Awards season has always been about pageantry. But for nearly two decades, ESSENCE’s Black Women in Hollywood has been about infrastructure.
On Thursday, March 12, at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel, the 19th annual ceremony will once again gather some of the most formidable Black women working across film and television — not just to celebrate visibility, but to mark authority. This year’s honorees include Chase Infiniti, Kerry Washington, LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Zinzi Coogler, alongside a Luminary Spotlight recognizing the women behind the historic film SINNERS.
Under the 2026 theme, Off Script, the event is highlighting more than individual achievements. It reflects a recalibration. Black women in Hollywood are no longer navigating only within prescribed lanes of performance or supporting authorship. They are expanding beyond traditional roles, claiming creative control and building pathways toward long-term ownership across the industry.
Chase Infiniti, a Golden Globe, Actor Award, BAFTA and Critics Choice nominee, signals the arrival of a new generation shaping Hollywood in real time. Recognized for her breakthrough performance in One Battle After Another, her rise reflects how emerging talent is entering the industry with immediate critical acclaim and international visibility.
Kerry Washington’s trajectory reflects the architecture of sustained influence. An Emmy winner and Golden Globe and Tony nominee, Washington’s career spans acting, producing and directing. While her on-screen presence remains formidable, her expanding work behind the camera — developing projects and creating space for other storytellers — embodies the “Off Script” mandate of creative control and long-term ownership.
LaTanya Richardson Jackson brings the depth of legacy to this year’s stage. A Tony and NAACP Image Award nominee, her decades across theater and film are matched by civic engagement and philanthropy. Her career underscores a truth long evident in Black performance traditions: artistry and community stewardship are intertwined forms of leadership.
Zinzi Coogler, a Golden Globe Award winner and Oscar-nominated producer, represents a structural dimension of power. As founder of Proximity Media, she has shepherded critically and culturally acclaimed multimedia projects, reflecting the evolving role of producers as architects of expansive narrative ecosystems rather than behind-the-scenes operators.
This year’s Luminary Spotlight centers on the women of SINNERS, the film that earned distinction as the most Academy Award–nominated film of all time. The moment will recognize collective contributions from Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Hannah Beachler, Jayme Lawson, Ruth E. Carter, Shunika Terry-Jennings, Wunmi Mosaku and Coogler — honoring not just performance, but visual craft, design, production and executive vision.
Ahead of the main ceremony, a pre-show will stream on ESSENCE’s official YouTube channel, offering red-carpet arrivals, celebrity interviews and the presentation of the ESSIES’ Choice Award, along with the inaugural Creators’ Award presented by smartwater®. Nominees are curated by the ESSENCE editorial team, with winners selected by newsletter subscribers — extending participation beyond the ballroom.
In its nineteenth year, Black Women in Hollywood remains more than a celebration. It is a ledger. A record of who is not just present in the room, but reshaping it.
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