Much has been made — by us, it’s us, we’re the problem — of Michelle Williams’ recent departure from the years-long embrace of Louis Vuitton, and her long respite from the red carpet has meant a similarly long spell without Busy Philipps by her side. One of those relationships was on display last night, and since I know you’re looking at the photo, you know which one it wasn’t. This is No. 4 in a row that isn’t by Vuitton, which is officially a trend, and we can probably stop keeping count and assume Michelle is embracing the spice that variety can offer her life. This Valentino minidress is a sparkly, delicious choice for a night on which she received a career achievement award, in part because it’s so like the wearer: beautiful, adept, unwilling to call any more attention to itself than is necessary. Busy looks a little underdone, like she was invited at the last minute and had to call all around town to borrow something, but she’s also Been Through It with a divorce so I’m just glad she’s back with her pal for a night on the town.
Michelle, by the way, continues to seem like a class act. She’s in the conversation for a fifth Oscar nomination this year, for The Fabelmans (Kevin saw it and said she’s fantastic), yet she never uses her platform to shit on the teen soap that got her there. In fact, she not only said she never could’ve done any of this if she hadn’t been Jen Lindley first, but she paid a lengthy and loving tribute to Mary Beth Peil, the actress who played Grams:
Michelle Williams used her Gothams acceptance speech to pay a moving extended tribute to Mary Beth Peil, who played Grams on Dawson’s Creek, and taught her how to be an actor. pic.twitter.com/fwXVprxEMF
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) November 29, 2022
You might also remember Peil as Peter Florrick’s steely mother on The Good Wife; she has one of the world’s most delicious side-eyes. If she’s in good health, I hope they put her on The Gilded Age immediately opposite Christine Baranski and Carrie Coon and just let them all rip.
