Earlier this week, legendary stage and film actress Alfre Woodard hosted her seventh annual “Oscar’s Sistahs Soiree” at the newly refurbished Vivienne Westwood Penthouse in the London Hotel.
Notables who joined Woodard included: Rosario Dawson, Aisha Tyler, Aja Naomi King, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Anika Noni Rose, Emayatzy Corinealdi, LaTanya Richardson, Lorraine Toussaint, Loretta Devine, Margaret Avery, Regina Taylor, Yolonda Ross and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
Last year’s guest list included Ava DuVernay, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Angela Bassett, Carmen Ejogo, Danai Gurira, Kerry Washington, Lynn Whitfield, Nicole Beharie, Viola Davis and Zoe Saldana.
The starry West Hollywood event started with a reception and then guests enjoyed a private dinner in the suite. Aja Naomi King currently stars alongside Viola Davis in How to Get Away With Murder. Yolonda Ross can next be seen in Netflix series The Get Down. Rosario Dawson and Jurnee Smollett-Bell were spotted chatting and posing for photos. Jurnee’s new show Underground premieres on March 9 on WGN America.
The event is meant to honor “African American and Latina [women] who have been nominated for the Oscar in the acting category, and, we say in a perfect world, those who should have been,” Woodard told Variety. She continued, “I think it’s hilarious that we have to use the word ‘diversity’ in Hollywood, because the world is diverse. Life is diverse … God did diversity, and if you don’t believe in God, [then] evolution did diversity.”
Kudos to Woodard for fostering unity, support and love among her sisters.
Photo Credit: Todd Williamson, Getty Images
