June Squibb JC Olivera/Getty Images
Actress June Squibb has some fun plans in store for her upcoming 95th birthday.
“There’s two different parties and my agent is taking me to lunch on my birthday,” Squibb, 94 exclusively told Us Weekly at the Newport Beach Film Festival Honors Brunch held at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort on Sunday, October 20. “I got a lot going on.”
Squibb was honored at the awards event as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The actress began her Hollywood career in the late ‘80s and late ‘90s before scoring a Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar nomination in 2014 for the movie Nebraska, among other accolades for her part in the 2013 film.
Despite her lengthy career, Squibb only recently took on her first leading role in the movie Thelma, which premiered in June. The action comedy stars Squibb as a grandmother who embarks on a mission to reclaim the $10,000 she lost to a scammer over the phone.
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Squibb told Us that she hopes her role in Thelma inspires other actors to not give up on their dreams. “It’s never too late,” she stated. “Just keep going. Keep doing what you want to do. It might happen. It might not, but you’ll have fun always.”
Squibb was joined at the Newport Beach Film Festival Honors Brunch by her Lost & Found in Cleveland costars Benjamin Steinhauser and Dot-Marie Jones. The movie, which made its world premiere at the festival on Saturday, October 19, follows five people over the course of one day as a popular antiques appraisal TV show comes to town.
“I’ve known June for quite a few years, because of Glee and she did Chris Colfer’s film,” Jones, 60, told Us on Sunday. “Just knowing her over the years, I was so excited when I saw her name on the call sheet. She’s so kind and so gracious and so present. God bless her.”
June Squibb Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Newport Beach Film Festival
Jones continued: “I wish I had her memory right now. It’s, like, an acting class watching that woman act every day. It’s not even acting. She’s so natural. She’s incredible. It was really incredible to get to work with her. We’ve already seen Thelma and she is phenomenal.”
Steinhauser described Squibb as “one of those few people that when you meet her, you’re not going to meet anyone like her,” adding, “She’s going to be one of those people that you’re going to meet, and you don’t have anyone else that you can fit with her, because there’s not going to be one person that has the same personality, the same experiences, everything. You’re not going to find that. So that’s why I really love June, and if we’re honoring her, I’m definitely going to try and be there.”
Squibb reflected on finding career success later in life in an interview with The Guardian earlier this year. “Each role is to me an opportunity to get better, to learn something. Each one is an adventure,” she told the outlet in July. “Though I don’t feel I have to prove myself anymore — I’ve grown out of that.”
With reporting by Mike Vulpo