New York Women in Film & TV Announces 37th Annual Muse Awards Honorees

New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), which has supported and empowered women in the entertainment industry for nearly 40 years, is pleased to present its 37th annualMuse Awards gala luncheon on Thursday, December 8th, 2016 at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel. This year's Muse Awards will be more energetic and inspiring than ever before in recognizing and celebrating the remarkable achievements of women in the film, television and digital media industries. Actor and CBS Commentator Nancy Giles will emcee the afternoon's events.

The Muse honorees for this year include five of the most talented women in the business:

· Mary-Louise Parker, an American actor and author. In addition to her many films, Parker enjoyed great popularity for her lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she received the Golden Globe Award and Emmy nomination for Best Actress. Parker has appeared in numerous films and series including RED, Fried Green Tomatoes, Boys on the Side, The Client, Bullets Over Broadway, Romance and Cigarettes, Grand Canyon, Solitary Man, Long Time Companion, The West Wing, and Angels in America, for which she received a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Parker's first book, "Dear Mr. You" was published in November 2015, to critical and popular acclaim. She is also a contributing writer for Esquire, O Magazine, Bullett, The Riviter, and The New York Times. Parker received the Tony Award for Best Actress In a Play for her performance in Proof. She is currently starring on Broadway in Simon Stephens' Heisenberg.

· Debi Mazar, an American actor and television personality, known for her Jersey Girl-type roles as sharp-tongued women in independent films, as well as her starring role in the Cooking Channel series, Extra Virgin, along with her husband Gabriele Corcos. Mazar also won kudos for her role as press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage, and currently stars as Maggie on TV Land's Younger.

· Martha Plimpton, an award-winning actor with success across stage, film, and television. Plimpton currently stars in ABC'sThe Real O'Neals and recently starred in the London premiere of the acclaimed play Other Desert Cities. Nominated for an Emmy Award and twice for a Critics' Choice Television Award, Plimpton's memorable TV guest appearances include The Good Wife, for which she won the 2012 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in Drama Series" and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for which she earned an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series." Plimpton has appeared in more than 30 films, including The Goonies, The Mosquito Coast, Running on Empty, Beautiful Girls, Parenthood, and the independent feature Small Town Murder Songs. On stage, Martha's work has garnered three consecutive Tony Award nominations. Martha is also the co-founder of the women's rights organization A IS FOR which is dedicated to advancing women's reproductive rights and ending the stigma against abortion care.

· Marcia Smith, Co-Founder and President of Firelight Media, a non-profit film organization dedicated to nurturing projects by emerging independent filmmakers and impact producers of color. During Smith's tenure as president, Firelight has produced more than 18 hours of film for national broadcast on PBS, and Firelight's Documentary Lab fellows have garnered every major award in television. A writer by trade, Smith was honored by the Writers' Guild for Best Documentary writing and nominated for a Primetime Emmy for the film The Murder of Emmett Till. Her book, Black America: Past to Present was released to wide acclaim in 2003.

· Jacki Kelley, Chief Operating Officer of Bloomberg Media and 2016-2017 President of the Board of Directors for New York Women in Communications, Inc. Kelley, who leads business operations for Bloomberg LP's global multi-platform media organization, has been listed as one of Variety's Power of Women New York, named a Matrix Award Honoree by the New York Women in Communications, and featured as one of Crain's New York Business' 50 Most Powerful Women, among other awards. Most recently, she was recognized by Folio's Top Women in Media Awards for entrepreneurial leadership and her work as a diversity and inclusion champion. In September, under Kelley's leadership, Bloomberg Media debuted a provocative new six-part television and video series, "Big Problems. Big Thinkers." examining some of the biggest threats facing humanity and the possible solutions underway to solve them. The series, created in partnership with journalist Terre Blair, features in-depth interviews with Warren Buffett, the Dalai Lama, Michael R. Bloomberg, Steven Soderbergh and more.

Amy Goodman will receive the 11th annual Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award.

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a global, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,400 public television and radio stations worldwide. The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard honored Goodman with the 2014 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize.' Her reporting on East Timor and Nigeria has won numerous awards, including the George Polk Award, Robert F. Kennedy Prize for International Reporting, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. Goodman has also co-authored six New York Times bestsellers. Her latest one, Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America looks back over the past two decades of Democracy Now! and the powerful movements and charismatic leaders who are re-shaping our world.

The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was created with the generous support of New York Women in Film & Television member Loreen Arbus. Each year, it is given to an individual, organization or corporation in the entertainment industry that has helped to create and bring about significant change to benefit and aid women.

"The Muse Awards is always an inspirational event recognizing our extraordinary colleagues and friends for their talent, entrepreneurial spirit and vision," said New York Women in Film & Television Executive Director Terry Lawler. "We are thrilled and honored to not only support and mentor each other as we do on a regular basis, but to empower and encourage women to continue striving and shattering the glass ceiling still prevalent in the entertainment industry."

The Muse Awards gala luncheon is one of the most sought-after affairs during the height of the holiday season, and is attended by leading executives from major studios, broadcast and cable networks and film, television and digital media production facilities. Past recipients include Meryl Streep, Claire Danes, Anne Sweeney, Martha Stewart, Robin Wright, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Tina Fey, America Ferrera, Julianna Margulies, Blythe Danner, Victoria Alonso, Gabourey Sidibe, Cicely Tyson, and Lucy Liu.

Tickets are $165 for most New York Women in Film & Television members and $350 for nonmembers. Corporate tables for $3500 or sponsorships starting at $5000 are also available. To purchase, please visit nywift.org/MUSE.