On Thursday, Dua Lipa, Camila Cabello, Lily Gladstone, and Billie Lourd awarded $1 million in college scholarships to high school students from impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
The news was made at the Beverly Hills Hotel during The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2023 Women in Entertainment brunch gala, presented by Lifetime. The event coincides with the release of this year’s Women in Entertainment Power 100 list.
Lipa walked the stage first to begin the distribution of the scholarships, which were given to participants in The Hollywood Reporter’s mentorship program, which is a collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. Lipa stated that she was “so fortunate” to be a part of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which was not only a “global phenomenon,” but also empowered “women and girls all over the world.”
Lipa revealed that Lifetime is providing every girl graduating from the program a $10,000 scholarship of their choice after a poignant mentorship program video produced by A+E Studios, eliciting loud cheers from the audience.
The Grammy-winning singer also announced that the Best Buy team, led by CEO Corie Barry, has formed a partnership with the mentorship program, providing mentees with access to their Los Angeles Community Impact Hub, a network of 12 Teen Tech Centers that offer technology and career exploration opportunities. She also thanked SAG-AFTRA for its support of the mentorship program.
Lipa shocked the incoming class of 2024 mentees with the news that they would each receive an Apple MacBook Air, endowed by the Wasserman Foundation’s Edie Wasserman Women in Hollywood Fund.
Lipa also delivered the first scholarship of the morning, which was for Loyola Marymount University and was generously given by The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. Alejandra was the lucky winner.
Cabello took the stage next to give a scholarship for one worthy lady to attend Chapman University, which was also provided by The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. Cabello announced Linda was the beneficiary of the scholarship after saying she is “so inspired by all of” the girls in the program.
Gladstone, who presented Marilin with a scholarship to Chapman University from the National Association of Theatre Owners California Nevada, said she was thrilled “to stand alongside all of these incredible, beautiful, gorgeous, extraordinary mentees.”
Gladstone reflected on her childhood on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, saying, “even though I’m not from the same community as all of you, I really feel a connection to you,” as a scholarship helped her get through college, and she was the first Native girl to receive one at that university.
“I know what it feels like not to be seen,” Gladstone added. “I know what it feels like also to be held, raised, loved, cherished and encouraged by my community. And that’s just advice from me to you, that is what will carry you through. When you get there, when you get to these universities and move into the next phase of whatever it is you choose to do, don’t compromise, don’t change who you are. Everything about who you are is needed, is necessary. We know who we are as human beings from the stories that we share. So don’t change your story for anybody.”
Finally, Lourd walked the stage to present Chapman University with the Carrie Fisher scholarship. She began by sharing some nice words and recollections of her mother, Fisher, adding that while most people know her as Princess Leia, she knew her as a “bookworm” with a “secret dream” to be a professor at Oxford.
She stated that the one thing Fisher always wanted she had more of was education, so they realized that carrying on her legacy through education was at the top of their priority list. Samantha is the beneficiary of the scholarship, according to Lourd.
More than 250 girls and 250 mentors have participated in the Women in Entertainment program, and mentees have gone on to attend universities like as Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern, thanks to more than $12 million in scholarships raised by THR.
There were 16 mentor-mentee combinations this year, including Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of international distribution at Universal, Daria Cercek, co-president of film at Paramount, and Jennifer Davidson, chief communications officer at AMPAS.
Lifetime presented THR’s Women in Entertainment, and the event was sponsored by Cadillac, Google, SAG-AFTRA, Best Buy, Gersh, and Upneeq, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Chapman University, and Loyola Marymount University.