'He said to honor my people': Tiffany Haddish wears Eritrean gown on Oscars red carpet in memory of late father... who predicted she'd make it
She shot to stardom last year in the smash hit comedy Girls Trip.
But Tiffany Haddish's dress had a solemn significance when she attended the Oscars red carpet at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on Sunday.
The 38-year-old's traditional Eritrean gown - with its complementary wrap - was a nod to her late father Tsehaye Haddish, who was from the African nation, she told ABC.
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Tribute: Tiffany Haddish's dress had a solemn significance when she attended the Oscars red carpet at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on Sunday
She said to the news network, according to People: 'He said one day I would end up here and if I ever ended up at the Oscars to honor my people so I’m honoring my fellow Eritreans.'
Tiffany visited Eritrea in January after her father's death and told the local TesfaNews: 'By the time I walked in the shores of the Red Sea, I got emotional.'
The stand-up comic, who for much of her life had a troubled relationship with her father, said: 'I finally felt at home. I told myself that this is where I should have been a long time ago. The Red Sea water made me feel great.'
Family matters: The 38-year-old's Eritrean gown - with its complementary wrap - was a nod to her late father Tsehaye Haddish, who was from the African nation, she told ABC
'It felt like my heart was being healed. I have been through so much, and for long, I have been trying to figure out who I am. Now I have a better understanding of why I am on this earth and what my purpose is.'
Sunday night's Academy Awards are being hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who also served as compere for the ceremony last year.
The nominees for Best Picture include Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape Of Water.
Rise of an icon: She shot to stardom last year in the smash hit comedy Girls Trip
Jordan Peele's acclaimed Get Out, Joe Wright's Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour and Greta Gerwig's directorial debut Lady Bird also have Best Picture nods.
So too does Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, which has a screenplay by A Room With A View director James Ivory of Merchant Ivory fame.
Paul Thomas Anderson's historical romance drama Phantom Thread is also up for Best Picture nod, as does Steven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers film The Post.
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