Archive for the ‘Be Beautiful Be Yourself’ Category

Menounos and Garcia to receive GLOBAL’s highest honor as celebrities unite to support life-changing research and care at the world’s largest Down syndrome fundraiser

DENVER, CO – Sept. 29, 2026 – The Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL) is thrilled to announce that Academy Award-winning actor and disability inclusion advocate Geena Davis has joined an extraordinary celebrity lineup for its 2026 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show on Saturday, November 7, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.

A celebrated actor, author, producer and advocate, Davis has spent more than two decades pushing Hollywood to tell fuller, truer stories. In 2004, she founded the Geena Davis Institute, a research organization that measures who appears on screen and how, then works directly with studios and creators to close the gaps. What began as a focus on gender has grown to include people with disabilities and other communities too often left out of the picture. That mission is closely aligned with the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, where models with Down syndrome take center stage.

Maria Menounos and Kennedy Garcia will receive the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, GLOBAL’s highest honor, at the event, the largest Down syndrome fundraiser in the world. The Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award is named for the late music legend and longtime friend of the Sie/Whitten family and a devoted GLOBAL supporter, Quincy Jones. It recognizes individuals whose advocacy has meaningfully improved the lives of people with Down syndrome.

Menounos is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, TV personality, actor, New York Times best-selling author and digital entrepreneur. Her career includes becoming the youngest host of Entertainment Tonight, conducting the only sit-down interview with the Obama family and founding AfterBuzz TV, the streaming network that popularized digital TV after-shows. She is also a long-time supporter of Special Olympics and Best Buddies. Today she hosts the Noovie cinema pre-show, guest hosts Live with Kelly and Mark and hosts the daily podcast Heal Squad x Maria Menounos. The podcast is dedicated to helping others heal and improve their lives, a mission inspired by her own survival of brain tumor surgery.

Garcia made history as the first person with Down syndrome to have a recurring role on American daytime television, playing Felicity Greene on Days of Our Lives since 2024. She was discovered by American Girl as the brand’s first model with Down syndrome. Since then, she has appeared in campaigns for Disney, Instagram and McDonald’s, including the company’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign, and her acting credits include 9-1-1, Sesame Street and the award-winning short film Brownies. Garcia is an ambassador for Best Buddies International and Breaking the Chains Foundation and has spoken at more than 100 schools and colleges nationwide about inclusion, friendship and authentic disability representation.

“Every year, I am moved by the remarkable people who choose to stand with GLOBAL and the awesome people with Down syndrome we serve,” says Michelle Sie Whitten, President and CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. “Geena, Maria and Kennedy truly believe in GLOBAL’s work to increase lifespan and dramatically improve health outcomes and frankly we couldn’t do it without them and our celebrities who show up every year.”

“The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show is joyful, glamorous and, I would even go as far as to say, magical. But it also raises life-saving funds that have helped drive historic progress, including a 10-year increase in life expectancy for people with Down syndrome,” continues Whitten. “As a parent, I cannot think of anything more important than 10 more birthdays. And our work is not done. We need another 10 years — and we need those years to be healthier. We’re so grateful to everyone helping us change the future for good.”

This year’s newly announced guests join first-time and returning celebrity supporters: six-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor; NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis; award-winning actor John C. McGinley; Grey’s Anatomy actors Caterina Scorsone, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho and Anthony Hill; actors Beverley Mitchell, Max Carver and Shelley Hennig; actor and model Amanda Booth; co-emcees and 9NEWS anchors Kim Christiansen and Phil Lipof; and Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Naomi and Renee.

The evening will also celebrate 2026 GLOBAL Ambassador Letizia Napoleone and is co-chaired by Edit & Tamas Viski-Hanka and Alexandra & Sean Swierczewski.

The 2026 event comes at a pivotal moment for GLOBAL’s government advocacy. The foundation is leading the bipartisan DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act, named for the late GLOBAL Ambassador DeOndra Dixon, sister of GLOBAL supporter and Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning artist Jamie Foxx. The bill must be passed by the end of 2026 and would formally authorize the Down syndrome research program at the NIH called the INCLUDE Project.

When GLOBAL was founded, NIH funding was just $14 million a year. GLOBAL’s bipartisan advocacy resulted in the NIH INCLUDE Project in 2018, launching a renaissance in Down syndrome research that has driven more than $528 million in research investment over the past eight years.

The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, now in its 19th year, is the largest Down syndrome fundraiser in the world, and a major contributor to GLOBAL’s transformative work. More than 1,400 guests come together each year for an unforgettable evening featuring celebrities, inspiring models with Down syndrome, dinner, live and silent auctions, and powerful stories that celebrate the extraordinary contributions of people with Down syndrome.

Proceeds from the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show support the important work of GLOBAL and GLOBAL’s affiliates, including a team of more than 400 scientists working on breakthrough life-saving research at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the CU Alzheimer’s & Cognition Center; a dream team of medical professionals providing excellent medical care to more than 2,700 patients from 40 states, Puerto Rico and 10 countries at the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the GLOBAL Adult Clinic at Denver Health.    

To learn more, visit: https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/ and follow us on social media for updates: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.    

To sponsor a table or buy tickets, visit: https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/be-beautiful-be-yourself-fashion-show-tables/ or https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/be-beautiful-be-yourself-fashion-show-tickets/.    

For celebrity interviews, additional information, imagery, or to cover the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, please contact trishdavis0707@gmail.com. For more information on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, please visit www.globaldownsyndrome.org.

Ambassador Letizia Napoleone and Co-Chairs Edit & Tamas Viski-Hanka and Alexandra & Sean Swierczewski to be honored at GLOBAL’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show on Nov. 7

DENVER, CO – July 30, 2026 – Today, Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL) announced celebrities and honorees for their 19^th annual Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show – the largest Down syndrome fundraiser in the world.

