It’s hard to remember a time when Blake Lively wasn’t a movie star. The actress first came on the scene in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” an ode to the importance of female friendship and a celebration of the beauty of all body types. She played Bridget, a star soccer player.
Since then, Lively has appeared in several other women-centric and women-helmed projects, including “The Shallows,” “The Age of Adaline,” “Gossip Girl,” Rebecca Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,” and the “Sisterhood” sequel, directed by Sanaa Hamri. And it seems that is no accident.
Accepting the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress for the thriller “The Shallows,” Lively emphasized the importance of women telling their stories. Lively, whose acceptance speech was published on Entertainment Weekly, credits her mom for teaching her about “girl power”:
“My mom, she always taught me as a kid that you can’t ever let anyone limit you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you there’s something you can’t do,” Lively told the audience.
“Watching this movie, and the women nominated in this category [Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Julia Roberts, and Meryl Streep]— when you guys voted for this, you didn’t just vote for this movie or me, but you voted for girl power… And men voted for girl power, too, and you guys are awesome for doing that.”
Lively graciously turned the focus away from herself and her fellow nominees and towards all creative women. “Thank you for sending a message to Hollywood that people want to hear stories about women, and we want to hear your stories,” she continued. “Whether it’s social media, your iPhone — whatever, tell your stories, now more than ever. You need to be heard, you are valuable, and no one can limit you!”
You can watch Lively’s entire People’s Choice Awards speech below.
Watch @blakelively accept the award for "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" #PCAs https://t.co/FAQvOe134k
