POWER UP has announced The 12th Annual “Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz” and the 4th annual “Amazing Gay Men in Showbiz” Award recipients. 

Each year, the award recognizes 10 Amazing Gay Women and 10 Amazing Gay Men working, creating and changing lives as they continue their way up the ladder of success. The awards will be presented at the Power Premiere Celebrity Gala in Hollywood on November 4, 2012.

POWER UP, launched in 2000, “is a non-profit film production company and educational organization that develops, finances, produces and distributes GLBTQ films; conducts tremendously successful educational programs through our hands-on filmmaking mentorships, classes, workshops and seminars; and unifies and validates GLBTQ persons all around the world via our films.”

Since its inception POWER UP has produced several award-winning, beloved queer films including the shorts Promtroversy, Little Black Boot and Billy’s Dad is  a Fudgepacker and the feature film Itty Bitty Titty Committee. Past POWER UP honorees include Rose Troche, Cherry Jones, Guinevere Turner, Ilene Chaiken, Jane Lynch and Jamie Babbit. 

The 10 Amazing Gay Women in Show Business for 2012 are Michele Abbott, co-creator of The L Wordand commercial producer; The Real L Word’sKacy Boccamini, who is Director at Sony Pictures Home Ent. Digital Client Operations; Emmy-nominated composer Miriam Cutler; Grammy-nominated recording artist Sophie B. Hawkins; commercial talent agency owner Sheila Di Marco, director of legal at Sony Electronics Tristian Higgens: Hawaii Five-0sound supervisor Aynee Osborn; 8 Simple Rules and Hope and Faithdirector Lynn McCracken; Vice President of Production and Development for After Dark Films Lucy Mukerjee; and Sassypants director Coley Sohn.

Upon learning she was one of the honoress Hawkins said, “My goal as an artist is to inspire people to live their truth, so it is amazing to be honored by POWER UP for living mine. Thank you!”

The 10 Amazing Gay Men in Show Business for 2012 are co-presidents of Roadside Attractions Howard Cohen and Eric D’Arbeloff; publicist Jim Dobson; writer and Co-Chair of the Writer’s Guild of America’s Gay and Lesbian Writer’s Committee Gary Goldstein; Editor-in-Chief of Greg in Hollywood Greg Hernandez; producers Dan Ireland and Larry Kennar; attorney Jamie Mandelbaum; producer and Outfest’s Director of Individual Giving Christopher Racster; Emmy-nominated writer and director Guy Shalem.

Follow SheWired on Twitter!

Follow SheWired on Facebook!