Lea Michele has made her first public appearance following boyfriend Cory Monteith's July 13 death. The 26-year-old actress attended the Teen Choice Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, Aug. 11, and paid tribute to the late actor with the rest of her "Glee" family while accepting the award for TV Choice Actress.
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A very emotional and appreciative Michele was greeted by loud cheers when she walked out on stage moments after the rest of the "Glee" cast accepted an award for Best TV Comedy.
"Thank you, guys. Thank you. I just wanted to be here today to personally thank all of you and tell everyone out there how much your love and support has meant to me over these very difficult past weeks. Not that I had any doubt before, but you guys are most certainly the greatest fans in the world," she tearfully said.
"I wanted to dedicate this award to Cory. For all of you out there who loved and admired Cory as much as I did, I promise that with your love we're going to get through this together. He was very special to me and also to the world and we were very lucky to witness his incredible talent, his handsome smile and his beautiful, beautiful heart."
She added, "So whether you knew him personally or just as Finn Hudson ... he became a part of all of our hearts and that's where he'll stay forever. So thank you guys so much. Thank you."
Michele opted out on walking the turquoise carpet beforehand, but was joined by co-stars Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Jayma Mays, Lauren Potter, Melissa Benoist, Harry Shum Jr., Naya Rivera, Matthew Morrison, Chord Overstreet, Amber Riley, Jacob Artist and Alex Newell at the event.