John Travolta’s only daughter was full of praise for her dad as she honored him with a lifetime achievement award in Washington, D.C.
Ella Bleu Travolta presented the Saturday Night Fever star with the Cultural Icon Award at the inaugural Dwight D. Opperman Excellence in Leadership Awards at the Library of Congress on November 1.
“For the past 26 years, I’ve had a front row seat to someone who has never lost their excitement for life. Someone who continues to learn and has a passion to learn. Someone who gives without ever expecting anything in return. Someone who is kind,” Ella, 26, said on stage. “So while the world celebrates a cultural icon, my brother Ben and I get to celebrate our hero. Congratulations, Dad.”
Travolta, 72, was recognized for shaping “culture, justice, diplomacy and the lives of children worldwide.” The event also honored the late Dolly Parton, former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Reema Bandar Al-Saud.
“I didn’t want to just entertain an audience; I wanted to invite them to feel that whatever I was doing was also possible for them to do as well,” the two-time Oscar nominee said during his acceptance speech. “They could dance, they could sing, they could stand up to a bully or even just stand up for their rights.”
Travolta also referenced his love of flying airplanes, while mentioning his character from his 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter.
“I guess that even goes for aviation,” the Pulp Fiction actor added. “I figure someone must have said, well, if Vinny Barbarino can pilot a 747, I could too!”
Ella is one of three children Travolta shared with his late wife, Kelly Preston, who died of breast cancer in 2020 at age 57. Their first child, Jett, died at age 16 from a seizure. Their youngest child, Benjamin, is 15.
Ella made her acting debut with her dad in 2009’s Old Dogs, and they also shared the screen in 2019’s The Poison Rose. The father-daughter chemistry continued as Travolta cast his daughter in the lead role of his 2026 directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which is now streaming on Apple TV. They will also appear together in the upcoming action thriller, Black Tides.
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