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“Women contain multitudes” — that was the message on Tuesday night as Glamour magazine celebrated its multitalented 2023 Women of the Year honorees: actress-activists Millie Bobby Brown, America Ferrera, and Selma Blair, Brooke Shields, Mary J. Blige, model-activist Geena Rocero, and Quinta Brunson. In honor of the occasion, the steps to the stage at New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center were printed with powerful adjectives, reflecting just a few of the many powerful facets of womanhood.
Black women were front and center at this year’s 33rd annual celebration; newly-minted “Real Housewives of New York” Brynn Whitfield and Ubah Hassan hosted this year’s red carpet, where guests were asked to wear female designers in a primarily black-and-white palette. On stage, comedian-activist Michelle Buteau hosted the festivities — a far cry from the “shy, insecure 15-year-old” she once was.
“I would love to tell any 15-year-old boy, girl or nonbinary royalty: You matter; your voice matters,” she told Whitfield and Hassan, adding: “Whatever you get made fun of, that’s your gift; that’s your special sauce.”
“Gone With the Wind-fabulous” and “Real Housewife of Atlanta” Kenya Moore agreed, advising teens watching to “always be your authentic self. Never conform … Just be unapologetically you, all the time.”
Brunson, 2023 Woman of the Year, paid tribute to her mother on the red carpet, crediting her with inspiring the creation of “Abbott Elementary.”
“She just was incredible,” said Brunson of the woman who is “a Woman of the Year, every year” to her. “I got to watch her do her work when I was in her class…then for the rest of my elementary schooling,” she explained. “And she just wound up being a huge inspiration. All the information got stored in the back of my brain somewhere, and when it was time to make a hit TV show, it kind of poured out.”
Of the black beaded Versace gown she chose for her red carpet look, Brunson told Hassan and Whitfield, “I wanted to wear a woman for this event … I’m happy to get one of the best and most iconic [in Donatella Versace].”
For Blige, a jade-colored sequined gown by Pamella Roland captured her “amazing” energy for the evening. “I’m excited that we’re all here as women of power, doing amazing things, living amazingly, feeling amazing, and understanding our power as women. I’m just excited about all of us,” she told Whitfield and Hassan.
Asked what advice she’d give to young people watching, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was clear: “The advice I would give is just accept all of you. You may not like all of you, but love all of you; you may not like your personality here or there, but you’re all you have. So accept and embrace everything about you — good, bad, ugly, whatever it is, it’s you — and if you can see all of you, you can fix whatever needs to be fixed.”
What other powerful women attended Glamour Women of the Year 2023? Check out our gallery below to see some of the night’s glamorous looks.
Quinta Brunson
Quinta Brunson attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Patina Miller
Patina Miller attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Ayo Edebiri
Ayo Edebiri attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Karen Pittman
Karen Pittman attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Aurora James
Aurora James attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Lauren London
Lauren London attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Tarana Burke
Tarana Burke attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Michelle Buteau
Michelle Buteau attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Phoebe Robinson
Phoebe Robinson attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Amber Ruffin
Amber Ruffin attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Brynn Whitfield and Ubah Hassan
(Left to right) Real Housewives of New York Brynn Whitfield and Ubah Hassan attend Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Emma Grede
SKIMS and Good American co-founder Emma Grede attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Kenya Moore
Kenya Moore attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Raquel Willis
Raquel Willis attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Anifa Mvuemba
Anifa Mvuemba attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Emira D’Spain
Emira D’Spain attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Kat Graham
Kat Graham attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Sergio Hudson and Aoki Lee Simmons
(Left to right) Sergio Hudson and Aoki Lee Simmons attend Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Hannah Bronfman
Hannah Bronfman attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Brandon Blackwood
Brandon Blackwood attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Alex Newell
Alex Newell attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
Asahi Pompey
Global Head of Corporate Engagement and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation Asahi Pompey attends Glamour Women of the Year 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour)
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