On
Wednesday,
October
15,
2008,
the
Princess
Grace
Foundation–USA
hosted
the
Princess
Grace
Awards
Gala
at
Cipriani
42nd
Street
in New
York
City and
presented
21
Awards
to
emerging
artists
in
theater,
dance
and
film, as
well as
two
Princess
Grace
Statue
Awards
to
artists
who have
previously
won
Awards
and have
shown
achievement
and
growth
in their
respective
fields.
Every
year,
the
Princess
Grace
Foundation-USA
(PGF-USA)
proudly
awards
these
grants
at its
annual
gala to
support its
mission
of providing
crucial
support
to emerging
artists
in
America.
This
year,
PGF-USA
awarded
more
than
$750,000.
PGF-USA
was
proud to
present
award
winning
actress
Glenn
Close
with
the
Prince
Rainier
III
Award
in
recognition
of her
outstanding
career
and
contribution
to the
arts.
This
award
was
presented
to her
by award
winning
actor
Ted
Danson,
her
Damages
co-star.
Tony®
Award
winning
actor
and
Glenn
Close
co-star
in
Barnum,
Jim Dale
served
as the
evening’s
emcee.
The Gala
took
place in
the
presence
of
HSH
Prince
Albert
II of
Monaco.
The
evening
included
dinner,
dancing,
silent
auction,
live
auction
and
award
ceremony.
A
highlight
of the
evening
was a
live
auction
featuring
a
walk-on
part in
an
episode
of
Law &
Order
donated
by
Platinum
Sponsor
and
series
writer/producer,
Dick
Wolf.
The
winner
of this
lot was
famed
tenor
Placido
Domingo.
All
auction
proceeds
benefited
the
Princess
Grace
Awards
to
advance
its
mission
of
providing
crucial
support
to
emerging
artists
in
America.
Noelle
and Dick
Wolf,
Emmy®
Award
winning
writer/producer
of
Law &
Order
and
Dolly
Lenz,
Vice
Chairman
of
Prudential
Douglas
Elliman
were the
evening’s
co-chairs.
NOTABLE
ATTENDEES
HSH
Prince
Albert
II of
Monaco
and
Charlene
Wittstock,
Kimara
Ahnert,
Rose
Byrne
(Damages),
Tabatha
Coffey
(Tabatha’s
Salon
Takeover),
Glenn
Close,
Jim Dale
(Pushing
Daisies),
Ted
Danson,
Placido
Domingo,
Rene
Fris
(Shear
Genius),
Jeff
Goldblum
(Adam
Resurrected),
Mariska
Hargitay
(Law
& Order:
SVU)
& Peter
Hermann
(Law
& Order:
SVU),
Anne
Randolph
Hearst
(PGF-USA
Board)
& Jay
McInerney
(author),
Tommy
Hilfiger
(designer)
and
Dee
Ocleppo,
Celeste
Holm
(Grace
Kelly
co-star,
High
Society),
Ara &
Rachel
Hovnanian
(artist,
PGF-USA
Board),
Hon.
John F.
Lehman
(PGF-USA
Board
Chairman)
&
Barbara
Lehman,
Dolly
Lenz,
Judith
Light
(Ugly
Betty),
Maguy
Maccario-Doyle
(Consul
General
of the
Principality
of
Monaco),
Petra
Nemcova,
Bebe
Neuwirth
(Tony®
Award,
Chicago),
Prince
Reza
Pahlavi
(former
Prince
of Iran)
&
Princess
Yasmine,
Lex &
Shafi
Roepers,
Lily
Safra,
Dr. Jon
Turk
(PGF-USA
Board)
&
Carolyn
Gusoff,
Christopher
Walken
and
Noelle &
Dick
Wolf
(Emmy®
Award
winning
writer/producer
Law &
Order).
ABOUT
PGF-USA
The
Princess
Grace
Foundation-USA
(www.pgfusa.org)
is a
not-for-profit,
publicly-supported
foundation
headquartered
in NYC
founded
more
than 25
years
ago by
Prince
Rainier
III of
Monaco
in honor
of his
wife,
Princess
Grace
[Kelly].
PGF's
mission
is to
support
emerging
artists
in
theater,
dance
and film
through
the
awarding
of
scholarships,
apprenticeships
and
fellowships.
Since
its
inception,
PGF has
awarded
more
than $5
million
in
grants
to
nearly
500
recipients.