“Hey, Kid” was the salutation uttered by Katharine Hepburn to Cher, following Cher’s Oscar win for “Moonstruck” in 1988, a memory she fondly recounted at The Kate’s 2020 Virtual Gala: “BELIEVE” on October 3rd. Cher was honored as the fifth annual recipient of the Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award. A self-described lifelong admirer of Katharine Hepburn (she divulged her favorite films in a recent LA Times interview), Cher mused humbly about the two occasions on which she had the opportunity to meet her idol to WTNH’s Anne Nyberg in a socially-distanced interview at her Malibu home, part of an evening celebrating the legacy of both stars.
Cher next to The Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award
Fellow celebrities, admirers, and members of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center community lined up (virtually) to honor Cher, a titanic icon in her own right. They ranged from former honorees Nyberg, Christine Baranski, Glenn Close, and Dick Cavett, to Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, to son Chaz Bono, Lucie Arnaz, and Ed Asner, who referred to her as: “the most lovely lady in creation.” Though virtual this year, the annual gala raised awareness and funds for The Kate, whose programming has been curtailed by the pandemic. The event also featured many past Kate performers, including Red Molly, Kandace Springs, Jimmy Webb, and Broadway stars Jarrod Spector and Kelli Barrett, who performed a sweet rendition of “I Got You Babe.”
The star-studded evening culminated in Nyberg’s interview. “If you had to describe Kate in one word?” Nyberg inquired. “It’s gonna to take two” replied Cher, with a twinkle: “my hero.”
Watch The Kate’s 2020 Virtual Gala: “BELIEVE” and donate to The Kate here.
Ann Nyberg interviews Cher at her home in Malibu, California.