Hollywood has a habit of basking in its own successes, with a full season’s worth of award shows—culminating with this Sunday’s Oscars—to prove it. But this year’s awards procession served a greater purpose for Hidden Figures, which is nominated for three Academy Awards this Sunday: it meant that the film’s unsung heroines Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—the female African-American mathematicians who helped launch our first astronauts into space—were finally given the lengthy (if long overdue) spotlight they deserve.

On Friday evening, the Hidden Figures cast including Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Aldis Hodge, and Saniyya Sidney—plus Johnson’s family—gathered at Spago in Beverly Hills for one final pre-Oscars celebration, hosted by Vanity Fair and luxury car brand Genesis.

Before mingling with her co-stars inside, Monae—who plays Mary Jackson in the Theodore Melfi-directed picture—told us how surprised and saddened she was to receive the script and learn, so belatedly, about its heroines.

“I was really upset that I, as a young African American female, did not know about Katherine Johnson or Dorothy Vaughan or Mary Jackson or any of the women who got our first astronauts into space,” said Monae. “So it became our [film’s] personal responsibility to make sure that no other human being went through life not knowing about the women who helped us accomplish so much.”

Although Henson has played inspiring, empowered women before—most notably as Empire’s vivacious Cookie Lyon—Henson revealed that Hidden Figures easily outshines her other career milestones, Oscar nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button included.

“It is certainly the proudest moment of my career,” Henson said. “As an artist, I always wanted to do work that mattered, work that inspired, work that was important. That does not always come along, though, so you have to be strategic in your choices. When something like this falls in your lap, you go for it. This is the type of work that I prayed for. I am honored to bring these legacies to life. . .and Katherine Johnson is still around to see [the film] too. It’s important for her, for her family, for her grandchildren.”

Family was a recurring theme of the evening, as Hidden Figures co-star Mahershala Ali—who is nominated for his performance in Moonlight Sunday—regretfully bowed out of the event because his wife, Amatus Sami-Karim, had just given birth to the couple’s first child, Bari Najma Ali. Meanwhile, Aldis Hodge discussed how thrilled his loved ones are for Hidden Figures’s best picture nomination: “I am excited, but I am more excited for the people around me, like my mother, who is bursting at the seams.”

Hodge told us how the film personally resonated with his family.

“This movie speaks our language,” said Hodge. “We were homeless several times and all we had then were our minds to make it out. This is pretty much everything that we know. My little sister finished UCLA in three years. In my house we don’t play about education. . .But the way the story touched people is nothing we could have predicted. I am so grateful.”

Inside, producer Pharrell mingled with special guests like Russell Wilson, Ciara, Lakeith Stanfield, and Samira Wiley. And Monae, whose hair was affixed with two barrettes reading “Love,” told us how lucky she feels to start her acting career with two incredibly moving films—Hidden Figures and Moonlight, both of which are nominated for best picture.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be a part of two films that resonated with my heart,” said Monae. “And now I am seeing that these films resonated with so many people internationally means the world. I’ve always wanted to do these unique, untold stories in unconventional ways and I’m so honored and thankful that I am alive and able to contribute and highlight the voices and lives of those who oftentimes aren’t celebrated because they’re different.”