LOS ANGELES, CA (October 5, 2021) – The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation presented the 46th Annual Gracie Awards.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were held virtually and streamed on the foundation’s Facebook page.

 Highlights from the awards include:

• Simone Biles presented Taylor Swift with the Gracies Grand Award for her documentary “folklore: the long pond studio session”:, to which Swift said, “I wanted to say, first of all, thank you Simone Biles for presenting this award to me. I absolutely adore you and, um, that just really made my heart skip a beat.” The presentation also featured footage of Swift performing “folklore” with her collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner in-studio.
• Proclaimed the “Kindest Man in Hollywood,” actor Henry Winkler presented Gayle King with the Gracies Award for “Best Hard News Feature – Interview” for her work on the CBS special “Breonna Taylor: Her Life, Death, and Legacy.” The segment featured heart wrenching clips of Gayle’s interview with Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, with Gayle noting the sense of responsibility she felt to tell this story.
• Glennon Doyle presented Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton with the Gracies Awards for “Best Entertainment Podcast Host” for her podcast, “You And Me Both with Hillary Clinton”. The segment features Glennon’s recap of her invitation to Hillary’s podcast where she was so excited, nervous, and over-caffeinated that she woke up her wife with a handmade poster that read, “It’s Hillary Clinton Day!”
• Award-winning actress Caitriona Balfe accepted the award for “Best Actress in a Leading Role – Drama” for her dynamic role as Clare Fraser on the Starz series Outlander. The award was presented to her by actor and director Adam Rodriguez.
• This year’s Gracie Awards coincides with the  Alliance for Women in Media Foundation’s (AWM) 70th Anniversary. During a celebratory moment that recognized AWM’s history, featuring archived photos and original documentation from the organization’s founding members, Becky Brooks (President, AWM) and Heather Cohen (AWM Board Member) presented event host Lauren Ash with a special anniversary Legacy Award.

• AWM Foundation and Ford Empowering America Scholarship recipient Omose Ighodaro presented the award for “Best Ensemble Cast” to “Mrs. America.” Cast and crew members including Cate Blanchett accepted the award, popping bottles of champagne and virtually raising a glass to one another in a Zoom celebration.
• Television host and sportscaster Charissa Thompson presented her best friend and fellow award-winning sportscaster Erin Andrews with the Gracies Award for “On Air Talent – Sports”. During her presentation, Thompson recalled the first time she met Andrews 13 years ago at one of her first jobs, and reminisced about the immediate camaraderie she felt woman-to-woman in a field dominated by men.
• Actress Kelly Hu presented Peabody Award-winner Mo Rocca with the Gracie Award for “Best Entertainment Podcast”. Rocca hosts the podcast “Mobituaries” and was recognized for the episode entitled, “Anna May Wong: Death of a Trailblazer,” that tells the story of Hollywood’s first Chinese-American superstar and the societal, industrial, and legal adversity she faced.

The awards also featured musical performances by Jewel and CeCe Winans. Between her acoustic performances of “No More Tears” and “You Were Meant For Me,” event host Lauren Ash presented GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Jewel with the Gracies Impact Award. Later, GRAMMY award-winning American Gospel Singer CeCe Winans closed out the show with a performance of “Never Lost.”

To view the complete list of winners, their work and acceptance speeches, visit allwomeninmedia.org.

Sponsors of the Gracie Awards include Crown Media, Ziploc ®, CNN, Apple Music, FOX Sports, Premiere Networks, Katz Media Group, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, Meruelo Media, Beasley Media Group, Marketplace and TEGNA.

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About The Gracie Awards

The Gracie Awards is the largest fundraiser of the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation which supports and promotes educational programs, and scholarships to benefit the media, the public, and allied fields. In addition to giving $20,000 a year away in scholarships to deserving female students, the Foundation also produces the nationally acclaimed recognition program – the Gracie Awards which honors exemplary programming created by, for, and about women. The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation has created partnerships and joint initiatives with the Emma Bowen Foundation, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), NCTA – The Cable and Telecommunications Association and other organizations that are philosophically aligned with the mission of the Foundation. For more information about The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation and the Gracie Awards please visit allwomeninmedia.org and follow on Twitter (@AllWomeninMedia), (#TheGracies), Instagram (@allwomeninmedia) and Facebook.

Press Contact

Sunshine Sachs

Gracies@SunshineSachs.com