WHAT: LOS ANGELES – November 7, 2025 – Last night on November 6 WIF (formerly known as Women In Film) celebrated the 2025 WIF Honors, an annual gala that raises vital funds for WIF’s education, career development, and advocacy programs.

WHO: The evening celebrated Jamie Lee Curtis with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award presented by Jane Fonda; Kristen Wiig with the inaugural Icon Award presented by Kaia Gerber; Hedda’s Tessa Thompson, Nia DaCosta (honored in absentia), Dede Gardner, and Gabrielle Nadig with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film presented by Janicza Bravo; Forever’s Mara Brock Akil, Judy Blume (honored in absentia), and Regina King with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in TV presented by Karen Pittman; and Maude Apatow with the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future® Award presented by Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti.   

WHERE: The WIF gala event was held at The Beverly Hilton.

RECAP: E! News correspondent Francesca Amiker and NPR News Culture Desk correspondent Mandalit del Barco also moderated short conversations during the program with Hedda and Forever honorees. Amiker moderated a discussion with Hedda’s Thompson, Gardner, and Nadig, while Del Barco moderated a discussion with Forever’s Akil and King. Special appearances included Maria Bello, who introduced the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future 20th Anniversary segment featuring fellow past honorees Lili Reinhart, Elizabeth Debicki, and Zoey Deutch. Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka (Hulu’s comedy special FATHER) opened the program with welcoming remarks and a monologue that filled the room with laughter.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Atsuko Okatsuka quipped with the audience about being powerful women in the entertainment industry, jokingly stating, “women…highly regarded, highly respected, rulers of the world. That’s why we’re here tonight, we’re doing too well…it’s exhausting having this much power.”
• Jane Fonda was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation and thunderous applause when she revealed her shirt with the word “RESIST” printed across. Fonda presented Jamie Lee Curtis, who was hand-selected by Fonda, with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award. 
• Regina King and Mara Brock Akil,  the honorees of the Crystal Award for Advocacy in TV,  discussed their work on the Netflix hit series, Forever, and why the series has resonated with so many viewers regardless of race.

• • Both King and Akil sang their praises about Judy Blume when asked if they read Blume’s books growing up. “You become a writer as a reader first, and I devoured every book that she wrote,” Akil stated.

• Fellow WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award recipients Maria Bello, Lili Reinhart, Elizabeth Debicki, and Zoey Deutch spoke to the impact of the partnership between WIF and Max Mara over the past 20 years, and welcomed Maude Apatow to the esteemed sisterhood as the 20th recipient of the award. 
  • Apatow shared her deep gratitude for the women who have played a role in her career, especially her mother, Leslie Mann. She shared, “My whole life I’ve watched her give incredible performances, but nothing could prepare me for seeing her talent up close when I directed her. Her ability to be hilarious, emotional, and heartbreaking all at once is mindblowing. The commitment to her craft and the dignity in which she carries herself will always be my North Star.”   
  • Apatow also took the moment to share more about the impact of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”, which she read as a ten-year-old. She recalled that the book “was funny, angsty, truthful, and made me fall in love with reading.”
• Kirsten Schaffer, WIF CEO, took a moment to acknowledge the difficult year and the people trying to diminish women and their voices, and how WIF is continuing to advocate for their community. She stated, “WIF matters because stories that center women as leaders, as scientists, as artists, as politicians shape our ideas about who we are and who can become.” She went on to urge everyone to continue WIF’s mission by stating, ” Let’s use our pens and voices to stand up for each other and especially those who are marginalized because, undivided, we do have the power.”
• The cast and creative team of Hedda, comprised of Tessa Thompson, Dede Gardner and Gabrielle Nadig were honored with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film for their upcoming film, Hedda. 
  • Touching on what advocacy in film means to her, Thompson shared that it means “curiosity.” She further divulged that it’s “curiosity about what other people are going through and what they need…If you have the great pleasure of being in a room, I feel like one great thing to do is to look around and think who else ought to be here, and that to me is the only thing I understand about advocacy and how to do it.”
• Kaia Gerber surprised her Palm Royale co-star, Kristen Wiig,  by presenting her with the inaugural WIF Icon Award. 
  • When speaking about Wiig, Gerber shared, “Tonight, we celebrate the woman who taught us that comedy is art, that chaos is beautiful, that sheer stupidity is not only encouraged but a necessity of life, and that being unapologetically yourself might be the most iconic move of all.“
  • During her acceptance speech, Wiig shared her admiration for WIF and their efforts in advancing women in the entertainment industry. “I love stories about women, we’re so crazy, we’re complex. We talk to each other about how we age, our sensitivities, our intuition, we share doctors with each other…it’s a never-ending source of material. I want to keep telling stories about women, with women,” she said.    
  • Attendees wearing Max Mara included: Regina King, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Fonda, Karen Pittman, Maude Apatow, Mara Brock Akil, Gabrielle Nadig, Atsuko Okatsuka, Janicza Bravo, Lili Reinhart, Zoey Deutch, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bello, Jurnee Smollett, Leslie Mann, Maggie Kang, and Beth Reisgraf.

The WIF Honors Committee, co-chaired by Victoria Alonso and Tracy McKnight, is comprised of WIF Board of Directors members including Tara Duncan, Monica Levinson, Andrea Nelson Meigs, Rachel Rusch, and Talitha Watkins. WIF Honors is presented by Max Mara with visionary sponsor e.l.f. Cosmetics and support from Amazon MGM Studios, Apple TV, Delta Air Lines, Disney, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, Netflix, and STARZ #TakeTheLead. The event was designed and produced by Anchor Street Collective. You can follow WIF on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

Photo Credit: Getty Images for WIF + Photo Credit: Shutterstock for WIF

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