By Stephanie Hu, Communications Intern
On March 14th, 2024, Emmy-award winning actress Niecy Nash-Betts received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. The Stephen F. Kolzak Award, named in honor of the Los Angeles casting director who headed LGBTQ+ and HIV activism efforts, celebrates an LGBTQ media professional who has increased visibility of LGBTQ people and issues.
Introduced by Sharon Stone, Emmy-award winning actress and painter, Nash-Betts reflected on the significance of the award to her:
“When I was five years old, I was watching television with my grandmother and saw the most beautiful black woman I had ever seen in my five years of living. The woman had on a long red dress and her eyelashes looked like butterflies. I said to my grandmother, “Who is that?” She said, “Baby that’s Lola Falana.” And in that moment, the most high stamped my destiny on the canvas of my imagination, I looked at my grandmother and I said, ‘That’s what I want to be. Black, fabulous, and on TV!’
I stand here before you tonight in a long red dress, my eyelashes look like butterflies, and I am indeed, Black, fabulous, and on TV. I am a witness that dreams do indeed come true.”
Nash-Betts recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her portrayal of Glenda Cleveland in DAHMER-MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY. Her recent projects include starring in ORIGIN as Marion and playing Special Agent Simone Clark, an LGBTQ character in THE ROOKIE: FEDS. Notably, the ABC series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New TV Series. In 2021, Nash-Betts also hosted the GLAAD Media Awards.
In her heartfelt acceptance speech, Nash-Betts shared insights on her personal journey with her LGBTQ identity, as well as her relationship with her wife, singer/songwriter Jessica Betts:
“Now if I’m honest, I never saw this life for myself. I was always an ally, but now I am a card-carrying member! And I often get asked the question “Niecy, what was it like for you, when you came out”? And I always say, “came out of where, baby”? I was never anywhere to come out of! I didn’t lived a sexually-repressed life. I mean, I loved boys, until I didn’t! I loved them until I encountered the most beautiful soul I’ve ever met.”
She recalls keeping her relationship private and “protecting it until I was ready to give it the world.” Before going public with their marriage, Nash-Betts remembers consoling Oprah Winfrey, who was awarded GLAAD’s Vanguard Award this year. “This woman is like a human GPS for your soul,” Nash-Betts said, “And she asked me one simple question. She said, ‘Are you sure, dear?’ Meaning, have you thought this through? Have you gone through a series of checks and balances? Are your head and your heart aligned? That’s friendship. That’s sisterhood… My response was, ‘Yes, ma’am, I’m sure,’ to which she replied, ‘Carry on.’”
Niecy Nash-Betts at the 35th GLAAD Media AwardsIn 2020, Nash-Betts went public with her marriage by sharing her wedding photos on social media. In 2022, Nash-Betts and her wife, singer/songwriter Jessica Betts, made history as the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of Essence magazine. The cover story received a nomination for a 2023 GLAAD Media Award in the category of Outstanding Print Article. The couple were also grand marshals of the WeHo Pride Parade, where they received the Trailblazer Icon Award together.
Nash-Betts concluded her speech by proudly affirming her LGBTQ identity and calling for continued LGBTQ advocacy: “I thank you all for holding space for me, ‘til I figure my terms out. What I do know for sure is that my name is Niecy Nash- Betts and I’m a lover. I will never hide the very thing I was created for… Let’s continue the fight for equality and normalizing that love is love.”
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement, “Opening doors both as a Black and queer woman, Niecy Nash-Bett’s outstanding legacy as a performer gives new meaning to the term trailblazer. Her decades-long career is owed to her empathy, talent, and authenticity, which undoubtedly inform each move she makes as an activist and every role she portrays onscreen. Nash has redefined and expanded the role of Black queer women in entertainment and, along with her wife Jessica, has become a possibility model to queer women everywhere.”
Watch her full remarks HERE.