Halle Bailey and Danielle Brooks, who star in the 2023 musical version of The Color Purple, will be honored at the 17th annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, set to take place on Thursday, March 7, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
Grammy-winning rapper Cliff “Method Man” Smith will host the event, which will form the basis of a one-hour primetime special that will later air on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and stream on Max/discovery+. Winfrey is one of the producers of the new edition of The Color Purple.
Brooks was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for playing Sofia in the new edition of the film. Winfrey was nominated in that same category for playing the same role in original 1985 drama. Brooks won a Grammy seven years ago for best musical theater album as one of the principal soloists on the cast album of the Broadway show.
Bailey is a six-time Grammy nominee, though she has yet to win.
The theme of this year’s event is “Radiant Power.” The event will also honor Nkechi Okoro Carroll, screenwriter and showrunner of All American, All American: Homecoming and Found, and Kathryn Busby, president of original programming for STARZ.
The ceremony will be produced by Essence Studios and Red Summer TV. The upcoming one-hour primetime special will feature red carpet arrivals, highlights from the awards ceremony and celebrity interviews.
ESSENCE will continue its celebration of Black film and television luminaries at the fifth annual ESSENCE Hollywood House, which will be held on Friday, March 8, in Los Angeles. The event focuses on equipping members of the community with the tools needed to achieve their full potential within the entertainment industry. Los Angeles-based attendees can register at ESSENCE.com/HollywoodHouse2024. Virtual attendees can stream the festivities live on ESSENCE.com, X, Facebook and YouTube.