13th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon

(L-R) Marie Osmond, Carrie Ann Inaba, Eve and Sharon Osbourne. Photo Credit: Getty Images

To kick off OSCAR weekend, ESSENCE— the number one media, technology and commerce company dedicated to Black women globally—celebrated extraordinary Hollywood visionaries and culture shifters during its 13th annual Black Women in Hollywood Awards, held Thursday, February 6, 2020 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. ESSENCE's Black Women in Hollywood Awards was presented by Ford and sponsored by AT&T Humanity of Connection, Coca-Cola, Geico, Hulu, L'Oréal Paris, McDonald's and Netflix. 

This year's theme, in honor of the brand's 50th anniversary, was a celebration of women owning, expanding and transforming the art of storytelling. The luncheon celebrated actress Lashana Lynch (Black Women In Hollywood Award Recipient); DGA nominated director and two-time Grammy Award-winning music video director Melina Matsoukas (Black Women in Hollywood Award Recipient); actress, comedian, director and producer Niecy Nash (Ford Vanguard Award Recipient); and the trailblazing cast and co-executive producer/director/writer of POSE Janet Mock, MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Angelica Ross and Hailie Sahar (Black Women In Hollywood Award Recipients). 

Alfe Woodard, Ava DuVernay, Billy Porter, Issa Rae and Kerry Washington served as presenters and award-winning musician, actress and television personality, Eve, hosted the event. Brittany Howard, lead vocalist and guitarist for the chart-topping, GRAMMY Award-winning band Alabama Shakes, performed a medley of funk, soul ballads from her solo album, Jaime. 

Check out photo highlights below. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)