WHY THESE 3 AWARD WINNING SPEECHES CAN INSPIRE YOU

Famous celebrities have endeared lovers of the entertainment industry and attracted the biggest fans with some of their most impeccable creations for their platforms. As anticipation rises for the most eminent award shows, like the Oscars or the Grammys, viewers practically beg our favorites to sweep the competition with all their hard work and professional skills. However, regardless of the wins or losses, there is always a story to take away from it that hits a special part of everyone: through various strengths, these three individuals have encapsulated what it means to strive in each experience, stick to whichever their dreams and disciplines are, and progress through it with pride. 

1. Sheryl Lee Ralph, 66

At the 74th Annual Emmy Awards, the ceremonial show welcomed long-time actress since the 1980s, Sheryl Lee Ralph, to the stage winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series as a first-time nominee, and becoming the second Black female actress to win in this category. She exceeded people’s expectations while co-starring in the comedic mockumentary Abbott Elementary, produced by actress and co-writer Quinta Brunson. Following her acceptance to the award, Ralph expressed her emotional gratitude to the audience, delivering the following verse cultivated by singer Dianne Reeves and her song, “Endangered Species”: 

“I am an endangered species,

But I sing no victim’s song.

I am a woman I am an artist,

And I know where my voice belongs.” 

Ralph concluded her harmonious piece with the following wise words: 

“To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like, and don’t you ever give up on you,” she exclaims, pointing to the camera. 

2. Ke Huy Quan, 51

An incredibly overwhelmed actor, Ke Huy Quan, returns to his stardom after accepting his award for Best Supporting Actor in his newly found role for Waymond Wang in the movie, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, at the 95th Annual Oscars, hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel. Proclaiming one of the biggest comebacks in Hollywood to date (as he previously starred in other debuts such as The Goonies in 1985 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984) almost 40 years later, Quan’s payoff was rewarded with an Oscar nomination and win, becoming sixth in the total number of acting Oscar winners of Asian descent. However, before winning alongside his peers in the film’s seven Oscars, Quan gladly delivers a successful speech reminiscing his origins: 

“My mom is 84 years old and at home watching. Mom, I just won an Oscar!” He raises his award to the camera, holding back tears. “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies – I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This, this is the American dream!”

3. Jennifer Coolidge, 61

At the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), actress Jennifer Coolidge honored her award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series with tears of joy. Starring in a number of our livelihood’s famous movies and TV shows, from the series 2 Broke Girls (2011) to A Cinderella Story (2004) and all the way from Seinfeld (1989), Coolidge takes the cake portraying the character Tanya, in the HBO series The White Lotus. In continuous disbelief of her name getting called, Coolidge relishes her moment detailing her first experience that ignited her love for acting: 

“What I really want to say is, I had these amazing parents, and they had this incredible gift. And I think it was impossible for them to lie. They just couldn’t do it, you know? I mean never, never,” Coolidge stutters. “They just never lied except that my father, one day the school principal came to my first-grade class and said that I needed to be called to the office…and she said ‘your father’s here’…and my father’s sitting there, and he goes ‘yeah Johnny, we have to go.’ And she said, ‘Well, Jennifer, get well.’ And I didn’t know what that meant. And then I got in the car with my dad…and he said: “I’m never going to tell a lie again, but we’re going somewhere really cool.’” 

Coolidge proceeded to share her story with excitement: 

“And he drove me to this place, and it was this fluky thing in Massachusetts. It was the Charlie Chaplin Film Festival. He got me out of my first-grade class to do it, and I swear to God that seeing Charlie Chaplin for the first time and having that experience it’s my love of film. It’s my love of actors. All of that came from my first grade!”

• celebrity
• culture
• entertainment
• life
• movies
• oscars 2023
• UC Berkeley