America Ferrera just helped power Barbie into a billion-dollar success story, but growing up, she says, there were “no successful actresses like me.”

Speaking at the Academy Women’s Luncheon, presented by Chanel, which was held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles Thursday, Ferrera, 39, recalled how remote her aspirations seemed as a first-generation daughter of Honduran immigrants.

“I was given the assignment to assimilate, excel and succeed. That meant leaving my heritage behind and trying to fit in,” Ferrera said of growing up in L.A. during her keynote speech.

The actress — who spoke before an energized crowd that included Annette Bening and Lupita Nyong’o, roughly 12 hours after the historic SAG-AFTRA strike ended — also talked frankly of her youth exploring her talent in public school theater departments. “Despite my best efforts, I would remain ‘other’ to those around me — too Latina to be fully American, and too whitewashed to be accepted as Latina,” she recalled.

“After all, there were no successful actresses like me. I was brown, short, overweight, and poor. I had no connections to the business and no money to pay for expensive acting programs. I had no community huddled around me, supporting my dreams. I, alone, held the vision for my life, and the belief that maybe I could do something I had never seen anyone like me do before,” said Ferrera.

By the time she became more successful in projects like Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Ugly Betty, “I was used to standing on my own,” she explained, pointing to the loneliness and isolation of being “the only woman, or the only person of color in an important meeting or on set.”

Ferrera said she eventually found community by seeking out more Latinas in her orbit and later encountering a “transformative” sisterhood following 2017’s #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

“We must be resolute in our commitment to demanding opportunity, access, equal pay, investment and possibility for every woman,” she said. “What I know today is that none of us needs to do it alone.”

Also at the luncheon were Eva Longoria, Kristen Stewart and her screenwriter fiance Dylan Meyer, Rita Wilson, Riley Keough, Leslie Mann and daughter Maude Apatow, Lily-Rose Depp, Greta Lee, H.E.R., director Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ashley Park, Sadie Sink and Academy president Janet Yang.

With news of the strike ending arriving the night prior, stars were still reeling. “My biggest reaction’s like, “Let’s f–g go!” an elated Longoria tells PEOPLE. “Everybody wants to be back on the set, wants to get back to work.”

Wilson tells PEOPLE that she and Tom Hanks got the news Wednesday night and felt “utter relief. Just to be able to say like, ‘Oh, thank God. It’s over.’ We had heard rumblings that maybe it was going to happen over the weekend. And so when it came through, it was actually just a relief. So many people have been hurt by this. And yet sometimes you you’ve got to hold out and get things that you want. So I’m eager to see what it is that we’ve agreed to.”

And at the airy November luncheon, Barbie’s summer success story was still top of mind for many.

“I think the entire industry needs to stop using the model of what they’ve seen before to calculate success, Barbie being a perfect example,” director Patty Jenkins, who directed Monster with Charlize Theron and Gal Gadot’s two Wonder Woman films tells PEOPLE.

“Again and again these movies seem so shocking and surprising when they succeed, but they shouldn’t be. People are craving diverse voices,” she adds.

The luncheon marked the sixth anniversary of the Gold Fellowship for Women, the Academy’s program to support emerging women filmmakers, with this year’s fellowship granted to The Ghost filmmaker Erica Eng. Made possible by Chanel, the program reflected the fashion house’s deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of women filmmakers.

Source: People

Great news! SAG-AFTRA have reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. This means that actors are able to resume their work filming projects for television, commercials, and movies. Congratulations to the members of SAG-AFTRA on their new contract!

Source: SAG-AFTRA

America Ferrera attended the “Women of the Year” Awards hosted by Glamour in London on October 17th. There are now 60 HQ/MQ photos added to our photo gallery of America Ferrera from the red carpet, inside the event, and in the press room.

Click on the preview links below to see all the images added to America Ferrera Source!

The release dates to watch the film Dumb Money via VOD (streaming) or physical media (DVD/Blu-ray) have been announced! You can begin streaming the movie on November 7, 2023 and the physical media release is set for December 12, 2023.

Source: Slash Film

America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Greta Lee, Yara Shahidi, Celine Song and Linda Yvette Chávez will be feted at the 2023 WIF Honors.

The annual benefit will be held on Thursday, Nov. 30, in Los Angeles, as WIF (formerly known as Women in Film, Los Angeles), celebrates 50 years of working for gender equity in Hollywood. There, Jane Fonda will present Ferrera with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award, while the filmmaking duos of Longoria and Chávez (“Flamin’ Hot”) and Lee and Song (“Past Lives”) accept the Crystal Award for Advocacy. Shahidi is set to be honored with the Max Mara Face of the Future Award.

