Published on February 26th, 2019 | by Jessica Williams

Jenifer Lewis, Regina Hall, Amandla Stenberg & Kiki Layne Honored at the 12th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards

Kicking off Oscar weekend with style and grace, Essence celebrated four remarkable Hollywood artist-activists during its 12^th annual “Black Women in Hollywood Awards,” held Thursday, February 21, 2019 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. The luncheon, themed “Art + Activism,” was hosted by Grammy Award-Winning singer and actress, Kelly Rowland; and honored actress and comedian Regina Hall (Black Women in Hollywood Award Recipient); actress/singer and author Jenifer Lewis (Black Women in Hollywood Award Recipient); actress Amandla Stenberg (Black Women in Hollywood Award Recipient) and actress KiKi Layne (Ford Spotlight Award Recipient).

Regina King, Sanaa Lathan, Elaine Welteroth, Loretta Devine and Sheryl Lee Ralph were presenters and Amber Riley performed two beautiful covers of Stephanie Mills’ “Home” and Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.”

The exclusive pre-Oscar event was abuzz with Hollywood Black excellence from actresses to musicians, executives, beauty influencers and more. These A-list guests mingled during a cocktail reception prior to entering the grand ballroom for the ceremonial luncheon. Among the elite talents present were Angela Basset, Angela Rye, Ava DuVernay, Chloe X Halle, Eva Marcille, Kandi Burruss, Meagan Good, Sean Combs, Sherri Shepherd, Spike Lee, and Tina Knowles-Lawson.