Barrymore, Sykes receive tributes at GLAAD Awards

A pair of award winners -- recent Golden Globe recipient Drew Barrymore ( “Grey Gardens”) and comedian Wanda Sykes, who took home an Emmy as a writer for “The Chris Rock Show” -- will add new honors to their respective mantles courtesy of the Los Angeles presentation of the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Barrymore will be presented with the Vanguard Award, which is given to media professionals who have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, for her turn in the GLAAD Media Award-nominated “Everything’s Fine” and for her commitment to marriage equality issues. Previous recipients of the Vanguard Award include Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Taylor, Whoopi Goldberg and Antonio Banderas.

Meanwhile, Sykes will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which goes to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting the community’s equal rights. Sykes, who hosts her own talk show on Fox, has campaigned for LGBT issues and was the first openly gay and African American woman to appear at the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner in 2009. Among the celebrities who have received the Kolzak Award in past years are Sir Ian McKellen, Ellen Degeneres, former Oscar telecast producer Bill Condon and Alan Ball ( “True Blood”).

In addition to the presentations for Barrymore and Sykes, the GLAAD Media Awards, which will also take place in New York on March 13 and in San Francisco on June 5, will pay tribute to Cynthia Nixon with the Vito Russo Award. Hosts for the Los Angeles event are actress Candis Cayne and actor Wilson Cruz (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), with Tom Ford, Benjamin Bratt, and Judas Priest singer Rob Halford among the guests and presenters. The list of 116 film, television and music nominees in 24 English-language categories and 36 Spanish-language nominees in eight categories can be viewed at glaad.org/mediaawards.