Paley Center to Host Historic Event Celebrating Women in Television

In recognition of the astounding work of women in television since its inception, The Paley Center for Media will host a historic, one-of-a-kind event: “The Paley Honors in Hollywood: A Gala Celebrating Women in Television,” an event which will recognize the outstanding achievements have made across all the different fields within the medium — not just in comedy, variety, and drama, but also in music, news, talk, and sports.

The benefit will take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on October 12 at 6:30 p.m. PT. It will include exceptionally influential presenters and participants such as Kristin Chenoweth, Allison Janney, Nadia Comăneci, Rita Moreno, Debra Messing, Wanda Sykes, Lynn Whitfield, among many others, as well as a very special tribute to the legendary Betty White, whose decades-long career on television has had a tremendous impact on the industry.

“I am thrilled to be honored by the Paley Center,” said Betty White in a statement. “To be acknowledged for working in a business I love for as long as I have is truly a privilege. I’m proud to share this evening with these amazing and talented women.”

The evening will take their guests through a celebratory retrospective of some of the pivotal moments led by women in television history, including the hysterical shenanigans of Lucille Ball in “I Love Lucy,” Mary Tyler Moore’s representation of the independent woman in the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and Ellen DeGeneres coming out as gay on “Ellen.” All of the above accomplishments will shed a light on the work of women in the industry today across fields, which include outstanding actresses like Taraji P. Henson, Claire Danes, Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany, and Kerry Washington, just to name a few; record-breaking athletes like Peggy Fleming, Nadia Comăneci, and Billie Jean King; and celebrated journalists, among which are Maria Bartiromo, Julie Chen, Katie Couric, and Rachel Maddow.

The Paley Center for Media is a nonprofit organization, which holds the country’s largest public archive of television and radio programs of the last century from more than seventy countries. All the proceeds from the event will go toward the Paley Center’s programming dedicated to women in television and the expansion of the Women’s Collection in the Paley Archive, which features over 160,000 programs.