Yara Shahidi has a date with Women in Film.
The actress and activist, best known as the star of Black-ish and Grown-ish, has been selected as the 18th recipient of the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award at the organization’s WIF honors in Los Angeles on Nov. 30. In conjunction with the honor, Shahidi is currently in Milan, Italy, where she’s meeting with the Maramotti family and attending the Max Mara spring/summer 2024 fashion show.
Per the organization, the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award is given to “an actress who is experiencing a turning point in her career through her work in the film and television industries, through her contributions to the community at large, in recognition of her outstanding achievements, and her embodiment of style and grace.” Lili Reinhart, Zazie Beetz, Gemma Chan, Elizabeth Debicki, Alexandra Shipp, Zoey Deutch, Natalie Dormer, Kate Mara, Rose Byrne and Hailee Steinfeld are a few of the names who have received the award in years past. Founded in 1973, this year’s WIF Honors event will serve to commemorate the organization’s 50th anniversary with special highlights in the works.
“Her outstanding work, both on and off screen, is an incredible inspiration,” praised Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, a third generation Maramotti family member who serves as global brand ambassador. “As a brand we are extremely proud to be associated with a talented artist, a successful entrepreneur, an accomplished activist and a graceful ambassador for culture at such a deep and honest level.”
Added WIF CEO Kirsten Schaffer: “At just 23, Yara has already cemented herself as a style icon, an incredibly talented actress and producer, and most critically, as a fierce advocate for equity within the entertainment industry and beyond. Yara has shown tireless commitment throughout her career to bettering our world. Her leadership amongst her generation makes Yara the perfect complement to the list of talented women who have received this award over the past 18 years.”
Shahidi, 23, recently executive produced and starred in Amazon Studios’ Sitting in Bars with Cake. Her other credits include the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations and Meta’s Yara Shahidi’s Day Off. She serves as executive producer and star of Freeform’s Grown-ish, which is in its sixth and final season.
Offscreen, Shahidi, who graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in social studies and African American studies, is a champion for inclusion and equity. For her work in that space, she’s received numerous accolades including being named to Time’s 30 Most Influential Teens, Forbes’ 30 Under 30, British Vogue‘s Forces for Change and receiving awards at Glamour‘s Women of the Year and Essence magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood events.
Yara Shahidi attends the Max Mara show in Milan, Italy on Sept. 21, 2023. She’s seated between Vanity Fair’s Radhika Jones and Vogue’s Anna Wintour during the spring/summer 2024 presentation.
Courtesy of Max Mara