The glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards has always made for a fun and fascinating night. While I’ve watched most Oscar evenings in my pajamas, for the past few years, Molner and I have had the pleasure of attending the Vanity Fair party, thanks to our friend, VF editor Radhika Jones. The big night has coincided with our annual visit to the West Coast — designed to let me spend more time with my daughter Ellie and her husband Mark, and this year with our almost year-old grandson Jay. It doesn’t hurt to escape the frigid temperatures of New York City for a few weeks, either!
In typical fashion, I didn’t bring a dress to wear to the party, so on Friday — yes, I’m still a professional procrastinator — I headed to the L’Agence showroom here in L.A. I’ve gotten to know Leah Silver, the head of PR for the company, and while she was in Paris for work (lucky her!), she arranged for me to stop by to see if there was a fancy frock I could wear. I chose the first dress I tried on — a stretchy, sequinny number with ruching in the front that hugged my 68-year-old body in the few right places I still have! I felt a little like Rita Hayworth. It wasn’t my usual style, but if you can’t glam it up for the Oscars, when can you?
I also splurged and asked my friend Karen Knopp, an incredible makeup artist, to come over and get me ready for the big night, which started at 4pm in the afternoon, L.A. time. (Karen and I have known each other for — gulp — 30 years. We first met when I’d do the TODAY Show from L.A. during the O.J. days.) She brought her friend Matilde Campos to be in charge of my hair, which we decided to do in an Old Hollywood wavy style. What a difference hair and makeup makes: After an hour and a half of foundation, lashes, and curling irons, I was ready to go to the ball! (Molner wore a dark suit and a navy tie. “Nobody really cares what I’m wearing,” he sighed. But of course he looked dashing as always.)
The red carpet at this party is a serious undertaking. I always feel so awkward posing for the cameras, though I’ve gotten somewhat used to it after all these years. But here’s what goes through my head: Can they see that I’ve bitten my fingernails? Am I sucking my gut in enough? Spanx, take the wheel! Did the wind screw up my hair? Do I have lipstick on my teeth? Does the way I’m standing make my body look weird? Oh yeah, smile!
Cocktails came first — there were comfy couches everywhere and female comedians were lounging, including Kate Berlant, my friend Chelsea Handler, my Hacks co-star Hannah Einbinder (lol, stay tuned for season four!) and later, Nikki Glaser, who’s crushing it right now. And as a throwback to high school, I went to the bathroom with Chelsea and helped her in and out of her dress. There was lots of socializing — and while a few people sat in rapt attention, the ceremony itself mostly provided background noise. I loved seeing Molly Sims, who is as nice as she is beautiful. (Her dress’ bow nearly needed a seat of its own, ha!) She has a skincare line and produced the movie Almost Pregnant with Amy Schumer — and is so much fun. We posed with Norah Weinstein, who started the nonprofit Baby2Baby, which provides children living in poverty across the country with diapers, clothing, and all the basic necessities that every child deserves.
It was also such a treat to say hi to Justin Theroux, who looked very handsome in his Tom Ford burgundy velvet jacket. But from the small world department, I got to meet — well re-meet — his fiance Nicole Bloom, the daughter of my late friend and colleague, David Bloom, who tragically died from a pulmonary embolism while covering the war in Iraq. Nicole has grown into a beautiful, charming young woman who’s also acting: She was in The Gilded Age and now has a role in a show called Paradise. I know her dad would be so proud of her. By the way, I somehow ended up in the VF Photo Booth with Justin and Robert Downey Jr. Go figure.
John enjoyed getting his photo taken with Olivia Wilde for obvious reasons. And of course, Mick Jagger is always a high point. (Am I starting to sound too Hollywood?) After hobnobbing with the winner of “most creatively dressed” Sarah Paulson (see photo), who insisted her Marc Jacobs dress was suitable for sitting, and after a cosmo (or two), it was time for dinner. I was tickled to be seated next to comedian Cole Escola, of Oh Mary! fame — and the toast of Broadway. Molner was seated next to the wildly talented Patricia Clarkson. I was able to say hi to two of my favorite leading men — Michael Keaton and Jon Hamm. The room was quiet for Zoe Saldaña’s speech, which I found so moving. I think she’s such a talent — I loved her in the series From Scratch and was so happy she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. But I’m way behind on my Oscar movies — I haven’t seen Emilia Pérez or Anora. I have some catching up to do!
After dinner and an Anora sweep, the party really got going. The highlights for me: chatting with Anna Kendrick about Woman of the Hour, a riveting (and very upsetting) movie that marked her directorial debut; telling Questlove how much we loved his documentary about 50 years of music on SNL (the brilliant opening few minutes are not to be missed — you’ll know what I mean when you watch it); and petting Scout, Selma Blair’s service dog, and hearing about a new medication for MS that has been life-changing for her.
Molner did some male bonding with Jason Bateman (also a golf nut), Dwyane Wade, and Joshua Jackson. Some other star sightings included Mindy Kaling (who went to Dartmouth with my nephew Jeff), Laverne Cox, Rachel Brosnahan, and Miley Cyrus, who patiently posed with her biggest fan, my husband.
I also snapped photos with Jenna Ortega (aka Wednesday Addams), Nancy Pelosi (who told me she was wearing black-tie tennis shoes, due to a recent hip surgery), Walton Goggins, and Debbie Allen.
After downing an In-N-Out burger, a party staple, we were ready to call it a night. Feeling very tired and very L.A., I was most excited about kicking off my four-inch heels, getting into my pajamas and hitting the hay — with a little stardust in my very coiffed hair. Hooray for Hollywood — until next year!
