Quick summary
- Cate Blanchett received the Theatre Actress Award at the 19th Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards at Claridge’s in London on Thursday.
- The prize recognised her dual-role performance in the National Theatre’s production of Electra/Persona.
- She wore a Mary Katrantzou Resort 2027 gown with a painted landscape skirt, according to Red Carpet Fashion Awards.
- A week earlier in Tokyo, she asked Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho when the two would work together.
Cate Blanchett collected the Theatre Actress Award at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards at Claridge’s in London on Thursday. The Cate Blanchett Harper’s Bazaar Award follows a festival appearance in Tokyo last week, and her gown drew coverage of its own.
What the Harper’s Bazaar judges honoured
According to Spectrum FM’s report of the night, the magazine marked the nineteenth edition of the event by honouring women across film, theatre, fashion, sport, literature and culture. Blanchett’s prize was for her performance in two roles in the National Theatre’s Electra/Persona, which the report says reinforces her standing as one of the world’s most celebrated stage performers.
The same ceremony gave Glenn Close the Icon Award for a five-decade career. Mikey Madison was named Film Actress of the Year, with judges pointing to her Oscar-winning role in Anora and her part as a real-life whistleblower in The Social Reckoning. Bella Maclean took the Breakthrough Award for Rivals, and Claudia Winkleman was named Television Icon.
Other winners included Amelia Dimoldenberg as Innovator, whose Chicken Shop Date series has passed a billion views on YouTube, and Sarah Burton of Givenchy as Designer. Sam Taylor-Johnson was Artist of the Year, Dina Asher-Smith won Sporting Inspiration, and Indhu Rubasingham and Kate Varah shared the Change-Maker Award for their National Theatre leadership. Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Debicki were among the guests on the black carpet.
The Mary Katrantzou gown
Blanchett’s outfit was the most discussed look of the evening. Red Carpet Fashion Awards identified the dress as a Mary Katrantzou Resort 2027 design. It has a black, star-speckled bodice with blue embellishment at the neckline, and a skirt printed with swirling blue water, golden trees and stylised clouds.
The site’s writer said the landscape recalled traditional East Asian painting, and noted that Katrantzou described the collection as a return to fantastical, mythological worlds where painting and digital imagery blur together. The review also pointed out that Blanchett has worn prints before, citing a star-print Stella McCartney dress and a painterly fringed Louis Vuitton look, and welcomed a statement piece after seasons of minimalist dressing. For more looks like this, see our Fashion coverage.
Tokyo: a pitch to Kōji Yakusho
The award follows a lighter moment at the Tokyo International Film Festival. At an event on 30 October, Netflix Junkie reports, Yakusho appeared as a surprise guest after screenings backed by the Displacement Film Fund. Asked to respond to his remarks, Blanchett replied, “When are we gonna work together?” and added that the question had nothing to do with the fund.
Blanchett co-founded the fund to support filmmakers displaced from their homes. Five short films were shown, and Yakusho, who won Best Actor at Cannes in 2023 for Perfect Days, praised Mohammad Rasoulof’s Sense of Water and Shahrbanoo Sadat’s Super Afghan Gym. Uniqlo is a founding partner, and our earlier post on Blanchett chairing UNIQLO’s Stories She Tells essay project covers a related initiative.
The same report notes her sci-fi comedy Alpha Gang, directed by David and Nathan Zellner and produced by Blanchett through Dirty Films, had its Japanese premiere that day after screening at Telluride and Toronto in September. A wider release date has not been confirmed.
What happens next
No joint project with Yakusho has been announced, and Blanchett’s question was a public aside rather than a casting confirmation. The next firm date to watch is an Alpha Gang release announcement. Everything we publish on her is gathered on our Cate Blanchett page.
Frequently asked questions
What award did Cate Blanchett win at the Harper’s Bazaar Awards?
She won the Theatre Actress Award for her dual-role performance in the National Theatre’s Electra/Persona, at the 2026 Women of the Year event at Claridge’s in London.
What did Cate Blanchett wear?
A Mary Katrantzou Resort 2027 gown with a star-speckled black bodice and a skirt printed with a blue and gold landscape, according to Red Carpet Fashion Awards.
Is Cate Blanchett working with Kōji Yakusho?
Not as far as has been announced. She asked him publicly in Tokyo when they would work together, but no project has been confirmed.
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