Princess Charlene kicks off Princess Grace Awards with Paramount Pictures tribute event

On Tuesday night, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and HSH Princess Charlene celebrated the return of the annual Princess Grace Awards Gala to Los Angeles with an exclusive kick off event at Paramount Pictures, the home to where Grace Kelly made so many of her iconic films.

It was a special girls’ night out for entertainment, music and style icon, Jessica Simpson, as she attended the event with her mom Tina Simpson, and daughter Maxwell Johnson, who presented flowers to Princess Charlene upon arrival.

Jessica beamed with joy on the carpet watching her daughter fulfill her fairytale dream of meeting a real Princess.

In partnership with Nickelodeon Group and Paramount Pictures, the October 24 evening also featured a special tribute to Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, and introduced the Stephen Hillenburg Animation Scholarship, a gift awarded annually in support of emerging animators in the film category.

Karen and Stephen Hillenburg, who were in attendance, endowed the Foundation with a gift that will encourage and assist future animators to develop and hone their crafts. Hillenburg received his Princess Grace Award in 1991 and a Statue Award in 2002.  He is the first Princess Grace Award winner to honour the Foundation with the gift of such a scholarship.

Additional attendees included Billy Zane (Legends of Tomorrow), Sofia Milos (Sangre Negra), Hon. John F. Lehman (PGF-USA Chairman), Jon B. Turk, MD (PGF-USA Board of Trustees), Lynn Wyatt (PGF-USA Board of Trustees), and more. Plus, the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants including Tom Kenny (Voice of SpongeBob SquarePants), Bill Fagerbakke (Voice of Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Voice of Squidward Tentacles), Dee Bradley Baker (Voice of Perch Perkins), Clancy Brown (Voice of Mr. Krabs), Sirena Irwin (Voice of Lady Fish), Carolyn Lawrence (Voice of Sandy Cheeks), and Jill Talley (Voice of Karen) were all in attendance to support Stephen Hillenburg.

The 2017 Princess Grace Awards Gala will take place on tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. HSH Prince Albert will have the “distinct privilege” to present the Prince Rainier III Award to Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron.

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Article first published October 25, 2017. All photos: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Princess Grace Foundation-USA.

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