At the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, Tom Hanks handed Renée Zellweger a statuette for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role for her work in Judy. Though they could meet once again on Feb. 9 at the Oscars, where they’re both nominated, there’s another shared date now on the calendar.
Zellweger has been selected to receive the Courage Award on Feb. 27 at the Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s annual fundraiser, An Unforgettable Evening. Hosted by comedic actor Ken Jeong (whose wife is a breast cancer survivor), the event will be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Honorary chairs include Hanks, Rita Wilson, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, with gala chairs Quinn Ezralow and Jamie Tisch, and co-chairs Wallis Annenberg, Kris Levine, NJ Falk, Tom Ford, Richard Buckley, Judy and Leonard Lauder, Marion Laurie, Lori Kanter Tritsch and William P. Lauder.
Zellweger will be honored for her charitable contributions and philanthropic efforts throughout her career, including support of breast cancer research and awareness. The actress has notably showed up to many fundraising events over the years in support of her longtime publicist Nanci Ryder, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and, later, ALS. Zellweger has attended Stand Up to Cancer events and been a driving force in raising funds on behalf of the ALS Association’s Golden West Chapter, rallying support for Ryder as part of Team Nanci.
It has been a busy and successful time for Zellweger, who continues to make the awards season rounds on behalf of LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions’ Judy, which was directed by Rupert Goold. In addition to the SAG prize, she has won honors from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, National Board of Review and British Independent Film Awards. Zellwege is currently nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA and Spirit Award and was recently feted at both the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Though she has yet to choose a follow-up project, she recently signed an exclusive two-year, first-look deal with MGM Television, where she and Big Picture Co. partner Carmella Casinelli will develop new projects.
An Unforgettable Evening is the flagship fundraising event for WCRF featuring extraordinary honorees, tributes to cancer thrivers and the memory of those impacted by cancer. Previous honorees have included Natalie Cole, Courteney Cox, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Renette Ezralow, Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Jennifer Hudson, Kate Hudson, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Judy & Leonard Lauder, Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gabrielle Union and Sofia Vergara.
