Actress Rose Byrne To Serve As Hasty Pudding’s 2026 Woman of the Year

Golden Globe Award-winning actress Rose Byrne will serve as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2026 Woman of the Year, the student theater group announced Wednesday afternoon.

Byrne earned her first Oscar nod earlier this month, receiving a Best Actress nomination for her role in the 2025 film “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” She also received two Emmy nominations for her role in the FX series Damages, and has starred in hit comedies, including Bridesmaids and Instant Family.

“We are thrilled to honor Rose Byrne as our Woman of the Year,” HPT President Daisy M. Nussbaum ’26 wrote in a press release. “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.”

Each year, Hasty Pudding Theatricals selects one male and female celebrity to serve as Man and Woman of the Year, respectively. The honorees are presented with a ceremonial Pudding Pot and roasted by members of the theater company, which is composed entirely of Harvard undergraduates. This year’s Man of the Year, actor Michael Keaton, is scheduled to be roasted on Feb. 6.

Last year’s Woman of the Year — Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo — drew crowds of spectators as she and members of HPT paraded down Massachusetts Avenue last February.

Byrne will be honored with a parade of her own on Feb. 13, before Hasty Pudding Theatricals bestows her with a Pudding Pot. While on campus, Byrne is also expected to attend this year’s musical comedy production, Salooney Tunes.

The celebration was originally scheduled for Jan. 30, but was postponed due to “travel difficulties” with last weekend’s winter storm, according to an email sent to a ticketholder obtained by The Crimson.

Nussbaum did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the delay.

The group wrote in its Wednesday press release that they are “proud to celebrate a truly unique and impactful presence in the world of entertainment.”

“Rose may have been a bridesmaid, but now it’s her turn to walk down the aisle… or should we say, parade through Harvard Square?” HPT Producer Cate Schwarz ’27 said in the press release. “After fighting demons and zombies, we’re sure Rose is well prepared to earn her pudding pot.”

—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at csimon.13. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.