<\/p>\n
\n\tGwyneth Paltrow<\/a> \u2014 this week\u2019s Hollywood Reporter<\/em> cover star<\/a> \u2014 grew emotional as she thanked the industry for welcoming her back to acting while accepting the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award<\/a> at THR<\/em>\u2018s annual Women in Entertainment gala, presented by Lifetime, on Wednesday at The Beverly Hills Hotel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTo be among all of you women, and the men who love us, at this beautiful Hollywood Reporter<\/em> event \u2026 to all the 100 women who are named today<\/a> \u2014 to be here among you is really a gift. I really feel it. I have a real felt sense of this community this morning \u2014 a community that seems to be OK with all of my iterations and has welcomed me back,\u201d Paltrow said, choking up as the audience applauded.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Oscar winner has been on a five-year hiatus from acting, but she returns this year in A24\u2019s Marty Supreme<\/em>, directed by Josh Safdie and co-starring Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet. The film has already received stellar reviews<\/a> \u2014 including from THR<\/em>\u2019s chief film critic David Rooney<\/a> \u2014 and will be released Dec. 25.<\/p>\n \n\tShe also thanked her husband, Glee<\/em> co-creator Brad Falchuk, calling him \u201cthe most feminist man I know\u201d who \u201clets me be my full self every day.\u201d Paltrow continued, \u201cThank you to the women here and not here\u2026 all the women in this business who have been by my side all these years. And congratulations to Jennifer [Lopez]<\/a>, who was such an amazing example of this powerful declaration of being who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe prestigious award recognizes trailblazers and philanthropists in entertainment and media. It was established in honor of Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures and the first woman to head a Hollywood studio.<\/p>\n \n\tHer former Iron Man<\/em> co-star, Robert Downey Jr., presented her with the award<\/a>. \u201cI pulled her out of her first unannounced retirement from cinema,\u201d he joked. \u201cIn 2007, she was birthing and building Goop between takes on Iron Man<\/em>, having spent the previous decade and a half winning Oscars, Globes, choosing directors at critical points in their careers \u2014 both Andersons, Paul Thomas and Wes; Minghella; Soderbergh; Fincher \u2014 while also becoming a devoted mother and wife.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDowney Jr. then playfully referenced Paltrow\u2019s viral ski trial<\/a>. \u201cIn an age where we so crave leadership, example, integrity, resolve, and too often folks come up short, we have here a woman that is willing to go to trial, confronting her retired optometrist accuser regarding an alleged injury on a Deer Valley ski resort slope \u2014 and comport herself so honorably that a musical theater production is born to commemorate her moral strength, intestinal fortitude, not to mention her impeccably tasteful, civil suit chic-yet-practical courtroom attire.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen Paltrow took the stage, she told him, \u201cRobert, I love you so much. You are the older brother I never had and wasn\u2019t sure I wanted, but I\u2019m so grateful to you for being the best partner on screen \u2014 for always being the most honest and brilliant reflection back, not just about me but about us, our families and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRachel Sennott served as the host<\/a> of Wednesday\u2019s breakfast alongside additional speakers<\/a> of Dakota Johnson,\u00a0Sarah Paulson, Goldie Hawn<\/a>,\u00a0Regina Hall,\u00a0Chase Infiniti,\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tTHR\u2019<\/em>s\u00a0Women in Entertainment\u00a0was presented by Lifetime, and the gala was sponsored by\u00a0Delta Air Lines, Medicube, Reyka Vodka and Seven Bucks Productions, and in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Gersh, Chapman University and Loyola Marymount University.<\/p>\n