Kristen Wiig urges women to 'make cool stuff' as she accepts Icon Award

Kristen Wiig has been honoured with the Icon Award at the annual WIF Honors gala on Thursday night.

The Saturday Night Live alum gave a heartfelt and humorous speech about fear, vulnerability, and women supporting women in Hollywood.

Presented the award by her Palm Royale co-star Kaia Gerber, Wiig admitted she was nervous to speak, joking, “I’m myself. If I had a wig on and like a turtleneck, I could be like, ‘Kristen’s not here tonight,’ but I have to be myself instead.”

She reflected on her love for telling women-centered stories, saying, “I love being in a troupe and finding those female characters and their point of view, not in relation to like their husband or anything like that, but with each other, female friendships. With Bridesmaids or Barb and Star and even Palm Royale, I just love stories about women.” 

She also credited Bridesmaids producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig for changing her life.

Wiig became emotional as she spoke about her creative fears. “I still have things in my career that I really want to do, that I’m really scared to do,” she said. “I’m afraid to fail and I’m afraid of criticism… I’m sensitive; I’m an HSP — that’s Highly Sensitive Person.”

Encouraging the audience, she added, “Let’s make a collective pact to do the thing we’re scared of, be nice to each other, and make cool stuff.”

Other honorees at the WIF (Women In Film) event included Jamie Lee Curtis, who received the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award, Tessa Thompson for the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film, and Maude Apatow, who accepted the Max Mara Face of the Future Award.