'Sinners' director Ryan Coogler says the vampire movie was 'powered by women'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. − Ongoing rainstorms and flood warnings didn't deter a room full of stars from showing up to celebrate the powerful and multifaceted women in Hollywood fighting for a more equitable industry.

Or as filmmaker Ryan Coogler said of the women of "Sinners" being honored at ELLE's 2025 Women in Hollywood, "Without y'all, we don't have anything."

"Sinners," starring Michael B. Jordan, pulling double duty as twins Smoke and Stack, follows the brothers' return home from Chicago in 1930s Mississippi as they buy a sawmill to set up a juke joint. Their goal is to fill it with whiskey and Irish beer, paying customers, and plenty of blues. What they didn't expect was an invasion of vampires.

Released earlier this spring, the vampy film also stars actresses Hailee Steinfeld (Mary), Jayme Lawson (Pearline) and Wunmi Mosaku (Annie). The three were honored Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Four Seasons Hotel for their indelible work in "Sinners," which "doesn't move forward without the women," Coogler said onstage. "They are truth-tellers, and perhaps more importantly, they are the beating heart of the story … This movie was powered by women."

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The "Creed" actor, who seemingly just dropped in to introduce the award, joined Coogler onstage to introduce Lawson and Mosaku.

Of Steinfeld's absence on Thursday night, Jordan said, "She caught a little bug; she's feeling under the weather, so she couldn't be here with us tonight."

"'Sinners' gave Hailee the opportunity to dive into her own family's history, and she didn't hold back," Jordan said of Steinfeld (she stars as Mary, a white-passing woman in the Mississippi South). "She asked big questions about her maternal grandfather's identity as a half-Filipino, half-Black man. That theme of inheritance is still in every frame of 'Sinners.' And Hailee, we love you, and we honor you for doing that story justice."

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Mosaku, the Nigerian British actress who has previously starred in "Lovecraft Country," was dubbed the UK's "best kept secret for years" by Jordan.

"As [Mosaku] once said, the scariest part of this movie is the feeling that no matter how far you've gone, you still might be exactly where you started," Jordan said in his remarks. "Wunmi, thank you for your gentle wisdom, your love, your support. Tonight, we honor you − and always."

Coogler then took the mic to honor Lawson, thanking her for her artristry and adding that, "for us, you were never too much. You were always enough."

Lawson and Mosaku then took the stage and, in their shared speech, thanked Coogler for the empowering space he created on set for them to be their full selves as actresses and as the characters they embodied onscreen.

"Every woman in this room knows what it feels like to crave as an artist, but oftentimes not feel full," Lawson, visibly emotional onstage, said. "So not only did Ryan fill our appetites, but he also gifted us each other to each other. My sisters. When you find your sisters in this industry, you hold on for dear life, and you do not dare let them go."

Addressing Coogler directly from the stage, Mosaku said she was "grateful for the women who inspire and love you so deeply that you champion them by representing them in all their complexities and their humanity on and off the camera."

At the top of the three-hour program, Elle editor-in-chief Nina Garcia said in her opening remarks that, "At the first events, merely spotlighting the work of women in the industry felt like something new. But over the years, this event has become a forum for candid and meaningful reflection."

"For three decades, this event has witnessed Hollywood history − and even made some of its own," the Colombian magazine editor added. "I feel that legacy in the room tonight as I look out on this spectacular crowd."

The night also celebrated Irish actress and "Hamnet" star Jessie Buckley, "One Battle After Another" stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" star Rose Byrne, "Sentimental Value" Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve and "The Smashing Machine" star Emily Blunt.

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Before the festivities officially began, stars (carefully) made their way from the red carpet to the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom. Aniston walked gingerly toward the ballroom to find her seat to avoid slipping on the wet floor as water made its way inside the hotel from the pouring rain outside.

Valet employees clad in yellow rain coats and hotel staff, tasked with mopping and drying the floor to make sure no A-lister fell on their watch, were the real unsung heroes of the night.

It took some time for the "Sinners" director and his partner in film producing, wife Zinzi Evans, to make their way to their table inside the hotel ballroom, as folks continued to stop them to give them their flowers for the success of the film.

Inside the ballroom, stars took a minute to grab their seats as they mingled with each other, finished their drinks and posed for photos together. The night also saw a few surprises as Kerry Washington rushed from the mid-Wilshire premiere of Netflix's "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to Beverly Hills.

She stepped in to present Taylor with her Elle Women in Hollywood honor after Kevin Hart could no longer make it due to scheduling conflicts with filming.

Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY