Rose Byrne was celebrated and gently skewered at Harvard University as Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2026 Woman of the Year, complete with a parade through Cambridge and a roast that zeroed in on her long‑term relationship with Bobby Cannavale. During the Feb. 13 event, student hosts Daisy Nussbaum and Isabel Wilson poked fun at Byrne’s habit of casually referring to Cannavale as her “husband,” even though the pair have never officially tied the knot.
The roast mixed jokes about Australia with riffs on Byrne’s career, before pivoting to her personal life: “Think of all the great things America has that Australia doesn’t. We have your husband, Bobby Cannavale,” one student cracked, drawing attention to the running “are they or aren’t they married?” question that’s followed the couple since they got together in 2013. Byrne and Cannavale share two sons and have long described themselves as effectively married in everything but paperwork, which made the gag land as affectionate rather than invasive.
As part of the ceremony, Byrne also “married” the Hasty Pudding’s mascot—a literal pudding pot—reading a mock‑vows letter in which she joked that the pot was “way out of my league” and had already been “with 75 other women,” nodding to the award’s decades‑long history. Coming off a recent Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination, the honor cements Byrne’s status as a versatile comedic and dramatic performer, while the roast leaned into the low‑stakes gossip fans already enjoy about her not‑quite‑official domestic setup. You can read more details in People’s write‑up of the roast.