Citing other cultural icons like Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, Venus and Serena Williams, Selena, Bob Dylan, Fred Rogers, Harriet Tubman and Martin Scorsese (who was in the room), she added “when we celebrate our heroes, we’re reminded who we are — as one people united.”

This is the second Oscar for the actress, who’d returned from a six-year break from acting in 2016 and was last recognized by the academy sixteen years ago for her supporting role in Cold Mountain. In a 2016 cover story for British Vogue, the actress explained her decision to step away: “I was fatigued and wasn’t taking the time I needed to recover between projects, and it caught up with me. I got sick of the sound of my own voice: It was time to go away and grow up a bit.”

She told the magazine that she took that time to say “no” to a more projects and reconnect with what it means to take care of herself and what it means to be happy.

“I found anonymity, so I could have exchanges with people on a human level and be seen and heard, not be defined by this image that precedes me when I walk into a room. You cannot be a good storyteller if you don’t have life experiences, and you can’t relate to people,” she said.

Plus, she was able to focus more on becoming healthy again. “For a long time I wasn’t doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn’t allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things.”

If her recognition for Judy is any indication, she’s made the right choices lately.


Image Source:*latimes.com

Source:sheknows.com