DENVER, CO, Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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.
Attachments
- Global Down Syndrome Foundation Announces 2026 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show Lineup
- Global Down Syndrome Foundation Announces 2026 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show Lineup
Alex Lee Global Down Syndrome Foundation (720) 548-5631 alee@globaldownsyndrome.org Trisha Davis 818-640-9259 trishdavis0707@gmail.com