On Thursday, March 16, 2023 The Women's Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) Honorary Chairs Rita Wilson & Tom Hanks and Kate Capshaw & Steven Spielberg, along with Gala Chairs Quinn Ezralow and Jamie Tisch, and Co-Chairs Wallis Annenberg & Kris Levine, NJ Falk, Tom Ford, Judy & Leonard Lauder, William P. Lauder, Danielle Lauder, Marion Laurie, Kelly Chapman Meyer and Steve Tisch will welcome guests to An Unforgettable Evening.
The gala will return to the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, a program of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). WCRF was founded by Quinn Ezralow, Marion Laurie, Kelly Chapman Meyer, Jamie Tisch and the late Anne Douglas and Renette Ezralow.
This year’s gala will honor actress Sharon Stone with the Courage Award for her support of breast cancer research and dedication to raising awareness for the cause. Doctor, business owner, philanthropist, public speaker, bestselling author, and recognized leader in functional medicine Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson and philanthropist, entrepreneur, and global merchant banker Richard J Stephenson together will receive the Unsung Hero Award for their unwavering commitment to fighting cancer and supporting patient-centered treatment and care.
An Unforgettable Evening will include a special performance from Grammy Award-winning, pop rock band Maroon 5. The band is donating their time to support the cause before kicking off a Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on March 24.
An Unforgettable Evening is WCRF’s flagship fundraising event featuring extraordinary honorees and tributes to cancer survivors and the memory of those impacted by cancer. For over 20 years, this event has brought together leaders in entertainment, cancer research and corporate philanthropy to raise funds for pioneering cancer research conducted at leading medical and academic institutions in California and across the U.S.
“We are thrilled to be back in person with An Unforgettable Evening,” said Gala Chair and WCRF Co-Founder Jamie Tisch. “This is a cause near and dear to our hearts that raises critical funds for life-saving research. It is always such a special evening, and we look forward to celebrating this year’s incredible honorees Sharon Stone, Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson, and Richard J Stephenson.”
Sharon Stone is an internationally recognized actress, producer, humanitarian, painter and New York Times bestselling author of her recent book, The Beauty of Living Twice. Her film and television credits include Basic Instinct and Casino, for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1996 and an Academy Award nomination for her leading role opposite Robert de Niro in Martin Scorsese’s crime drama. Stone received two more Golden Globe Award nominations for her roles in The Mighty (1998) and The Muse (1999). Other film credits include Sliver (1993), The Specialist (1994), The Quick and the Dead (1995), Last Dance (1996), Sphere (1998), Broken Flowers (2005), Alpha Dog (2006), Bobby (2006), and Lovelace (2013) among others. Stone’s television credits include roles in limited series such as Netflix’s Ratched (2020), HBO’s Mosaic (2017), The New Pope (2019), as well as The Practice (2004), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Stone has been honored with a Nobel Peace Summit Award, a Harvard Humanitarian Award, a Human Rights Campaign Humanitarian Award and an Einstein Spirit of Achievement Award, among other accolades.
Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson and Mr. Richard J Stephenson dedicate their lives to creating a better world for future generations. Recognized for her philanthropic efforts in the areas of children’s health and wellness, poverty, and education, Dr. Stephenson serves as Vice Chair of Gateway for Cancer Research, a nonprofit organization committed to funding innovative cancer research around the world that helps people living with cancer to feel better and live longer as researchers work to end cancer as we know it.
Richard J Stephenson founded Cancer Treatment Centers of America in 1988, with a mission to change the face of cancer care. He guided the esteemed network and its five hospitals across the country for nearly 35 years, before facilitating its acquisition by City of Hope in 2022. The move enables Mr. Stephenson to focus his time, attention and philanthropic endeavors on making an even broader impact in the cancer space. In addition to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Mr. Stephenson established Gateway for Cancer Research in 1991, as a vehicle to exclusively fund Phase I and Phase II clinical cancer trials. These trials are crucial in the discovery of innovative, novel, “at-the-bedside-now” treatments for all types of cancer. However, they are often overlooked by larger philanthropic and research-funding organizations. Together, Dr. and Mr. Stephenson share a commitment to shaping a world in which a cancer diagnosis is no longer feared by advancing patient-centered traditional, integrative and avant-garde research and treatment.
Previous An Unforgettable Evening Honorees have included Kate Hudson, Gabrielle Union, Christina Applegate, Renée Zellweger, Natalie Cole, Courteney Cox, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Ethridge, Renette Ezralow, Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Judy & Leonard Lauder, Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sofia Vergara, and more.
