Hasty Pudding Names Annette Bening 2024 Woman of the Year

Five-time Academy Award nominated actress Annette Bening is the 2024 Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year, Hasty Pudding Theatricals announced Thursday.

Bening starred in 2023 Netflix thriller “Nyad,” earning her fifth Oscar nomination, and recently appeared in the 2022 film “Death on the Nile” and 2019’s “Captain Marvel.”

The announcement comes after the organization postponed their annual Woman of the Year celebrations, originally scheduled to take place last Friday, citing a last-minute scheduling conflict with the honoree.

Though Woman of the Year celebrations typically include a parade through Harvard Square, it remains unclear whether Bening’s ceremony, rescheduled for Tuesday, will include a parade.

“We are hard at work at planning a parade for our Woman of the Year, and will have more to report shortly!” a Hasty Pudding representative wrote in a text Thursday. “We’re very excited to welcome Ms. Bening to our campus on Tuesday!”

During Tuesday’s celebrations, Bening — who has also received nominations for one Emmy and two Tony Awards — will be honored with an annual celebratory roast and the presentation of a ceremonial “Pudding Pot,” before attending a viewing of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ student-written musical, “Heist Heist Baby.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled to honor Annette Bening in this milestone 175th anniversary year for the Hasty Pudding,” Hasty Pudding president Josh R. Hillers ’24 said in a press release. “Hot off her Oscars nomination for Best Actress, we’re excited to present her with the most prestigious award in the entertainment industry.”

“While Annette’s long list of accolades make it tough to come up with material for our historic roast, we have plenty of tricks up our sleeve,” Hasty Pudding Producer Hannah R. Frazer ’25 said in a press release. “That said, I can promise earning her Pudding Pot won’t be as difficult as swimming from Cuba to Florida.”

Hasty Pudding Theatricals announced last week that Irish actor Barry Keoghan would be the organization’s 2024 Man of the Year. Keoghan will be honored in a Friday ceremony.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.