• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Celebrity

ESSENCE’s 2019 Black Women In Hollywood Honorees Are Picture Perfect

KiKi Layne, Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, and Jenifer Lewis are this year's Black Women In Hollywood honorees. They also grace the cover of ESSENCE's Film Noir issue, on newsstands January 25.
ESSENCE’s 2019 Black Women In Hollywood Honorees Are Picture Perfect
Ian Maddox/@iancredible
By · Updated December 6, 2020
KiKi Layne has got next. Amandla Stenberg is a change artist whose roles get people talking. Regina Hall is a 20-year movie mainstay, who’s still surprising us, and the Black mother of Hollywood Jenifer Lewis is our reigning queen of inspiration. The new cover stars of ESSENCE’s Film Noir issue are also this year’s honorees at ESSENCE’s Black Women In Hollywood luncheon, held each year ahead of the Academy Awards in Beverly Hills, California.
But before they go onstage to accept their honors, we invited each honoree to our cover set photo booth. Afterwards, each actress spoke with ESSENCE’s West Coast editor Regina R. Robertson about their journey in Hollywood and how they’ve lit up Tinsel Town with plenty of Black Girl Magic. While Layne has been a fixture on red carpets recently — her daring style turning heads — her breakout role in If Beale Street Could Talk, the film adaptation of James Baldwin’s iconic novel, has been not only a boon for her career but an important teachable moment. In the film, the Cincinnati native portrays Tish, a young mother desperate to get her lover out of jail after he’s wrongfully accused of rape. “Because so much of Tish’s strength comes from vulnerability and her commitment to love and being loved, I learned to tap into my own vulnerability,” she explains. “I also learned to trust myself more and to know that what I’m bringing is enough.” Stenberg’s mission in Hollywood is to create art that makes people “feel something.” It’s why she’s been spot-on with picking roles that not only speak to herself, but audiences worldwide — from determined Maddy in Everything, Everything, to quick- thinking Rue in The Hunger Games to the big-screen adaptation of the bestselling novel The Hate U Give.  But no matter who she’s portraying, the actress tells ESSENCE she brings a piece of herself. “I look for characters and stories that conceptualize a Black experience without minimizing it or falling into harmful stereotypes. I want characters who raise us up and show the nuance of who we are and how beautiful and multifaceted and colorful we are too,” she says. Hall may just be getting Hollywood’s attention after her turn in Support The Girls, where she portrayed Lisa, an ultra supportive general manager turned den mother to women working at a Hooters-style restaurant. Still, we fell in love with Hall 20 years ago when she made her film debut in The Best Man. “It’s really exciting to say not only that you’ve been in a business for 20 years, but also that you’re still loving it and learning,” she says in the February issue. Although she earned a master’s in journalism from New York University, Hall said her Hollywood journey is even ” better—and probably a lot more work, too! But anything worth having requires work. And with that comes joy.” When Lewis stepped onto the cover shoot set, she immediately requested Aretha Franklin to play. And when the 62-year-old actress, and everyone’s auntie in their heads, asks for what she wants, she gets it. The mother of Black Hollywood has been part of our culture for decades from playing iconic roles on classic shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and A Different World, to holding her onscreen Black family together on ABC’s Black-ish. Lewis knows that her career has come from a higher power. “I’ve got so much talent, it’s crazy,” she shares in ESSENCE, “but that was a gift. And I honored that gift.” Lewis credits the longevity of her career to how much she loves entertaining audiences on big and small screens. “I entertain with my entire molecular structure,” Lewis explains, “and have been sustained in this business because I love what I do.” ESSENCE’s Film Noir issue hits newsstands on January 25.
TOPICS:  Amandla Stenberg essence uncovered Jenifer Lewis kiki layne Regina Hall
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now