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Deets: The Hollywood Reporter announced today that entertainment icon Jennifer Aniston will receive the prestigious Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at THR’s annual Women in Entertainment breakfast gala on December 8, 2021, in Los Angeles.
Steve Carell, Aniston’s co-star on The Morning Show, will present her with the award, which recognizes trailblazers and philanthropists in entertainment and media. Previous recipients have included such distinguished artists and visionaries as Oprah Winfrey, Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Viola Davis, Barbra Streisand, Jodie Foster and Barbara Walters.
An Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner, Aniston will be honored alongside some of Hollywood’s most influential women at the WIE gala, which is attended by 600 industry leaders and VIPs. The event coincides with the publication of THR’s annual Power 100 list of the top hundred women in film and television.
The Lansing Award was named in honor of the first woman ever to run a studio, a former president of 20th Century Fox and chairman/CEO of Paramount Pictures, who also produced such classic films as Fatal Attraction. Since leaving Paramount in 2005, Lansing (who co-founded Stand Up to Cancer) has served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of California and as head of her own nonprofit, the Sherry Lansing Foundation.
In addition to Aniston’s acclaimed work as an actress (including many years on NBC’s Friends), in 2007 she received the GLAAD Vanguard Award for her outstanding support of the LGBTQ community. She has also contributed multiple hours and financial aid to such organizations as Americares, Doctors Without Borders, Feeding America, Project ALS, Best Friends Animal Society and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, among others.
A highlight of the breakfast will be the presence of some 30 high school juniors and seniors selected to take part in the celebrated Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, a joint venture between THR and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. The students will be presented with almost $1 million in university scholarships.
Now in its 13th year, the Mentorship Program pairs the best and brightest high school girls from disadvantaged communities in the Los Angeles area with top-level executives, lawyers and agents. Past mentors have included Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, Imax Entertainment president Megan Colligan, Netflix vice president of content Bela Bajaria and Disney TV Studios-ABC Entertainment chairman Dana Walden.
Women in Entertainment is presented by Lifetime and sponsored by Cadillac, Fiji, SAG-AFTRA and eOne, in partnership with Chapman University and Loyola Marymount University.
Who You May Spot: Jennifer Aniston
Hint For The Average Socialite: This is strictly invite only.
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