Kicking back with Rose Byrne

Rose Byrne (center) and members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals do a kick line.

Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Jacob Sweet

Harvard Staff Writer

February 18, 2026 3 min read

Australian actress feted, roasted as Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year

Spectators in Harvard Square looked on with a mix of confusion, amusement, and appreciation last week as the Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society honored actress Rose Byrne with a parade down Massachusetts Avenue. As the Pudding’s 2026 Woman of the Year, Byrne rode slowly down the street in a Bentley convertible — flanked by costumed students, kazoo players, and people squeezing rubber chickens.

Byrne, a Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for her leading role in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” waved to fans on her jaunt. Also known for her performances in “Bridesmaids,” “Insidious,” and “Neighbors,” the Australian actress had a whirlwind day at Harvard, which included a roast by members of the Pudding, a press conference, and a viewing of the Theatricals’ 177th production, “Salooney Tunes.”

The roast, co-hosted by Pudding President Daisy Nussbaum and Cast Vice President Isabel Wilson, praised Byrne’s versatility while poking fun at, among other subjects, the box-office numbers for “If I Had Legs,” her lack of Oscar win (to this point), and her American accent.

Isabel Wilson (left) ’26 and Daisy Nussbaum ’26 flank Byrne in the Mass Avenue parade.

Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer

Byrne looks at the plaque featuring names of past Woman of the Year awardees.

Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer

The Harvard Krokodiloes serenade Byrne.

Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer

A wedding scene offers a nod to Bryne’s 2011 comedy “Bridesmaids.”

Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Weston Lewin ’26 (left) and John Kulow ’26 make it official as Byrne displays her Pudding Pot.

Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Playfully referencing the praise Byrne has received for dramatic roles, the Pudding had her read through a heart-wrenching scene alongside an undergraduate dressed as a rabbit. “How am I supposed to stay calm when you’re ruining our lives?” she demanded, as the rabbit struggled to articulate why he had returned so late from work.

After teasing Byrne for her longtime relationship with actor Bobby Cannavale (the two call themselves married, though they are not, officially), Nussbaum and Wilson conducted a brief ceremony that joined Byrne and the Hasty Pudding’s prize, a pudding pot, as husband and wife.

“I want to start these vows by acknowledging that you are way out of my league,” Byrne said, reading from a script. “I am also a little bit upset that before me, you were with 75 other women, including Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Coolidge, Julia Roberts, Liza Minnelli, Cher, and the list goes on.”

After the roast, Byrne took questions from the media. She had not, she said, started writing an acceptance speech for a potential Academy Award. She claimed that playing Linda from “If I Had Legs” was a creative highlight of her career, and responded to another question that she prepares for comedic and dramatic roles in the same rigorous way.

Asked how she was feeling during this award season, she said that it was meaningful that a complex film with a relatively low budget garnered such support. “I think it really will live on,” she said, “and it’s very fearless and sort of radical. And I’m really proud of that.”

Despite the silliness of the roast, Byrne joked that the time on stage — and her mini-performance — might help her prepare for her upcoming role in the Broadway revival of the comedy “Fallen Angels.”

“It was actually fun being on the stage and doing a little scene,” she said. “I was like, ‘Maybe I can still do this!’”