
In search of a perfect Mother’s Day gift? How about lunching with an Academy Award-winning actress? That’s what 2021 Genesis Annual Luncheon Co-Chairs Fran Maddox and Megan Steinbach have lined up.
On Friday, May 7, (aka the Friday before Mother’s Day), they’ve arranged to have Octavia Spencer as the keynote speaker.
While the 5’2” actress has been in the entertainment business for a while, she really made her mark when she served up her “Minny’s chocolate pie” in “The Help.” Her role earned her a Critic’s Choice Award, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA and an Oscar.
Nowadays she’s involved with everything from producing and directing to, of course, acting on the small (“Truth Be Told”) and large (“The Witches”) screens.
Off screen, Octavia’s keen sense of humor is refreshingly honest, the actress having remarked:
- “I was not a Girl Scout, but I try to be very prepared. I triple-Spanx!”
- “Meeting Oprah Winfrey, I cried like a baby. Meeting Steven Spielberg, I cried like a baby. Meeting Denzel Washington, I gushed like a crazy woman.”
- On making “Smashed”: “To say we did it on a shoestring budget would be putting it mildly. We did it on a dental-floss budget.”
She also has some remarkable stories to share, from growing up as one of seven children with a widowed mother working as a maid, to the time that Keanu Reeves became her hero 25 years ago when she was an unknown.
Can you imagine how much fun it’s gonna be with her at lunch?
And, in accordance to the ways of COVID-19 restrictions, the luncheon will be virtual. That means you and mom won’t have to wedge yourselves into a crowded ballroom. Why not get a bunch of your pals together and have a girls’ get-together to celebrate your favorite mom at your home? Depending upon your level of support, yummies will be provided.
Sponsorships are available with individual viewing opportunities going on sale in March. Funds raised from the event will support Genesis Women’s Shelter‘s programs helping women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
* Photo courtesy of Genesis Women's Shelter