Michelle Williams will be among those saluted at the seventh annual Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film awards-season event, it was announced Friday.
The My Week With Marilyn star will be feted on Feb. 23 during the intimate bash, once again held on the Thursday night before the Academy Awards. For the first time, it takes place at Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams’ production company in Santa Monica.
The nonprofit US-Ireland Alliance created the event to recognize the contributions of the Irish in film and to allow for people in the creative industries in the U.S. and Ireland to meet once a year.
The Alliance has had fun in recent years by bequeathing honorary Irish awards on folks who aren’t of Irish ancestry. Williams, who is of Norwegian descent, is the first woman to be selected; the previous male recipients were Paul Rudd, Abrams and James L. Brooks.
Williams this week received SAG and Golden Globe nominations for best actress for her turn of Marilyn Monroe in The Weinstein Co. film. She’s also a strong candidate to win an Oscar three days after the Oscar Wilde event.