"But, more seriously, I think I’m being given this award because of who Belle is and what she represents. The villagers in our fairytale wanted to make Belle believe the world was smaller than the way that she saw it — with fewer opportunities for her. That her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation. I loved playing someone who didn’t listen to any of that. I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love, the way that this one does. I want to thank Linda Woolverton for writing the original Belle and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont for writing what the animated movie was based on. And Paige O’Hara for playing Belle in the original.