Actress Rose Byrne honored as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year with parade and roast

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Rose Byrne, fresh off her Golden Globe Award win and Oscar nomination for the leading role in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” will be honored Friday as the 2026 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Byrne, who also has starred in “Bridesmaids,” “Neighbors,” “Insidious” and “Damages,” will take part in a parade through the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts. After that, she will receive her pudding pot award at a celebratory roast. She will then attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 177th production “Salooney Tunes.”

In her review of “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” The Associated Press’ Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the film gave Byrne “a chance to display versatility and grit in surely the toughest dramatic role of her career.”

Actor Michael Keaton, known for his roles in films such as “Batman,” “Birdman,” “Beetlejuice” and “Spotlight,” is the 2026 Man of the Year. He received his pudding pot Feb. 6.

“We are thrilled to honor Rose Byrne as our Woman of the Year,” Hasty Pudding Theatricals President Daisy Nussbaum said in a statement. “Hot off a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination, it’s only right that she receives the most prestigious award of all: a pudding pot.”

The Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world. Since 1951, it has bestowed the award annually on women including actors Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson and Annette Bening. Last year, the winner was “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo.

Byrne, who is Australian, also acted in “Juliet, Naked,” “Get Him to the Greek” and “28 Weeks Later.” Her theater credits include “Medea, You Can’t Take it With You” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and she will star opposite Kelli O’Hara in the revival of “Fallen Angels” on Broadway starting in March.

Rose Byrne, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, holds the Pudding Pot while wearing a wedding gown costume as she participates in a skit during a roast at Farkas Hall theater, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

CORRECTS HALL SPELLING: Rose Byrne, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, displays the Pudding Pot poses for photos during a news conference at Farkas Hall theater, on the campus of Harvard University, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne, center, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, waves while riding in a convertible with Harvard University theatrical students Isabel Wilson, left, and Daisy Nussbaum, right, during a parade, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne, center, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, rides in a convertible with Harvard University theatrical students Isabel Wilson, left, and Daisy Nussbaum, right, during a parade, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne, center, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, rides in a convertible with Harvard University theatrical students Isabel Wilson, left, and Daisy Nussbaum, right, during a parade, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne, center, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, laughs while dancing with Harvard University theatrical students following a parade, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne, center, Hasty Pudding 2026 Woman of the Year, displays a certificate following a parade, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, through Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Rose Byrne arrives at the 98th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Rose Byrne attends the 98th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/Invision/AP)

PHOENIX (AP) — Flavor Flav was among the celebrities in attendance at the women's Final Four on Friday night, sitting courtside for the UConn-South Carolina game with former Gamecocks player Aliyah Boston.

Flav, a founding member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, is also friends with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.

The 67-year-old Flav is a longtime supporter of women’s sports and attended various Olympic competitions this winter. He invited the U.S. women's ice hockey team to Las Vegas after their gold medal win in February, shortly after the women turned down a trip to Washington.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Rapper Flavor Flav attends a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game between UConn and South Carolina at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)