The last 12 months for comedic actress and Girls Trip breakout star Tiffany Haddish have been a whirlwind of non-stop success and she’s eternally grateful to all of those in her circle who have been by her side from the beginning.
Per usual, the 38-year-old L.A. native had the whole room smiling and laughing as she made her way to the stage to accept her award at the 11th annual ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards luncheon on Thursday afternoon. After quickly dispelling the notion that her recent success was a result of “luck” rather than pure hard work and thanking her grandmother, Tiffany took a moment to reflect on a few of the people who played a part in encouraging her and motivating her along the way.
“There’s a lot of people in this room, though, right now, that believed in me and gave me an opportunity and I’m just super grateful and thankful. Thank you so much for always being encouraging.”
Among those who she thanked were close friend and Get Out/Insecure cast member, Lil Rel, who presented her with her award.
“Me and Lil Rel, we used to be on the telephone talking and stuff,” she said. “I used to be like, ‘Rell, we gon’ make it, man. We gon’ do this, we gon’ have a TV show, we gon’ be like, brother and sister or husband and wife, or something. And he used to be like, ‘You dream big.’ Yeah, I dream big! You gotta dream as big as possible, I feel like. And look at us now, Rell!”
She also thanked her best friend, who was in attendance for the magical moment.
“I want to say thank you to my best friends Selena. We met when we were 12-years-old and she never got rid of me. Even though I was acting weird and stuff and I wore Payless shoes.”
Hear Tiffany’s full speech and all of the other amazing moments from the 2018 Black Women In Hollywood Awards when it airs Saturday, March 3 at 10 p.m. on OWN TV.