Lively attended the Time100 Gala, taking place at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with her husband Ryan Reynolds. The couple walked the red carpet together, shared some goofy moments as they usually do, and Reynolds eagerly stepped away to let Lively be photographed solo.

It’s well known that Blake Lively styles herself, and she has quite the signature red carpet formula. You’ll catch her in sexy Versace couture gowns as often as you will Chanel knits, Stella McCartney suits and denim, and super romantic Tamara Ralph dresses. This Zuhair Murad gown, with its structured bodice and vintage Vivienne Westwood aesthetic, is a return to the Lively school of special event dressing, via the prom committee.

Others in attendance being honored included Demi Moore, Serena Williams, Kristen Bell, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Scherzinger, and Simone Biles.

Taking to the stage at the gala, Lively said it was a “significant responsibility” to be described as “influential” in the current landscape. “How we use that matters. Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters.” She said that the woman who influenced her most was her mother Willie Elaine McAlpin, who she said was the “survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman.”

And while Lively has been largely avoiding public speaking amid her ongoing legal dispute with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, there was somewhat of an acknowledge in her speech. “I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum,” she said.

“I know the superpower of female triumph though. I have touched it, shaken hands with it,” she went on. “I’m looking at it in this room here right now. These are the happy endings we must see as women and girls. We can make it to the end alive, physically or emotionally, and we will and we do, and we thrive. Even when it doesn’t feel possible. Even when we are in sharp pain. Never underestimate a woman’s ability to endure pain. Life’s just a bowl of cherries.”