On Feb. 6, Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening graced the Boston area with her presence to accept her award as the 74th Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. Bening, who got her start in theater, called her day in Cambridge “the day of a lifetime” before jokingly adding that of all the honors she’s received, “this one is the least.” Hasty Pudding Theatricals is a student theatrical society at Harvard University, known for its Man and Woman of the Year awards, and being the oldest theater organization in the United States.  .

The evening started with a performance from the Hasty Pudding troupe in honor of Bening, who came onstage donning a pinstripe suit. The performance was lighthearted, with the cast playfully roasting Bening — making a notable dig at the age-gap between her and her husband, Warren Beatty. Bening was also tasked with completing several activities onstage such as giving a cast member her signature short haircut, paying homage to some of her past projects (such as “American Beauty” and “The Seagull”) and fighting with her “doppleganger” to win an “Oscar.”

The performance ended with Bening being awarded an “Oscar” and the coveted, prestigious golden Hasty Pudding pot. In her acceptance speech, Bening thanked no one — stating, “I did it all myself with no one’s help.”

In line with the spirit of Bening’s new film, “NYAD,” she noted that “a strong woman is a flawed woman, a woman with vulnerabilities,” and that “there isn’t a point at which a woman stops evolving.”

Bening isn’t the first member of her family to snag a pudding Pot – her sister-in-law, Shirley MacLaine, won back in 1963 after her performance in the Robert Wise film “Two for the Seesaw.” Her husband Warren Beatty won HP Man of the Year in 1975. 

Bening also extended some (serious) advice to her younger self, encouraging young people in the film industry today, to “stay true to what inspires you — maintain a certain amount of privacy… keep something of yourself to yourself, and the people that you love and the people that you trust.” 

Going forward, Bening plans to keep pushing herself — and not just with the athletic challenges she undertook with creating “NYAD.” She also reflected on her experiences at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco after attending community college, expressing her enduring passion for theater and thanks to her ACT instructors. “So much of acting is just receiving,” she said, “taking in what is happening.”