America Ferrera gives moving speech after receiving SeeHer honor at 29th Critics' Choice Awards

Actress America Ferrera was honored with the SeeHer Award at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 14, inside of the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport.

Presented to Herrera by her "Barbie" co-star, Margot Robbie, SeeHer is "a global movement dedicated to the accurate portrayal of women and girls in media and entertainment," the Australian actress said during her introductory speech.

"Receiving the SeeHer Award for my contributions to more authentic portrayals of women and girls couldn't be more meaningful to me, because I grew up as a first generation Honduran American girl in love with TV, film and theater who desperately wanted to be a part of a storytelling legacy I could not see myself reflected in," Ferrera, 39, said. "Of course, I could feel myself in characters who were strong and complex, but these characters rarely, if ever, looked like me. I yearned to see people like myself onscreen as full humans.

"It seemed impossible that anyone could make a career portraying fully dimensional Latina characters," she continued. "But because of writers, directors, producers and executives who were daring enough to rewrite outdated stories and to challenge deeply-entrenched biases, I and some of my beloved Latina colleagues have been supremely blessed to bring to life some fierce and fantastic women."

Ferrera, a married mother of two, was born in Los Angeles to Honduran immigrants. She made her film debut in 2002, starring as Ana Garcia in "Real Women Have Curves."

Ferrera's long list of honors includes the 2007 Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her starring role as Betty Suarez on the hit TV show "Ugly Betty." At Sunday's Critics' Choice ceremony, she was one of the nominees for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gloria in "Barbie."

The L.A. native is a part of the generation of Latinas in Hollywood that includes Dania Ramirez, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Saldaña and Michelle Rodriguez.

In her speech, she acknowledged Selena Gomez, Jenna Ortega and her onscreen daughter in "Barbie," Ariana Greenblatt, as three of the younger-generation Latinas who're making their mark in American film and TV.

"To me, this is the best and highest use of storytelling: To affirm one another's full humanity, to uphold the truth that we are all worthy of being seen," said Ferrera, who co-starred in 2023's "Dumb Money: The GameStop Story."

"Black, brown, indigenous, Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender - we are all worthy of having our lives richly and authentically reflected," she added.

To conclude her time onstage, Ferrera also dedicated the SeeHer Award to those who're no different than she was as a child growing up in L.A.

"This is for every kid yearning to break in," she said. "I see you, and you got this. Thank you. Good night."