This year’s International Women’s Day (March 8) was one for the books!
In Los Angeles, tons of influential ladies packed the Skirball Cultural Center in the midst of the Coronavirus to team up with the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) for the 8th Annual Women Making History Awards. The event honored actresses and activists Andie MacDowell and Logan Browning, alongside ECOS President and CEO Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks and Dr. Nancy D. O’Reilly for their significant contributions to their fields and roles as inspirations to women everywhere.
“I love to be an independent and I think it’s something that we’ve all fought really hard for. I’m proud that I’ve been able to take care of myself and my children and this was my accomplishment,” honoree Andie MacDowell tells Celeb Secrets on the carpet. “I’ve done everything that normally has been done by a man and for me it seems like its very natural but it was not something that women were allowed to do. I love to be an independent and I think its something that we’ve all fought really hard for. And I’m proud that I’ve been able to take care of myself and my children and this was my accomplishment.”
MacDowell received her award from daughters Rainey and Margaret Qualley, who praised their mother for her “steely southern charm” and “steadfast approach for doing good.”
“Our mom has inspired us daily since we were little girls,” Margaret said. Her steely southern charm and steadfast approach for doing good work for everyone around her helps the stage for Rainey and I to be successful, independent women in a world that sometimes can be challenging to navigate.”
Dear White People star Logan Browning was also honored during the luncheon, which she told our reporters on the carpet was a complete shock to her at first.
“I was absolutely surprised when I found out [I was being honored],” Browning tells Celeb Secrets. “I’ve come to this event before and I see women being honored who I have admired for years from afar or up close, and to be in the company just feels like, ‘have I done enough?'”
“But I do know that the work that I’ve been able to do not just on my own but with the show I’m on, with the people around me who are apart of the social activist movement, it’s really me representing a moment in time that we’ve all been apart of.”
Browning received her award from her co-star Camille Winbush, and the 30-year-old could not stop gushing about her mom who flew in from Atlanta for her special day.
“My mom is a badass. I told her I was being honored and she lives in Atlanta. She was just here for the NAACP Image Awards a few weekends ago and she wanted to come back for this,” she said to Celeb Secrets. “I think the real reason why I appreciate my mom is because I’ve been working since I was 14 and I’ve done so many events that sometimes they start to run together. As amazing as this is, sometimes I just kind of get into this wheel of just doing it, but my mom makes sure to go, ‘no. This is important and I’m going to be here to support you.’ And it makes me want to do that for other people.”
During the inspiring ceremony, NWHM President and CEO Holly Hotchner spoke about bringing the organization’s dream of a brick-and-mortar museum to life in Washington, D.C. Under her leadership, over the past year, the Museum began the critical work to help realize its mission: to build the first ever U.S. museum to show the full scope of the history of women. In 2020, this work will continue, as the museum kicks off a year-long celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote.
Also in attendance at the luncheon were special guests Yvette Nicole Brown, Laura Bell Bundy, Yaya DaCosta, Natalie Dreyfuss, Giselle Fernandez, Amanda Fuller, Edy Ganem, Anna Hopkins, Carly Hughes, Sharon Lawrence, Mercedes Mason, Molly McCook, AJ Michalka, Aly Michalka, MILCK, Sara Rue, Jade Tailor, Shantel VanSanten, Virginia Williams, and many more.
Founded in 1996, the National Women’s History Museum is the nation’s only women’s history museum and the most recognized institution dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women’s diverse contributions to society. A renowned leader in women’s history education, the Museum brings to life the countless untold stories of women throughout history, and serves as a space for all to inspire, experience, collaborate, and amplify women’s impact—past, present, and future. The Museum is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3.
Click through the playlist below to see our interviews with Andie, Logan, Aly & AJ, Shantel VanSanten and more!
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