Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez praise female solidarity at annual WIE Gala

This year’s Women in Entertainment breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel wasn’t just an awards ceremony — it became a rare moment of solidarity, gratitude and connection, led by honorees Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez.

Paltrow, who received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, spoke openly about the power of being surrounded by women who understand the pressures, missteps and reinventions that come with a public life.

Reflecting on her decades in Hollywood, she admitted the journey had often felt disorienting, but the room full of women gave her grounding.

“I have felt a real sense of community this morning,” she said tearfully, adding that the audience seemed “OK with me in all of my iterations and has welcomed me back.”

Paltrow shared that her years in all-girls schools taught her early on to “revere good women — women who are smarter than I and more talented than I am, women who are expressive and really fearless,” a lesson she said continues to shape both her acting career and her work at Goop.

Jennifer Lopez, honoured with the Equity in Entertainment Award, echoed a similar sentiment when she took the stage.

Fighting back tears, she reflected on her beginnings as “the Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx who wasn’t supposed to be in the room,” and how the industry’s gatekeeping once boxed her into stereotypes.

But standing in a room filled with peers lifting each other up, Lopez recognized the energy had shifted. “Equity in entertainment is a relay,” she said. “Someone hands you a story, a role, an opportunity, and you pass it forward.”

Both stars ended their speeches with gratitude — not for the spotlight, but for the women beside them and the community that continues to push Hollywood forward.