Jessica Chastain reflects on breaking family's generational cycle by going to college: 'First to not get pregnant as a teenager'
Jessica Chastain was honored the American Cinematheque Award on Friday night for her amazing body of work, and she used the opportunity to reminisce on the early days of her road to becoming an Oscar-winning actor.
Jessica Chastain attends the 38th American Cinematheque Awards at The Beverly Hilton on December 6 in Beverly Hills.
JC Olivera/Getty Images
Taking the stage at The Beverly Hilton hotel, the diva described how her great-grandmother, grandmother, aunt, and mother all became moms before the age of 17, forcing them to drop out of school and abandon their career goals to support their families. Chastain said that her mother was only 22 years old and caring for three small children on her own while the family faced eviction, and that she attended school with basic necessities unmet.
"We were on the outside of society, but theater became my lifeline. It was a means for me to feel seen, to express myself, and to break away from the expectations that had held my family together for centuries. "I became determined to break the cycle," Chastain continued. "I was the first in my family to not become pregnant as a teenager, the first to graduate from high school, and the first to attend college. Attending The Juilliard School not only changed my life, but also demonstrated to my family that an alternative route was available."
The actress explained that through her performances, she has sought to remove society's restricted norms for women. Too frequently, women are valued solely for their physical attractiveness or their role as mothers, reducing them to bodies that serve everyone but themselves. She achieved early success on that objective in 2013 with two top-grossing films, Mama and Zero Dark Thirty, which was "proof that audiences were hungry for stories of powerful, multi-faceted women."
"As I stand here tonight, I am thinking about the status of the globe, our country, our politics, and the sexism that endures. "So many women are still taught to find their value in roles defined by men," Chastain told the audience. "I am really delighted to be a part of an industry that is always developing. Today, films teach females that they don't need a prince to save them; they can save the day themselves," highlighting the need to show little girls and boys that "a woman's true value isn't in her beauty or her function as someone's companion, but in her intelligence, tenacity, and fortitude."
She ended by thanking her family and friends, crying up when she mentioned her mother and grandmother, who were both present at the ceremony. She also added, "I urge everyone in this room to evaluate the authority of the tales we choose to tell. Filmmaking is a political act. We are molding not only our world, but also the world of future generations.
Prior to Chastain's speech, the gathering was crowded with A-list fans honoring both her on-screen performance and off-screen demeanor. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Sorkin, Octavia Spencer, Guillermo del Toro, Sebastian Stan, Casey Affleck, Michael Showalter, and Niki Caro all attended in person, while Al Pacino, Jeremy Strong, Oscar Isaac, Peter Dinklage, Matthew McConaughey, and Ralph Fiennes delivered video messages of support.
Del Toro recalled missing the premiere of their 2015 film Crimson Peak due to a pulmonary crisis, joking, "Don't worry, I'm 130 pounds lighter so I'll survive the night or at least the introduction." She visited him in the hospital dressed as her movie character, Lucille, with a cup of poison tea, and she sat by my side and sang me the character's song. And I chuckled, and for the first time in 48 hours, I felt certain that everything would be well."
Spencer, who collaborated with Chastain on The Help, emphasized her fight for pay equity in the industry, while Isaac, who attended Juilliard at the same time, ran through the halls declaring, "For 23 years you've been an inspiration to me, as an artist, as an actor, as a friend, as a redhead. "I love you, my sister from another mister."
Robert Downey Jr. introduced the night's honoree, Oppenheimer producer Charles Roven. In his speech, Roven emphasized that the greatest way to commemorate the American Cinematheque's achievements is "to ensure that our governor and legislators significantly expand the production tax credits to keep Hollywood in Hollywood." Let's bring more manufacturing back home so we can maintain our industrious employees and give them more time to sleep in their own beds."
The American Cinematheque Awards are an annual fundraiser that supports the American Cinematheque's year-round programming at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, the Los Feliz 3 Theatre in Los Feliz, and the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
