In this Feb. 24, 2019 file photo, Octavia Spencer arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The Producers Guild of America will honor Octavia Spencer for her work behind-the-camera at its 2020 awards show. Spencer, who was among the producers of last year’s best picture Oscar winner “Green Book,” will receive the Visionary Award at the Producers Guild Awards on Jan. 18.(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
The Producers Guild of America will honor Octavia Spencer for her work behind-the-camera at its 2020 awards show.
Spencer, who was among the producers of last year's best picture Oscar winner "Green Book," will receive the Visionary Award at the Producers Guild Awards on Jan. 18.
The honor is meant to celebrate producers who create "inspiring, uplifting stories that add unique value to society and culture."
Spencer also served as an executive producer on "Ma," a horror film released earlier this year that gave the Oscar-winning actress her first starring role .
Previous recipients of the award include Brad Pitt, Ava DuVernay and "black-ish" creator Kenya Barris.
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