“The work of this year’s honorees exemplifies outstanding creative vision and the change WIF has worked to create in its 50 years as an organization,” said WIF Honors committee co-chairs Monica Levinson and Talitha Watkins. “Our industry is better because of these women and their commitment to spurring lasting impact in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the scenes.”

Regarding the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, a release noted that WIF worked directly with the guild to “ensure this year’s event adheres to strike guidelines and is sensitive to striking workers, their unions, and their allies, while still celebrating outstanding contributions to advocacy and collaboration that moves the needle towards gender equity in our industry.”

Fonda, for whom WIF’s humanitarian award was renamed in 2021, personally selected Ferrera as this year’s honoree, saluting her for her longtime activism. The “Ugly Betty” Emmy winner and “Barbie” star is one of the co-founders of Poderistas, a nonprofit launched to inform, affirm, and inspire Latinas to leverage their power and transform their lives, their community and their nation; in 2016, following the presidential election, Ferrera also launched Harness, a community of artists, influencers and grassroots leaders who aim to leverage art and storytelling to power change and create a more equitable world.

The Crystal Award for Advocacy pairs will sit in conversation during the ceremony, with their partnerships described as “a demonstration of what we can accomplish together when we make films by women.” Longoria is saluted for her 20-year career, both in front of and behind the camera as a producer and director, including her recent collaboration with “Flamin’ Hot” screenwriter Chávez. Lee is honored alongside playwright and filmmaker Song for their collaboration on the critically acclaimed A24 film “Past Lives,” which has established itself as an early awards season contender.

Shahidi’s Face of the Future honor — presented by Max Mara, which returns to sponsor the awards for a 20th year — recognizes both her acting and producing work (including “Black-ish,” “Grown-ish” and “Sitting in Bars with Cake”), as well as her fight for inclusivity and equity in the industry and beyond.

“This year’s honorees show the strength and power of collaboration, inclusion, and how uplifting stories that have gone untold for too long make this industry better,” said WIF CEO Kirsten Schaffer. “With our industry in a moment of upheaval, which too often disproportionately impacts women and people of color, we need these women leading the way now more than ever, as we continue to fight for gender equity. WIF is grateful to shine a light on these formidable honorees as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.”

The 2023 WIF Honors is designed and produced by Anchor Street Collective’s Carleen Cappelletti; additional presenters and participating talent will be announced in the coming weeks, with tickets available for sale at womeninfilm.org. Joining Levinson and Watkins on the WIF Honors committee are Eryn Brown, Esther Chang, Michelle Lee, Tracy McNight and Ida Ziniti.

Source: Variety

The upcoming Pixar movie Elio will no longer be released next year as the animated movie has been significantly delayed.

Walt Disney Studios announced today that the Elio release date has been changed from March 1, 2024, to June 13, 2025. That means the next Pixar movie will now be Inside Out 2 on June 14, 2024.

Source: Coming Soon

The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday announced its inaugural Latin Power Event, set to take place Nov. 8 at Soho Beach House in Miami.

The afternoon event will honor Latin executives, talent and makers who have been leaders across film, television and music. Panelists and honorees include four trailblazers who are being recognized for their contributions in the following areas: America Ferrera, for advocacy and representation; Cris Abrego, chairman of Banijay America Group, president and CEO of Endemol Shine Holdings and co-founder and CEO Hypenate Media Group, for executive leadership; Danny Trejo, for entrepreneurship and philanthropy; and Emilio and Gloria Estefan, for lifetime achievement in the arts.

In a joint statement, THR co-editors-in-chief Nekesa Moody and Maer Roshan said: “We couldn’t be more excited to host our first ever Latin Power event in Miami, bringing together world-class talent and business leadership. Our shared goal is to create a platform to hear inspiring stories, celebrate leadership and shine a light on the undeniable momentum being created by Latin’s Power Players. We are also proud to have a dedicated issue that recognizes these influential leaders in the Latin community.”

The event coincides with THR’s Latin Power issue, which takes a fresh, business-forward look at the Latin executives, talent and makers having an impact on global audiences while driving business forward. The issue’s power list and accompanying features will tell a story, not of language or country of origin, but about the content that drives billions in revenue.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter