David Beckham got a Hollywood star and the Boulevard swapped its red carpet for soccer turf to hand it over.
Beckham, 51, received the 2,849th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Sports Entertainment category at a ceremony outside Ovation Hollywood. Ellen K emceed. Tom Cruise and Victoria Beckham gave the speeches. Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez tied the timing to the United States hosting the FIFA World Cup.
Victoria opened with a joke about “Spice World: The Movie,” then turned earnest, saying her husband “believed that if he worked hard and dreamed big enough, anything was possible.” Cruise, who got his own star in 1986, recalled Beckham’s career and pulled him into a hug.
Beckham stayed with the dreamer theme. “I’ve always been a dreamer, but I never could have imagined that an honor like this would come to a working class English soccer player like me,” he said.
Most of the family turned out, including sons Romeo and Cruz, 14-year-old Harper, and friends Eva Longoria and Robbie Keane. Eldest son Brooklyn Beckham, who has been publicly estranged from the family, did not attend. Asked beforehand whether his brother would come, Romeo told HELLO!, “I hope so. We love him.”
Beckham crouched down to press his hands to the star. It sits on a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that was green for the day.
