NEW YORK — On Friday, Variety hosted its third annual Power of Women luncheon, recognizing six women for their philanthropic efforts. Among them were Oscar winner Julianne Moore, an advocate of gun safety; fashion designer Vera Wang, working to raise awareness about depression and anxiety in young people; and Law and Order's Mariska Hargitay, who started the Joyful Heart Foundation to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Here are some of the most inspiring things we heard from the other honorees:
LUPITA NYONG'O
The Jungle Book actress, now starring on Broadway in Eclipsed, spoke about her work with Mother Health International in Uganda, which supports pregnant women in areas of extreme poverty and disaster. In her typically eloquent manner, the Oscar winner used the platform to also stress the importance of women's empowerment.
"I've been thinking about the ways in which it is so vital for women to help other women. To support other women. To lift one another up. We are often encouraged or even taught to bring each other down; to fight one another. We are taught that we can only survive in this world if there are no other viable women near us. But I've also been thinking about all the ways that women's bodies are so often under attack, in this very moment, all over the world. How do we fight against all that pain? How do we turn that pain into power?"
MISTY COPELAND
Copeland, who is the first African-American to be named a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, sweetly recalled how she was discovered in a ballet class at age 13, on the basketball court of a local Boys & Girls club in Gardena, Calif., where she was living with her family in a motel. She is now a spokeswoman for Project Plié, the dance company's nationwide diversity initiative.
"From my own experience, I learned there is a lack of opportunity for minority dancers and as a result, a lack of diversity in the top levels of the ballet world. ... I am reminded by families and children that I meet every day that representation matters. That being able to see yourself or seeing someone that looks like you on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House matters."
MEGYN KELLY
The Fox News anchor earned laughs when she recounted how she was inspired to get into journalism after seeing Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story on Lifetime. But she also got more serious discussing her work with Childhelp, which supports victims of child abuse, and the aftermath of her spat with Donald Trump last year. When asked what she learned from last year's presidential debate, when she grilled Trump about misogyny, Kelly said courageousness.
"Fearlessness is false, adversity is an opportunity and John Denver has all the answers. In the wake of the dust-up between yours truly and Donald Trump, someone used that word 'fearless' about me, and that's wrong. I am not fearless, nor do I know any fearless people. This seems to be a new standard, a new goal that we are setting for people: 'Go forth unafraid.' You go forth unafraid, I'm scared about a lot, often. Fear is normal. The goal is not to get rid of it, the goal is to walk through it. Courage is what we need."
