Variety’s Power of Women: Los Angeles luncheon is just around the corner. This year’s edition, taking place October 12 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons, will celebrate philanthropic women who “have made a significant difference in their chosen causes.” A press release has announced Natalie Portman, Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Regina King, and March For Our Lives activist Emma Gonzalez are this year’s Power of Women: LA honorees.
These five women will be toasted at the exclusive luncheon, which is associated with the Women’s Impact Report, an annual profile of the most influential women in entertainment. The honorees will also appear on the cover of Variety’s Power of Women issue on October 9.
“2018 marks the 10th anniversary of Variety’s Power of Women event,” declared Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Group Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer of Variety. “Once again, we are thrilled to have our founding partner, Lifetime, join us in celebrating our outstanding honorees. For close to 35 years, Lifetime has utilized its powerful platforms and programming to effect positive change and advocate on behalf of women and the issues critical to their lives. We look forward to recognizing the profound impact of this year’s distinguished group of activists, artists, and executives.”
Portman will be recognized for her work with the gender equality and inclusion movement Time’s Up, an instrumental force in the movement to end sexual harassment and assault. Portman received an Oscar for playing a ballerina pushing herself to the brink of insanity in “Black Swan.” She was last seen in sci-fi “Annihilation.” Next, she’ll play a pop star in “Vox Lux,” out December 7.
Power of Women is celebrating Haddish’s support of The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, an LA theater collective that mentors underserved youth. Haddish became a household name with box office hit “Girls Trip,” in which she played the scene-stealing, grapefruit-defiling Dina. She stars in TBS series “The Last O.G.” and has several movies coming out this fall, including political satire “The Oath” (October 12), GED comedy “Night School” (September 28), and sister flick “Nobody’s Fool” (November 2).
Waithe is being honored for her efforts with The Trevor Project, an org providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ young people. Last year she became the first black woman to win a comedy writing Emmy. She took home the prize (with Aziz Ansari) for writing the “Thanksgiving” ep of “Master of None,” which traced her character’s decades-long coming out story. Waithe created Showtime drama “The Chi,” which returns for its second season next year. Other actions on the multi-hyphenate’s packed schedule are writing “Bonnie & Clyde”-esque drama “Queen & Slim” and developing TV comedies “Twenties,” and “Boomerang.”
King is being recognized for her work with the “I Have A Dream” Foundation, a program providing social, emotional, and academic support to young people from low-income communities. She just won her third Emmy for police brutality drama “Seven Seconds.” You can catch King next in the critically-adored “If Beale Street Could Talk.” The film sees a young woman fighting to get her lover out of prison after he’s falsely convicted of rape.
Gonzalez has become one of the faces of the gun reform movement. A student at Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, she became active in the push for gun control after the February 14 shooting at her school. Her and her fellow Parkland students’ activism led to March For Our Lives, a student-led movement dedicated to ending gun violence and America’s mass shooting epidemic.
Power of Women: LA will also present the Moroccanoil Inspiration To Action Award to inventor and entrepreneur Kavita Shukla for her work on FreshPaper, “a simple innovation taking on global food waste.”
Participant Media CEO David Linde will receive the 2018 EmPOWerment Award in honor of his history of supporting women execs and filmmakers. Participant’s recent films include “A Fantastic Woman,” “The Post,” “RBG,” “Roma,” and “On the Basis of Sex.”
