FriedmanDanny CanonDiana OlickElizabeth CohenErica HillErik LoganHoda KotbIsha SesayIyanla VanzantJulie Ann RobinsonKaren MalachKelly McEversKristen JohnstonLaila AliLaura MurphyLisa CohenLisa LaxMae WhitmanMaggie GyllenhaalMargo MartindaleMary StevensMegan KeltyMindy ThomasMoll Anderson, Noopur AgarwalPatricia DiCarloRegina ScullyRenee MontagneRobin SindlerSadie CalvanoSara VilkomersonTovia SmithTracey EdmondsTulip Mazumdar and more.

Tracee Ellis Ross opened the ceremony with a light-hearted intro, “So tonight we’ll honor the past, celebrate the present and look to the future…and then we’ll eat dessert–lots of dessert.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal on the red carpet of the 40th Anniversary of the Gracies Awards. Photo Credit – Leroy Hamilton on behalf of The Alliance of Women in Media

Kristen Johnston reminded us all why Gracie Allen was truly a legend, just by being herself, “If she were alive today [Gracie Allen], I think she’d be extremely proud of the women in this room; to know that we, too, stand in our own truths, do the work we love and, hopefully,  will leave the industry,  and the world,  a little better off than when we found it.”

And, on a more serious note, Cicely Tyson made an impassioned acceptance speech about the gender disparity that continues in the entertainment industry today: “Women have and continue to struggle to climb from the bottom of the ladder, but it is with the utmost determination that we reach for that next rung no matter how difficult the challenge.”

Presenters and additional guests in attendance included, Abbie BoudreauAndrea BruceAlison Overholt, Alison Sweeney, Brad Krevoy, Catherine Bell, Cecilia Vega, Darren Melameth, Ewan McGregor, G. Hannelius, Jamie Tarabay, Jenifer Fenton, Josie Thomas, Karli Henriquez, Lauren Graham, Lori Loughlin, Maria Elena Salinas, Maria Menounos, Mark Fainaru-Wada, Melissa Maerz, Megan McCloskey, Nicole Beemsterboer, Paul LaRosa, Peter Sarsgaard, Sara Vilkomerson, Stephanie Sy, Tamara Tunie, Yael Federbush, Yara Shahidi, and more.

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