The award-winning event will feature NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis, renowned film and TV actor, Scrubs & Rooster star John C. McGinley; beloved actress from the longest primetime TV drama on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy Caterina Scorsone; model and actress Amanda Booth; and award-winning local NBC anchors Kim Christiansen and Phil Lipof, who will emcee the event. GLOBAL expects to announce the full star-studded roster of celebrities and honorees in September. The mission-driven fundraiser, which sells out every year, will be held on Saturday, November 7^th at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.

“What GLOBAL and its affiliates have accomplished in research and medical care is nothing short of remarkable,” says Award-Winning Actor John C. McGinley. “They’ve helped transform Down syndrome research around the world and changed what’s possible for people with Down syndrome. As a GLOBAL Board member and father of my amazing son, Max, knowing we’ve helped increase life expectancy and improve health outcomes is incredibly meaningful. If you want to support an organization making a real difference every day, join us at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show and support GLOBAL.”

Proceeds from the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show support GLOBAL’s mission to elongate life and significantly improve health outcomes for people with Down syndrome. With financial and advocacy support from this event, GLOBAL’s work has led to a 10-year increase in lifespan for people with Down syndrome, from 50 years in 2009 to 60 years today.

GLOBAL’s accomplishments include successfully advocating with Congress that has led to the first National Institutes of Health-wide Down syndrome research program focused on co-occurring conditions such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, immune system disorders and more. Together with its Affiliates, GLOBAL established and supports the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, which has made major breakthroughs that are improving health span and lifespan, and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado, which provides specialized care to more than 2,700 pediatric patients from 40 states and 10 countries while setting the standard in translational research. GLOBAL also created and published the first evidence-based medical care guidelines for adults with Down syndrome.

“We are thrilled that our Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show received three ICON awards last year,” says GLOBAL President & CEO, Michelle Sie Whitten. “Celebrating and showcasing what people with Down syndrome can do is important but making sure we have the funds to ensure we gain another ten years of life, and quality of life, is our ultimate goal. We couldn’t do this without the celebrities and honorees who give so generously of their time. We’re so excited to share GLOBAL Ambassador Letizia’s incredible story and to honor our Co-chairs, who are working so hard to make sure the event is a financial success. We are so touched that they have taken on this role in memory of my dear mom.”  

The 2026 GLOBAL Ambassador, Letizia Napoleone, is a vibrant 23-year-old woman with Down syndrome who lives and works in New York City and is pursuing her acting education at Epic Players. An accomplished actor, model, and performer, she has appeared in campaigns for Clinique and London Fashion Week, been featured in Wallpaper and Harper’s Bazaar UK, and continues to build her career in film and the performing arts. Fluent in both Italian and English, Letizia embodies the international sprit of GLOBAL. She is also an accomplished athlete whose confidence, determination, and passion inspire everyone around her.

“I am so proud to be a GLOBAL Ambassador and to represent people with Down syndrome all over the world,” says Actor, Model and GLOBAL Ambassador Letizia Napoleone. “Fashion has given me the confidence to dream big, work hard and be myself. I hope everyone joins us at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show to celebrate our achievements, beauty, and capability as well as to emphasize that people with Down syndrome need longer and healthier lives to reach their true potential in an inclusive society.”

Longtime GLOBAL supporters Edit and Tamas Viski-Hanka are honored to serve as Co-Chairs of the year’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show alongside their daughter and son-in-law, Alexandra and Sean Swierczewski. Inspired by their cherished friendship with Anna and John Sie and years of witnessing GLOBAL’s transformative impact, the family is united by a shared commitment to advancing research, improving medical care, and creating a brighter future for people with Down syndrome.

“Our first Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show changed us forever,” says Co-Chair Edit Viski-Hanka. “The joy, love and spirit in that room were unlike anything we had ever experienced. Every year since, we’ve seen the extraordinary impact GLOBAL is making, through research, medical care, education and advocacy, and we are honored to help bring people together for an evening that truly changes lives.”

Each year, the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show recognizes two leaders with their highest honor, the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, who have gone above and beyond to raise awareness and make a tangible difference for people with Down syndrome.

Past recipients include Jamie Foxx, DeOndra Dixon, Jane Lynch, Kevin Iannucci, Woody Harrelson, Sofia Sanchez, Bobby Farrelly, Madison Tevlin, Caterina Scorsone, Eric Dane, Jamie Brewer, Colin Farrell, Tim Harris, John Lynch, Zack Gottsagen, John C. McGinley, Karen Gaffney, Eva Longoria, Frank Stephens, Kyra Phillips and more.

GLOBAL’s advocacy and lobbying efforts with Congress and outreach to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have resulted in an unprecedented increase of the national Down syndrome research budget, from $18 million in 2009 when GLOBAL was established to over $140 million today.

Proceeds from the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show support the important work of GLOBAL and GLOBAL’s affiliates, including a team of over 400 scientists working on breakthrough life-saving research at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the CU Alzheimer’s & Cognition Center; a dream team of medical professionals providing excellent medical care to over 2,700 patients from 40 states, Puerto Rico and 10 countries at the Anna and John J. Sie Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the GLOBAL Adult Clinic at Denver Health.

To learn more, visit: https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/ and follow us on social media for updates: Facebook, X, Instagram,  LinkedIn, and YouTube.

To sponsor a table or buy tickets, visit: https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/be-beautiful-be-yourself-fashion-show-tables/ or https://bebeautifulbeyourself.org/be-beautiful-be-yourself-fashion-show-tickets/.

For celebrity interviews, additional information, imagery, or to cover the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, please contact trishdavis0707@gmail.com, For more information on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, please visit www.globaldownsyndrome.org.