Earlier this month, celebrities, media personalities, and prominent business leaders gathered in Los Angeles for Gold House’s third annual Gold Gala. The gala is an evening to celebrate influential Asian and Pacific Islander leaders and their accomplishments. As such, Gold House used the occasion to honor several luminaries.

Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal, Kill Bill, Charlie’s Angels, and Elementary) and Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef and Taste the Nation) both received the Gold Legend award.

"I feel like it's been very lonely and I wish so much that there was more encouragement from my family, because just a little bit goes so long in where you're going in your journey," Lucy said in her acceptance speech. "It's hard when you're the first person in the room; that is the only person that is different. We are here now and we are collectively special because of that."

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple, Genius, and Wicked) was also honored with the Gold Ally award. “As a Black woman of African heritage, the child of an immigrant, I find that there is innate connection to my golden siblings. Our destinies are forged in the understanding that we have to overcome and defy the odds. We are in search of the very best of ourselves, often at first for our parents, and then we learn to harness that power for ourselves. We have a kinship that is unspoken but it simmers nonetheless. Which is why it never surprises me that when magic occurs, it’s when we join forces,” Cynthia said as she accepted the award. “Can. we please work together more? When I look at my TV screen and watch my films, I love the work we put into the world but we almost always do it separately. And quite frankly, we’re so much more flavorful when we do it together.”

Other honorees included Saweetie, Hoa Xuande, the creator and cast of Beef, Hello Kitty, the Maui first responders, the 2022 Team USA Olympic figure skating team, and many more.

Watch Lucy Liu and Cynthia Erivo’s full acceptance speeches below.