Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph stole the spotlight at the star-studded ACLU SoCal’s Centennial Awards on Sunday.
The actresses of Abbott Elementary looked stunning in their beautiful dresses as they graced the red carpet at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles.
Wearing a bold red number, 34-year-old Quinta exuded effortless chic as she flashed her megawatt smile for the shutterbugs.
Sheryl, 67, dazzled in a silver strapless dress, looked ready to accept her Bill of Rights Award as one of the evening’s three honors.
The Bill of Rights Awards were presented to those “who have meaningfully challenged the status quo” and were also presented to poet Alok Vaid-Menon and the film directing team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the Daniels.
Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph stole the spotlight at the star-studded ACLU SoCal’s Centennial Awards on Sunday
Sheryl was asked for the award because she is the founder of the Diva Foundation, which focuses on five pillars: health consciousness, women and girls, LGBTQ people, social justice and racial equity, and food and housing security.
The Daniels are celebrated for spotlighting immigrant, queer and Asian American characters.
And Vaid-Menon, aka Alok, contributes to the discourse on “trans commonality and challenges gender barriers.”, the ACLU website.
Quinta and Sheryl led a cavalcade of celebrities at the event, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martin Sheen, Shari Belafonte, Dule Hill, Stephanie Hsu and poet Rupi Kaur.
The show will be hosted by actor and activist Jason George and composer Laura Karpman will perform a piece from American Fiction.
“Today – and for 100 years – the ACLU SoCal is committed to ensuring that ‘we the people’ means all of us,” said Marcus Benigno, chief communications and marketing officer at the ACLU SoCal, in a statement.
‘We are proud to celebrate artists and changemakers who use their talent and power to create a just and inclusive world.’
Earlier this month, Quinta teased “big changes” in the new season of Abbot Elementary.
Wearing a bold red number, 34-year-old Quinta exuded effortless chic as she showed off her megawatt smile for the shutterbugs
Sheryl was accompanied by her husband Vincent Hughes
The award-winning star shared Good morning America“Season three is so exciting for me,” but revealed that due to the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the season was “shortened” to just 14 episodes.
“I really wanted to make sure they were all a blast because we only have a limited time with our audience.”
“But of course it forced the writers and the cast, who want to deliver incredible performances for every episode,” Quinta added.
“I think there are some big changes this season that were always going to be there for the third season, but because we had a shorter episode count it was even more important to me to give the audience something exciting to return to. ‘
“But not too exciting,” she explained. “You’ll still see your trusted favorite teachers in Philadelphia and on TV. But I think there will be nice surprises!’
While also on GMA, Quinta talked about her recent Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Notably, she made history by being “the first Black woman in more than 40 years to win Best Actress in a Comedy Series.”
‘I only knew that afterwards. Obviously I was just emotional when I won,” she revealed, adding after going backstage: “That information was given to me and it made me emotional all over again.”
Stephanie Hsu rocked a dramatic black dress
Lisa Ann Walter put on a busty show on the red carpet, while Lisa Edelstein was the talk of the town in her dress
Dylan Mulvaney dazzled this evening in a gold dress
Dylan opted for minimal makeup and at least one accessory
Miranda Bailey was all about her handbag
The series also stars Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis and Sheryl – who previously won an Emmy for her role on the show.
After Quinta won an Emmy last month, she recalled Sheryl telling her, “She always knew this would be the case. That she was just proud of me, which is important to me as a writer and creator…’
She later said, “It’s also great that the cast and people like Sheryl recognize the show in general. And I really felt like that night was a victory for the entire cast and crew.”
Quinta has been enjoying her time in the Big Apple, catching a Broadway show called Merrily We Roll along, which stars her good friend and Harry Potter alum, Daniel Radcliffe.
She also got the chance to go backstage to visit some of the cast members, including Radcliffe, and shared a photo of the moment to her Instagram Stories on Sunday.
In the text added to the bottom of the image, Brunson typed: “Best cast, best acting. Go to Merrily We Roll along if you can!’
During an interview with Entertainment weekly Published on Monday, the writer revealed her desire to have Daniel at Abbott Elementary as Mr. Johnson – played by William Stanford Davis.
‘I love Daniel Radcliffe. He is a very good, sweet guy and a friend of mine. For some reason in the (writers) room we were like, “What if Daniel Radcliffe was Mr. Johnson’s son?”
“And there’s no rhyme or reason. It’s so stupid. And not like Daniel Radcliffe, because someone, Daniel Radcliffe (himself) is Mr. Johnson’s son,” she explained.
Brunson and Radcliffe are no strangers to collaboration, having starred alongside each other in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) and the show called Miracle Workers.
Meanwhile, Sheryl recently revealed she and her husband Vincent Hughes have ‘no idea’ why others are shocked they don’t live together.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt looked dapper in his ensemble
Vincent Hughes, a Democratic senator, looked chic in his suit
Icons Martin Sheen and Shari Belafonte posed together while Patricia Danaher and Anna Russo kept it casual yet chic
Rupi Kaur and Dylan Mulvaney were too cute on the red carpet
Sheryl was asked for the award because she is the founder of the Diva Foundation, which focuses on five pillars: health awareness, women and girls, LGBTQ people, social justice and racial equity, and food and housing security.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lena Waithe seemed happy hanging out together
Lisa Ann Walter, Sheryl Lee and Lena Waithe posed together with the award
Sheryl was one of three winners of the Bill of Rights Award
The 67-year-old actress tied the knot with Democrat Senator Hughes, also 67, in 2005 after two years of dating, but the couple do not live under the same roof and do not see the revelation as a big deal.
When asked why he thought the news was causing a stir, Hughes told Entertainment Tonight: “I don’t know why, we’ve been commuting since the beginning and it’s worked for us, so it’s cool!”
The actress married Senator Hughes in 2005 after two years of dating. Despite their marital status, the couple does not share a home, and they downplay the significance of this revelation.
When asked about the attention the news attracted, Hughes responded Entertainment tonightand said, “I don’t know why, we’ve been commuting since the beginning and it’s worked for us, so it’s cool!”
