Whoopi Goldberg, Zendaya to be honored at Essence Hollywood awards

Updated: Mar 30, 2021 / 08:33 AM CDT

This combination photo shows actress Michaela Coel, from left, Andra Day, Cynthia Erivo, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya. Essence announced on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, that the actresses are among the honorees at this year’s Essence Black Women in Hollywood event. The 14th annual ceremony will live stream on Essence.com on April 22 at 7 PM EST. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whoopi Goldberg, Andra Day and Zendaya will be among the honorees at this year’s Essence Black Women in Hollywood event, which will be livestreamed during Oscars week for the first time this year.

Essence on Tuesday announced the honorees for the 14th annual ceremony on April 22.

In addition to the Emmy-, Grammy-, Oscar- and Tony-winner Goldberg and “Euphoria” star Zendaya, they include actor, singer and songwriter Cynthia Erivo and actor Michaela Coel.

Day, who is up for an Oscar a few days later for playing the title role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” will also perform.

“Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox is set to host the event whose theme this year is “Mastering Our Stories,” with a focus on the resiliency of Black women in Hollywood throughout its history and through the pandemic year.

“Essence has demonstrated our commitment to highlighting the power and resiliency of Black women for 50 years, and part of that has included creating opportunities to uplift and recognize each other when no one else would,” Essence Chief Strategy & Engagement Officer Latraviette D. Smith-Wilson said in a statement announcing the honorees.

The event, since 2008 an invite-only luncheon held during Oscars week, will look and feel more like other awards shows in this incarnation, with a live-streamed ceremony at Essence.com and EssenceStudios.com starting at 7 p.m. EDT.