Barbra Streisand has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award, according to The Washington Post. The superstar will receive the honor April 22 at a ceremony held at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
The award, which Ginsberg established with her friend, philanthropist Julie Opperman, 18 months before her death, honors “women who strove to change society in positive ways.”
“She wanted to honor women of great passion and achievement,” Opperman tells the paper. “She wanted it to be women in the RBG tradition. I’m pleased to say Barbra Streisand was among them.”
“Women everywhere have benefited from the brilliance and courage of the Hon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Streisand said in a statement to the paper. “She is an inspiration to us all. She devoted her life to advancing equality and justice, and the world is a better place for it." She added, "I am so deeply honored to receive an award in the name of such an extraordinary woman, American hero and an icon to the world.”
Previous winners of the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award include arts patron Agnes Gund, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and Queen Elizabeth II.