Hollywood’s Finest Warmed Up for the Oscars at the Annual Chanel and Charles Finch Dinner

“Let’s go baby,” announced Jessie Buckley as she arrived into the annual pre-Oscars dinner hosted by Chanel and Charles Finch at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Clicking her fingers and dancing along to ‘70s disco, the Best Actress contender was on cloud nine and radiating joy in her hues of celeste blue and jade. When asked if she was feeling tired—these stars have been on the awards season conveyor belt for 10 weeks now-she didn’t miss a beat before saying “Well, you can sleep when you’re dead!”

Indeed, the show must go on—in sickness and in health. Even a bout of kidney stones couldn’t convince Finch to cancel the Saturday night shindig, which he’s been co-hosting for 17 years: “I was writhing around on the floor in pain thinking, ‘What the f— am I doing, doing this party again? Am I crazy?’ But then you remember that actually, it’s a beautiful and joyous thing that we get to do here.”

A feather-adorned Rose Byrne, who was positively glowing after enjoying a nice pool day in the SoCal sun, was full of beans. “We hiked Runyon [Canyon] today as well,” she added, gesturing to Bobby Cannavale. As the Best Actress nominee had her portrait snapped, her husband sweetly captured the moment on his phone.

By 8:30 p.m., the courtyard outside the Polo Lounge was so packed with celebrities, you couldn’t swing a cat. The effervescent Teyana Taylor was causing a stir in thigh-high leather boots and a technicolor shearling coat that just debuted in Matthieu Blazy’s Paris outing five days ago. (Closing the loop on those viral videos of the actress, who styles herself, intently watching the runway looks and seemingly planning her next request.) On-screen couple of the moment, Love Story’s Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, were buzzing to reunite, it being the first Oscars weekend for them both. “I feel like a mermaid,” Pidgeon said of her periwinkle sequin slip from the Métiers d’art 2026 collection. “This color! It’s like toothpaste—but super chic toothpaste.”

Chanel’s fresh-faced young ambassadors Gracie Abrams and Lily-Rose Depp arrived in sync, with stylist Spencer Singer, whom they both work with, as their date. (Abrams’s father, the producer J.J. Abrams, was also spotted in the crowd.) Kristen Stewart was out in force too. The Chanel campaign and front row regular, her recent directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, is among the many indie films that Chanel has supported over the years.

Someone who’s no stranger to Oscars weekend, or this very party, is Nicole Kidman. The longtime friend of the house arrived at the bash in an embroidered skirt and jacket featuring adorable little ladybugs—a poignant choice as they’re a symbol that reminds her of her late mom. “I’m wearing my mama,” she declared, pointing them out. After laying eyes on Wagner Moura and his wife Sandra Delgado, she grasped his hands before telling him: “It’s a big, big weekend—good luck.”

Over Champagne and cocktails, the crowd swelled before moving inside for a seated dinner. Jeff and Lauren Bezos were there, as were Netflix’ Ted Sarandos, Al Pacino, Maya Rudolph, Jessica Alba, Elle Fanning, Harvey Keitel, Ava DuVernay, Ethan Hawke, Javier Bardem, Meg Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, John Mulaney and Olivia Munn, Sigourney Weaver, Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow and their daughter Maude, and Mick Jagger—for whom a crowd of screaming fans were waiting patiently outside on North Crescent Drive with posters for him to sign.

With just 150 seats in the restaurant, you could be guaranteed that everyone in attendance on Hollywood’s biggest weekend was someone. As the clock stretched later and later, they talked shop over plates of roast chicken and New York strip steak, finished off with the eatery’s famed candy floss-topped Marilyn Sundaes. But there was no getting carried away. Come 10:30 p.m., curfews were adhered to and guests obediently began to trickle out. Some people evidently need their beauty sleep after all.

Via: Vogue