Academy Award winning actress, Goldie Hawn, was just one of the celebrities to grace the amfAR Inspiration Gala in Rio de Janeiro this 4 October. The event held by the The Foundation for AIDS Research was located at the Copacabana Palace to raise HIV and AIDS study funding.
Hawn and fashion icon Kenneth Cole were the honorary chairs for the event, which was hosted by Linda Evangelista. Hawn, Evangelista and director Lee Daniels were captured in a chummy moment by event photographers (above). This was the first such Gala in Rio, which is currently hosting its film festival, so the streets must be crawling with star-gazers. Galas are also planned in Los Angeles (December) and New York City (February 2014). The organization is well-regarded for its glitz and glamour events, including their annual Cannes Film Festival dinner that attracts the cream of the film industry crop.
Tickets started at $1,500 for the event, which featured a cocktail and fashion reception followed by dinner and a live auction. The auction included seven lots, according to the Associated Press, from a trip for two to the Moet & Chandon family chateau with tickets to the French Open (final bid, $30,000) to $35,000 for a work of art by Brazilian Ernesto Neto. Though reports do not indicate the final amount raised, Brazilian news accounting estimates about $1 million.
“So kind and wonderful,” was how Hawn characterized the citizens of Rio. The eternal blonde bombshell is a philanthropist in her own right, having founded The Hawn Foundation, which promotes “heart-mind centric” education for children and educators through its MindUP program. Hawn sites 10 years of development with neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and educators on the program.
The 67-year-young star was last seen on the silver screen in The Banger Sisters (2002) and since then has committed herself to charitable causes. She and longtime partner Kurt Russell were seen at the end of last month attending the DreamBall of the Look Good Feel Better organization, which provides makeovers and cosmetics to women battling cancer.
[Images via amfAR official Facebook and Instagram.]