With a career that spans well over three decades and a personality as sharp and vibrant as a comedic actress and Black icon Jenifer Lewis — how could you not be pulled into her orbit? On Saturday, the 26th Annual Satellite Awards bestowed the actress with a special lifetime achievement award. “I want people to know that I care about the next generation,” Lewis tells The Black Cape. “I want them to know that I got the American dream — and so can they.”

Lewis got her start in Broadway and other theater productions before booking her first feature film in the Bette Midler-led Beaches and the Whoopi Goldberg film Sister Act. Lewis would continue to skyrocket through Hollywood as a prolific actress (and as a staple in Black households) in comedy and the occasional searing drama. From In Living Color, Different World, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Temptations, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Princess and the Frog, and most recently in her run on Black-ish as Grandmother Ruby, it’s clear that Lewis likes to make people laugh as much as she likes to make them cry.

“I had an argument with my daughter once and I was like ‘you know I work hard.’ [And] she said, ‘you’ve never worked a day in your life.’ [I realized] she was right.” Lewis recollected on stage. “I have been one of the fortunate ones in that, I do what I love to do, and that’s to make people laugh.”

Though Lewis has reached the apex of her long-standing career, she does recognize that it wasn’t without its fair share of challenges. Lewis gets candid with us about her struggles with bipolar disorder and how she weaponized it into a powerful self-fulfilling tool.

“When I found out I was bipolar, I went into treatment because I wanted to be happy. I wanted to enjoy my existence.” Lewis said. “And I have sustained in this business because I became more than the business, I became a person who found out what life was really all about, and life is about self-love. I went and helped myself. I’m on top of the world because I know who I am. By coming into being a whole person, that’s the majesty. That’s the glory and the hallelujah.”

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To find out more about the 26th Annual Satellite Awards:

The Power of the Dog was the overall winner with five awards, including Best Director for Jane Campion and four acting awards, three individual and for the film’s ensemble. tick, tick…BOOM! was triple crowned for: Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical and Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical and sound mixing and sound editing. While Dune picked up four wins for: Score, Sound, Cinematography, and Visual Effects.

Here is the complete list of winners below:

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Mary Pickford Award: Tom Skerritt

Tesla Award: Joan Collins

Auteur Award: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Humanitarian Award: Val Kilmer

Honorary Satellite Award: Jenifer Lewis

Breakthrough Performance: Artur Amanaliev

MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Belfast (Focus Features)

MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

tick, tick… Boom! (Netflix)

ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE DRAMA

Kristen Stewart — Spencer (Neon)

ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE DRAMA

Benedict Cumberbatch — The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alana Haim — Licorice Pizza (MGM)

ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Andrew Garfield — tick, tick… Boom! (Netflix)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Kirsten Dunst — The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Kodi Smit-McPhee — The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

MOTION PICTURE, INTERNATIONAL

Drive My Car (Japan)

MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED OR MIXED MEDIA

Encanto (Walt Disney)

MOTION PICTURE, DOCUMENTARY

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures)

DIRECTOR

Jane Campion — The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL

Kenneth Branagh — Belfast (Focus Features)

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED

Sian Heder — CODA (Apple Original Films)

ORIGINAL SCORE

Hans Zimmer-Dune (Warner Bros / HBO Max)

ORIGINAL SONG

“Colombia, Mi Encanto,” Lin-Manuel Miranda — Encanto (Walt Disney)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Greig Fraser — Dune (Warner Bros / HBO Max)

FILM EDITING

Joe Walker — Dune (Warner Bros / HBO Max)

SOUND (EDITING AND MIXING)

tick, tick… Boom! — Paul Hsu, Todd A. Maitland (Netflix)

VISUAL EFFECTS

Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer — Dune (Warner Bros.)

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION DESIGN

Stefan Dechant — The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24)

COSTUME DESIGN

Massimo Cantini Parrini — Cyrano (United Artists Releasing)

Best First Feature: Halle Berry — Bruised

Ensemble: The Power of the Dog

Stunt Performance Award: The Suicide Squad

TELEVISION

MINISERIES & LIMITED SERIES

Mare of Easttown (HBO)

MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Oslo (HBO)

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Kate Winslet — Mare of Easttown (HBO)

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Ewan McGregor — Halston (Netflix)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES & LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Lisa Edelstein — The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES & LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Evan Peters — Mare of Easttown (HBO)

TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

Squid Game (Netflix)

TELEVISION SERIES, GENRE

WandaVision (Disney+)

ACTRESS IN A SERIES, DRAMA OR GENRE

Sarah Snook — Succession (HBO)

ACTOR IN A SERIES, DRAMA OR GENRE

Omar Sy — Lupin (Netflix)

TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

ACTRESS IN A SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jean Smart — Hacks (HBO)

ACTOR IN A SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jason Sudeikis — Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Ensemble: Succession

[Originally posted on Medium – The Black Cape]