LOS ANGELES, CA (November 5, 2025) – Emmy Award-winning actress and advocate Sheryl Lee Ralph brought together some of the entertainment industry’s most inspiring voices for the 35th Annual DIVAS Simply Singing! Raising Health Awareness Gala, held on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at the elegant Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, California. DIVAS Simply Singing! is The DIVA Foundation’s signature fundraising event that supports vital programs that promote health awareness.
Hosted and produced by Ralph and The DIVA Foundation, her trailblazing nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting, educating, and empowering through artistic activism, the milestone event honored three and a half decades of DIVAS Simply Singing!, a cultural touchstone that continues to use music and community to promote health awareness and celebrate resilience.
“We’re really excited to partner with Sheryl and the DIVA Foundation to celebrate the 35th anniversary of DIVAS Simply Singing, ” said Shreya Jani, Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs at Gilead Sciences. “For over three decades, this gala has been a powerful platform for raising health awareness while honoring lives impacted by HIV. Sheryl’s ability to use storytelling and the arts to educate and uplift communities is incredible and resonates with Gilead’s mission to end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere.”
Now celebrating its 35th consecutive year, DIVAS Simply Singing! Raising Health Awareness is the longest-running HIV/AIDS and health awareness benefit concert in the United States. Founded in response to the early days of the AIDS crisis, Ralph’s vision has evolved into a movement that bridges art and advocacy, joy and justice.
The 2025 gala, made possible by the generous support of presenting sponsor Gilead Sciences, delivered an unforgettable evening filled with powerful performances, heartfelt tributes, and calls to action, reminding guests that music can entertain and heal.
Honoring Voices of Vision, Courage, and Legacy
This year’s gala honored extraordinary leaders and transformative change-makers through The DIVA Honors—visionary individuals whose lives and work illuminate The DIVA Foundation’s enduring mission of service, empowerment, and compassion.
Rev. Debra Fraser-Howze proudly accepted the DIVA Honors Inaugural Visionary Award, presented by Deborah Telman, executive vice president of corporate affairs and general counsel at Gilead Sciences. This prestigious award underscores her groundbreaking advocacy and unwavering leadership in HIV/AIDS awareness and health equity.
Entertainment icons Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. proudly received The DIVA Honors Legacy of Love Humanitarian Honor, sponsored by AARP and presented by Sheryl Lee Ralph, in recognition of their decades-long dedication to music, love, and philanthropy.
Jewel Thais-Williams was posthumously honored with The DIVA Honors Ivy Ralph Legend of Distinction Award by Ivy Victoria Maurice, recognizing her as a formidable community activist, wellness pioneer, and founder of the historic Catch One nightclub. Her family accepted this well-deserved accolade on her behalf, celebrating her extraordinary legacy.
Dr. Maya Green, Chief Medical Officer of Onyx Medical Wellness (Chicago, IL), was honored with The DIVA Honors Wellness Warrior Award by William Stanford Davis and Dr. Angelica Geter for her significant contributions to public health, HIV care, and health justice.
Brandee Evans and Etienne Maurice honored Lula Washington, choreographer and founder of the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, with The DIVA Honors Artistic Activism Award, celebrating her lifelong commitment to using the arts as a powerful platform for social change.
In true DIVAS Simply Singing! fashion, the evening’s stage came alive with a breathtaking lineup of talent, laughter, and musical brilliance:
“For thirty-five years, we have been singing for our lives, health, and community,” said Sheryl Lee Ralph, reflecting on the gala’s enduring impact. “The DIVA Foundation has always stood for love in action. This night is about honoring the people and the purpose that keeps that song alive.”
Founded in 1990 by Emmy® Award-winner and humanitarian Sheryl Lee Ralph as a memorial to the many friends she lost to HIV/AIDS while performing in the original Broadway company of Dreamgirls, The DIVA Foundation is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering vulnerable communities through the transformative power of the arts.
For more than thirty years, the DIVA Foundation has produced creative content and community-based programs that raise awareness, challenge stigma, and advance health equity—particularly for those impacted by HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Through music, entertainment, storytelling, and televised specials, the DIVA Foundation inspires individuals to take action, communities to get involved, and systems to change. Learn more at www.diva.foundation.
