Essence Gives Black Women in Hollywood the Honor They Deserve

Essence celebrated its 8th annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon this afternoon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, drawing together some of the entertainment industry’s most talented actresses. The luncheon included a performance of Common and John Legend’s Oscar-nominated song “Glory” and featured an opening presentation by Oprah Winfrey, Tessa Thompson and Carmen Ejogo. Lupita Nyong'o, who gave a memorable and emotional speech at last year’s event, was on hand to present the Vanguard Award to cast members from Orange Is The New Black, one of the many TV shows this year that has by driven by black female characters.

Orange Is The New Black star Samira Wiley, who was honored alongside castmates Adrienne C. Moore, Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox, Lorraine Toussaint, Uzo Aduba and Vicky Jeudy, donned a white Azede Jean Pierre pant and top for the event, noting that the prevalence of bright, floral-trimmed ensembles was because “we’re trying to bring in the spring.” The actress marveled at being able to attend this event. “I’m overwhelmed simply by being here,” she said. “I was overwhelmed last year and all I had to do was eat lunch. There are so many people here who inspire me. I keep turning around and being like ‘Oh! Oh!’ I grew up looking at these women on the big screen and on TV my whole life so it’s amazing.”

“It’s like a family affair,” said actress Tika Sumpter, who starred in last year’s Get On Up. “I’m always so happy for everyone being honored and for the next entertainers who get recognized.”

The most notable honor of the day went to actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who was presented with the Lincoln Breakthrough of the Year Award by Selma star David Oyelowo. Mbatha-Raw was honored with the BAFTA Rising Star award earlier this month, which she noted “was a really exciting night,” but today’s award especially means a lot to her. “It really is an honor,” she said. “I’m relatively new in the States. It’s really lovely to have this support and encouragement. It’s great that it’s with all my peers and I was really excited to have David present to me. I want him to get so many more jobs and so much more recognition. He’s an incredible human being.”

Much of the talk this awards season has revolved around Oyelowo’s performance in Selma as Martin Luther King Jr., for which he was not nominated for an Oscar. Ejogo, who played his wife in the film, said that she’s not upset about the film’s so-called Oscar snubs. “For me, the win was always that we got the movie made at all in the way we wanted to do it,” the actress explained. “And to be honest, controversy and otherwise have all helped to get the name of the film out there. That, in turn, hopefully gets people to go see the movie. And that’s ultimately all we want. You don’t make these films for the awards at the end of it. You make these films because of the message that’s embedded in the hope that it will get out to as many people as possible. I feel like, in some ways, it’s become a win-win with this whole Oscars hoopla because the message is out there. This film is exciting and apparently worthy of talking about.”

Selma is nominated for Best Picture on Sunday, as well as Best Original Song, and Ejogo is thrilled to go support the movie at the awards show. She admittedly hasn’t selected a dress yet, although she said she has some ideas on silhouette and color, but can’t wait to walk the famous red carpet. “It’s one of those things I’ve watched literally since I was a child,” she said. “And so to be there and be able to represent Selma as well is super important. And being part of that anticipation of how the evening will play out is exciting.”

Legend, clad in a Gucci suit, has so far earned a Grammy and a Golden Globe for Selma’s moving song “Glory,” but he’s skeptical he’ll take home another statue on Sunday. “I don’t know,” he said, mentioning that he hasn’t sketched out an acceptance speech yet. “If I do win, I’ll think of something to say when I get up there. We’ll see what happens.” As for his wife Chrissy Teigen Legend said she been working on her reaction faces. “She’s concerned about her face this time since everybody got on her about the Golden Globes,” he laughed.

Chanel Iman attended the luncheon for the first time as a guest of Rick Famuyiwa, who directed her in her debut film Dope, which is out later this year. The model was relieved to have left behind the wintery cold of New York Fashion Week. “I was one of those people wearing no pants,” she noted. “That’s why I have a little bit of a cough. Sometimes it’s a mind over matter thing, but it was so cold last weekend that I felt like my face was going to rip off.” Iman hopes to pursue more acting gigs in the future, especially since Dope earned a positive reaction last month at Sundance.

“I fell in love with everything about film,” she said. “Just everything about working with directors and producers and being on set. I just went for it and it worked out. It’s a good performance – I think I did a good job for the first time. I felt good about it.” The model also hopes to be part of more events like this luncheon as her career progresses, especially since she’s after a selfie with Oprah. “It’s always great when women come together and support each other and encourage each other to keep going,” Iman noted. “It’s very inspiring to me as a young actress.”

True Blood actress Jurnee Smollett agreed: “Women need to uplift and support each other. Too often in society they pit us each against each other. That’s really not something I like to encourage or participate in. It’s nice that Essence has this event where we can just all love on each other.”

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