Actress Drew Barrymore and comedienne Wanda Sykes will be honored by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) during its 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, the group announced on Thursday.
Drew Barrymore — who recently played the lesbian daughter of a widower (Robert De Niro) in Everybody’s Fine — will receive the Vanguard Award, which is presented to media professionals who have increased the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community. In previous years, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron, and Tyra Banks have been awarded the honor.
“I was born, bred and raised among diversity, it has defined me and made me the person I am today,” Drew said in a statement released this week.
Wanda is up for the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, an honor presented to an openly LGBT media professional. Sykes follows predecessors Rufus Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge, and Ellen DeGeneres.
“I am truly honored to receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award,” says Sykes. “I greatly appreciate the work that GLAAD continues to do, promoting equality, fair representation and tolerance for our LGBT community. I just pray that I don’t ruin what GLAAD has achieved with all of my shenanigans.”
The 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards will in take place in Los Angeles on April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.