Amanda Seyfried to Receive Actress Award at Palm Springs Film Awards for The Testament of Ann Lee

For her performance in The Testament of Ann Lee, Amanda Seyfried will receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress at the Palm Springs International Film Awards.

From award-winning writer-director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come, The Brutalist) The Testament of Ann Lee tells the story of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.

Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shaker’s irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The Testament of Ann Lee captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia, featuring more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movements with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall (Vox Lux) and original songs and score by Academy Award winner Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist).

Also starring in the film are Thomasin Mckenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn, Jamie Bogyo, David Cale, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Abbott.

“In The Testament of Ann Lee, Amanda Seyfried delivers a masterful performance – one that is haunting in its emotional intensity and profoundly human in its truth,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Across her remarkable career, she has continued to evolve, take bold risks, and elevate every story she inhabits. We are honored to present her with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress.”

Seyfried will next star in The Housemaid, a psychological thriller from Lionsgate based on Freida McFadden’s New York Times-bestselling novel. The film is set for release Dec. 19, 2025.

Last year’s recipient of the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress was Angelina Jolie for her performance in Maria. Past honorees also include Emma Stone, Cate Blanchett, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Marion Cotillard, Viola Davis, Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Renée Zellweger, who all went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Seyfried joins the other honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award), Leonardo DiCaprio (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Ethan Hawke (Career Achievement Award), Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award), Hamnet director Chloé Zhao as well as actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal (Vanguard Award) and Sentimental Value cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award).

The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the Palm Springs International Film Festival running January 2-12, 2026.