Lavish Biden dinner for France’s Macron draws celebrities, business leaders
- The first state dinner of Joe Biden’s presidency draws big names from fashion, entertainment, politics and business
- They turned out for guest French President Emmanuel Macron and the return of large social events after the pandemic
US President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet on Thursday for celebrities, lawmakers, and titans of industry at the White House’s first state dinner in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The dinner is the crowning social event of a trip aimed at showing Biden’s commitment to Washington’s oldest ally even as the two countries wrangle over how to handle Russia’s war in Ukraine, subsidies for US products and other issues.
The guest list included actress Jennifer Garner and her daughter with Ben Affleck, Violet; Late Show host Stephen Colbert; singer John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen; Vogue editor Anna Wintour; Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus; and director Baz Luhrmann.
Those celebrities joined members of Biden’s Cabinet, lawmakers, and business leaders including Bank of America Corp CEO Brian Moynihan, KKR & Co Inc investor Henry Kravis and Microsoft Corp president Brad Smith.
Tim Cook was accompanied by Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice-president of environment, policy and social initiatives.