The Gracie Awards celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contributions in electronic media

Electronic media

Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user to access the content. This is in contrast to static media , which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form...

 and affiliates. Presented annually, the Gracie Awards recognize national, local and student works.

History

The Gracie Awards ceremony is presented by the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM). The awards are named after radio and television star Gracie Allen

Gracie Allen

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...

. Gracie was a successful comedienne, entertainer, entrepreneur and activist. As half of the Burns and Allen

Burns and Allen

Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...

 act, one of the most prominent comedy teams in American history, Gracie has always been a role model for women in media and entertainment.

The Gracie Awards are divided into two days, a gala and a luncheon. The Gracie Awards Gala is a black tie evening affair and awards individuals in the national and mainstream arena. The Gracie Awards Gala has been regularly held at the Marriott Marquis on Broadway in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The Gracie Awards Luncheon, a more casual affair, honors local and student works and has been held at the signature New York landmark Tavern on the Green

Tavern on the Green

Tavern on the Green was a privately owned American cuisine restaurant located in Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City. It remained in operation from 1934 to 2009 under various owners...

 restaurant for the past few years.

In 2004, AWM partnered with Dove and their Campaign for Real Beauty

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched in 2004 that includes advertisements, video, workshops, sleepover events and even the publication of a book and the production of a play...

. The following year, the first Dove Real Beauty Award was presented at the Gracie Awards Gala to Oprah and Friends talk show host and The Oprah Magazines editor-at-large Gayle King

Gayle King

Gayle King is editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine and the best friend of Oprah Winfrey. She has previously worked as a television news anchor and talk show host...

. The award is presented to women who embody and demonstrate real beauty through their lives and careers

Categories

• Outstanding Anchor News-News Magazine
• Outstanding Interactive Website
• Outstanding Portrait/Biography Programming
• Outstanding Special Program
• Outstanding Public Affairs Program
• Outstanding Public Service Announcement
• Outstanding Commercial – Single Entry
• Outstanding Drama
• Outstanding Feature – Soft News
• Outstanding Feature – Hard News
• Outstanding Director – Entertainment Series or Special
• Outstanding Documentary – Short Format
• Outstanding Documentary – Mid-length Format
• Outstanding Documentary – Long Format
• Outstanding Producer – Entertainment Series or special
• Outstanding Producer – News Series or Special
• Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series
• Outstanding Supporting Actress – Mini Series
• Outstanding Female Lead – Drama Series
• Outstanding Female Lead – Mini Series
• Outstanding Host – News Program
• Outstanding Host – Entertainment
• Outstanding Host – Information

Participants

Gala Hosts from 2005-2010

Paula Zahn, Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally is an American actress and singer.After working in the theatre in Chicago, Mullally moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and began to appear in supporting roles in film and television productions. She made her Broadway debut in Grease in 1994 and she has since appeared in several Broadway...

, Lesley Visser

Lesley Visser

Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the...

, Giulianna Rancic, Niecy Nash

Niecy Nash

Carol Denise "Niecy" Nash is an American comedian and actress who has hosted Clean House on the Style Network and played Deputy Raineesha Williams on the Comedy Central television series Reno 911!.-Early life:Nash was born in Palmdale, California. In addition to her acting endeavors, she is the...

, Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos

Maria Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter known in America for her appearances as a correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.-Early life and beauty pageants:Menounos, a...

Gala Performers from 2005-2010

Gloria Gaynor

Gloria Gaynor

Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...

, Miri Ben-Ari

Miri Ben-Ari

Miri Ben-Ari is an Israeli violinist, who currently resides in the United States.Ben-Ari grew up playing classical music; she started training at age 5 and at age 12, she was presented with a violin by Isaac Stern. During her mandatory Israeli military service, she was chosen to play for the...

, Dance Times Square, Onyx, Elisabeth Withers-Mendez, Dwana Smallwood, Girl Scouts Chorus of Nassau County, Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...

, Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a...

, Melissa Pabon Dancers, Darlin Garcia, The Stunners, Macy Gray

Macy Gray

Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...

Luncheon Hosts from 2005-2008

Rene Syler

Rene Syler

René Syler cohosted CBS News' The Early Show from October 2002, when it debuted in its four-anchor format, until she left the program in December 2006...

, Roz Abrams(twice), Nancy Giles

Nancy Giles

Nancy Giles is an American actress and television journalist .-Biography:...

Luncheon Keynote Speakers

Geraldine Laybourne

Geraldine Laybourne

Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media and served as its chairman and chief executive officer until it was sold in 2007 to NBC Universal. Oxygen was launched in 2000 to fill a void in the television landscape—creating a television network targeted to younger women...

, Laureen Ong, The Satellite Sisters, Jessica Weiner

Dove Real Beauty Award

Shaun Robinson

Shaun Robinson

Shaun Robinson is weekend anchor and correspondent for the show Access Hollywood, the daily entertainment newsmagazine show...

, 2011 Honoree, Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...

, 2010 Honoree, Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler

Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...

 2009 Honoree, Lisa Ling

Lisa Ling

Lisa J. Ling is a Chinese American journalist, best known for her role as a co-host of ABC's The View , host of National Geographic Explorer, reporter on Channel One News, and special correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show and CNN. She is the older sister of journalist Laura Ling.-Early...

 2008 Honoree, Joy Behar

Joy Behar

Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...

 2007 Honoree, Linda Ellerbee

Linda Ellerbee

Linda Ellerbee is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington, DC correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as...

 2006 Honoree, Gayle King

Gayle King

Gayle King is editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine and the best friend of Oprah Winfrey. She has previously worked as a television news anchor and talk show host...

2005 Honoree