ESSENCE today announced the 8^th Annual “Black Women in Hollywood” luncheon honorees at an event hosted by “Access Hollywood” correspondent Shaun Robinson and ESSENCE’s Editor-In-Chief Vanessa K. De Luca.

The 2015 “Black Women in Hollywood Award” will go to: Adrienne C. Moore, Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox, Lorraine Toussaint, Samira Wiley, Uzo Aduba, and Vicky Jeudy of the Emmy Award-winning series “Orange Is The New Black” (Vanguard Award); actress/director Regina King (Fierce & Fearless Award); actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Lincoln Breakthrough of the Year Award); and Academy Award-nominated costume designer Ruth E. Carter (Visionary Award).

The “Black Women in Hollywood” luncheon will take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on February 19, 2015, to recognize the extraordinary achievements of trailblazing women in film and television. [source]

Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s period drama BELLE looks set to lead Britain’s National Film Awards (NFAs) after landing six nominations.

The film, about the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy Captain, has won nods in the Best Drama and Best Screenplay categories while Mbatha-Raw is up for Best Newcomer and Best Breakthrough Performance, her co-star Tom Felton for Best Actor and Amma Asante for Best Director.

Mbatha-Raw is also in the running for the Best Actress prize her drama Beyond the Lights.

Belle will compete against movies including The Fault in Our Stars, Pride and Mr. Turner in the Best Drama category, while Mbatha-Raw will battle it out with Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars), Jamie Foxx (Annie), Michael Fassbender (Frank) and Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), among others, for the Best Breakthrough Performance prize.

Nominees for Best International Film include Boyhood, Gone Girl, Guardians of the Galaxy, Selma, Wild, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything.

Ben Affleck has landed a Best Actor nod for his role in Gone Girl, while other nominees include David Oyelowo (Selma), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Jack O’Connell (’71) and Outkast’s Andre Benjamin for Jimi: All Is By My Side.

Shailene Woodley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will go head-to-head once more for the Best Actress prize, alongside Quvenzhane Wallis (Annie), Imelda Stauton (Pride), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) and Thandie Newton (Half a Yellow Sun), among others.

Dame Judi Dench will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her 50-year career on stage and screen.

The winners, as voted by the public, will be announced in London on 31 March (15). [source]

The winner will be announced at the Bafta Film Awards on 8 February.

The award, which is decided by a public vote, is not just for newcomers and can go to actors who have already appeared in a number of films.

Mbatha-Raw, whose fact-based role in Belle saw her play a Caribbean slave’s daughter raised as an aristocrat in 18th Century England, said she was “delighted… to be recognized for a growing body of work”. [more at source]

Based on a true story, “Free State of Jones” will star McConaughey as Newton Knight and Mbatha-Raw as Rachel, a slave whose relationship with Knight played a central part in his life and in his armed rebellion against the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Mbatha-Raw is poised for stardom on the heels of back-to-back critical hits “Belle” and “Beyond the Lights,” both of which were directed by women. The British actress will soon be seen in the Wachowski’s sci-fi movie “Jupiter Ascending” and the Keanu Reeves courtroom drama “The Whole Truth,” and she’s currently filming Sony’s Untitled NFL Concussion Drama with Will Smith.

Mbatha-Raw is represented by CAA, Curtis Brown Group and Authentic Talent and Literary Management. [more at source]

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Best known for her role as Dido Elizabeth Belle in the 2013 critically acclaimed Belle. Also as Tish Jones from Doctor Who, movies like the Beyond the Lights & Larry Crowne.

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From corsets to ball gowns, the period drama “Belle” features an array of stunning styles boasting 18th century flair.

Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the title role, her character, Dido — the biracial daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral and a slave — dons a number of pieces throughout the flick, including sheaths in warm shades of pink and fuchsia. [source]