For more than three decades, Michele and Rob Reiner were woven into the fabric of Brentwood. They raised their family here, lived in the same neighborhood home since 1991 and became part of the quiet rhythm of a community where familiar faces are often encountered far beyond red carpets and movie premieres. Rob may have been one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers, but in Brentwood, he and Michele were also neighbors, parents and friends—people whose warmth, generosity and concern for others extended far beyond the entertainment industry. When they tragically passed away last December, the loss reverberated throughout Los Angeles but felt especially personal here.
Now, nearly one year later, their lives will be remembered for the extraordinary good they put into the world. On November 8, Children’s Institute will present the inaugural Michele & Rob Reiner Champion for Change Award to actress Jamie Lee Curtis during its annual Cape & Gown Gala at The Beverly Wilshire. Created in partnership with the Reiners’ children, Jake and Romy, and Michele’s sister, Martine Singer—who serves as president and CEO of Children’s Institute—the award recognizes the couple’s lifelong commitment to children and families, civic leadership and the belief that meaningful change begins with compassion translated into action.
For Curtis, the recognition is intensely personal. The Reiners were not simply friends and colleagues; they were part of her family’s life for decades. Rob directed Curtis’ husband, Christopher Guest, in the beloved 1984 comedy This Is Spinal Tap, and Rob and Michele later became godparents to Curtis and Guest’s eldest daughter, Annie. Their relationship spanned marriages, children, creative milestones and years of friendship, giving Curtis an intimate understanding of who the Reiners were beyond their public achievements. “I am so deeply honored to receive this award as a testament to the extraordinary legacy that Michele and Rob shared with so many of us,” Curtis says. “They didn’t just create together. They lived a life of service, building something greater than themselves and giving so much to the world around them. And that is something worth honoring again and again.”
Curtis is a fitting first recipient not only because of that profound personal connection, but because her own life reflects the spirit of the award. The Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor has spent decades championing children, families and people in recovery through philanthropy, advocacy and storytelling. She is the author of 14 children’s books, including the bestsellers Today I Feel Silly and Big Words for Little People, and the founder of My Hand In Yours, a charitable initiative that has raised nearly $2 million for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Through her candor about her own experience with addiction and recovery, Curtis has also worked to reduce stigma and offer hope to individuals and families navigating similar struggles.
Less than two months before the gala, Curtis offered another deeply emotional remembrance at the Emmy Awards, after Rob received a posthumous Emmy for his guest performance on The Bear. The award arrived 48 years after his previous acting Emmy, miraculously breaking the record once held by his own father, Carl Reiner, for the longest span between acting wins. Closing the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute, Curtis fought back tears as she remembered “our beloved Meathead,” describing Rob as “generous and kind and funny as hell and a friend to all.”
“We all miss Rob and Michele,” she said.
Curtis’ selection as the inaugural honoree is therefore both a recognition of her own service and an intimate passing of the torch between friends. “The world needs so much more of what they gave us: their love, their courage and their joy,” Curtis says. “I am forever grateful to carry a small part of their legacy forward.” That legacy was deeply connected to family—both the one Michele and Rob created together and the very different personal histories that shaped them. The son of comedy legend Carl and actress and singer Estelle Reiner, Rob was born in the Bronx, raised in New Rochelle and came of age in Los Angeles after his family moved west when he was 13. He grew up surrounded by storytelling and some of Hollywood’s most influential creative voices, yet would ultimately use his own success to address issues far beyond entertainment. Michele’s worldview was shaped by a different family history. The eldest of three exceptionally close sisters, she grew up in New York under the care of her mother, Nicole Bernheim Silberkleit, a French-born Holocaust survivor. After the war, Silberkleit immigrated to the United States and built a new life with her three daughters, whose paths would differ but remain closely intertwined: Michele became a photographer, producer and activist; Suzanne worked in television before becoming a Reform rabbi; and Martine devoted her career to improving the lives of children and families.
When Martine became president and CEO of Children’s Institute in 2016, the organization’s mission naturally became part of Michele and Rob’s own commitment to children and families. For years, the Reiners supported Children’s Institute as donors, advocates and public champions of its work. Rob lent his voice and visibility to the organization, including serving as emcee of the Cape & Gown Gala, while he and Michele steadfastly supported its fundraising efforts and Martine’s leadership. In June 2022, they joined more than 500 guests at the grand opening of Children’s Institute’s new Watts campus, a $20 million, 20,000-square-foot building designed by architect Frank Gehry. The organization’s first purpose-built home in Watts, the campus represented a permanent investment in the community, providing a welcoming setting for counseling, youth development, parenting workshops, workforce development and other programs. “I can’t think of a more meaningful way to honor the legacy of my sister and brother-in-law,” Martine says. “Michele and Rob embody what Children’s Institute has believed for 120 years: that strengthening families and advancing equity go hand in hand.”
For decades, the Reiners were among the nation’s most influential advocates for children and families, urging leaders from the White House to state governments across the country to make the earliest years of a child’s life a public priority. Among their most consequential achievements was their leadership in establishing First 5 California through Proposition 10, the voter-approved 1998 initiative that placed a tax on tobacco products to fund early-childhood development, health and school-readiness programs. Since its inception, First 5 California has generated more than $12.5 billion to support children during the first five years of life—a period Michele and Rob helped move to the center of the national conversation.
Their son Jake has described Michele as the driving force who ensured the couple’s shared principles became action. Rob cared deeply about the issues they championed, he has said, but Michele was often the engine pushing him to use his public platform to speak out for what they believed was right. That partnership also shaped their civil-rights advocacy. Michele and Rob helped launch the American Foundation for Equal Rights and its landmark federal court challenge to Proposition 8, helping to set the stage for marriage equality nationwide. Whether championing young children, equal rights, the arts or civic participation, they returned to the same conviction: Every family deserves dignity, support and the opportunity to thrive. “Our parents taught us what it means to be good, decent human beings,” Jake says. “And they didn’t just talk about it; they led by example. They took the unconditional love they had for us and applied it to all their advocacy work, including their support for Children’s Institute and our aunt Martine.” Romy sees the award as a particularly fitting tribute. “To have our parents’ names connected to CII’s work on behalf of children and families is a meaningful continuation of what they stood for,” she says. Proceeds from the Cape & Gown Gala will support Children’s Institute, which has served Los Angeles since 1906 and now reaches approximately 30,000 children and family members annually through education, counseling, parenting support and enrichment programs.
For Curtis, accepting the inaugural award will mean honoring two people who were dear friends, family and fellow advocates. For the Brentwood community, the evening will celebrate Michele and Rob through the qualities that defined them: generosity, courage, joy and an unwavering determination to leave the world better than they found it.
Children’s Institute 8th Annual Cape & Gown Gala
November 8, 2026
5:30 PM-8:30 PM
Beverly Wilshire Beverly Hills
9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212
childrensinstitute.org
“Rob and Michele didn’t just create together. They lived a life of service, building something greater than themselves and giving so much to the world around them.”