Tears of Triumph and Cheers for Change at the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year Awards

If you didn’t cry at the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year Awards, “you are dead inside,” according to Rebel award honoree Charlize Theron. Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City was quite alive last night as there wasn’t a single dry eye in the audience. From chanting for child protection with the empowering women of the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) to sharing wildly relatable moments of laughter with host Busy Philipps, the 29th annual WOTY awards proved just how far women have come and are willing to go to make change, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

“Our theme this year is ‘Go Big,’ and every woman that we honored has really been going big, making bold choices, and pushing the envelope,” said Glamour editor in chief Samantha Barry. “Whether it’s fighting for equal pay like Megan Rapinoe or fighting for our climate like Greta Thunberg, all of the honorees are creating a ripple effect of change for women in the generations to come.”

Of course, the black-tie affair kicked off with celebratory cocktails and Champagne before guests, honorees, and their families settled in for the main program with welcoming words from Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch and Glamour’s chief business officer Susan Plagemann.

Up first was professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, sporting a velvet Gucci gown fully decked out in champion-worthy jewels; she graciously accepted her award from teammates Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris. Even after winning the 2019 FIFA World Cup and publicly addressing the need for equal compensation, Rapinoe’s feminist fight is far from over. “I still know that in my heart of hearts and in my bones that I can do more and that we can do more,” she said.

Following Rapinoe, acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood took the stage to receive her Lifetime Achievement award before Aja Naomi King presented L’Oréal’s Women of Worth award to Nadya Okamoto, founder of the organization PERIOD, and Monica Gray Logothetis, cofounder of DreamWakers. Outfitted in her own sheer black gown with floral embellishments, Tory Burch accepted her award for Visionary of the Year, an honor that Burch holds close to her heart: “For me, the integrity of the people that the Women of the Year have honored over the years is so substantive...and when you think about an award, that’s not always the first word that comes to mind, but with Glamour, it does.”

Yesterday’s Glamour WOTY Summit speakers, including Halima Aden, Stassi Schroeder, and Jameela Jamil, returned for day two and were joined by Anna Wintour, Olivia Palermo, Brooke Shields, Karolina Kurkova, and more for the award ceremony. Also in attendance were some of the nation’s future female leaders: members of the Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, an organization of entrepreneurial and creative students.

Between the heartwarming introductions and call-to-action speeches, the scheduled program paused to properly re-honor an exceptional 2016 WOTY recipient and fearless leader who took a stand against sexual assault on college campuses, Chanel Miller. In lieu of a speech, Miller shared a poem.

Other highlights included Jane Fonda surprising the crowd in a dazzling black sequined jumpsuit to accept the Revolutionary award on behalf of Greta Thunberg; political activist and Grown-ish actor Yara Shahidi stealing the show with her unprepared yet elegantly composed speech on making a platform for change at any age; and Trailblazer award honoree Ava DuVernay’s standing ovation for her tireless dedication to putting women both behind and in front of the camera.

From the fashion to the poetry, there were too many takeaways to count last night, but that’s exactly how Barry envisioned the evening. “It’s been an incredible year for women. Trust me, it was hard to pick just eight Women of the Year,” Barry said with a smile.