Harvard Names Its Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year

Cynthia Erivo, who stars in the hit musical Wicked, was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the AP reports. The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, 101 Damnations. Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series Mad Men, is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.

"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it." The British entertainer, who burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, is a two-time Oscar nominee and holds an Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award.

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