Braless Kristen Bell puckers up with gal pal at Actor Awards 2026 red carpet without Dax Shepard

Actor Awards host Kristen Bell was a showstopping presence as she hit the red carpet Sunday without her husband Dax Shepard.

The ceremony, which was known as the SAG Awards before being rechristened this year, welcomed a star-studded guest list to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Held exactly two weeks before the Academy Awards, the event has fans on tenterhooks as a potential bellwether for which actors will achieve Oscars glory.

Among the cavalcade of nominees turning up the glamour factor before their moment of truth, Bell, 45, commanded attention in a see-through gown.

The diaphanous fabric revealed she was wearing no bra and only a slight bit of nude underwear, designed to give the impression she had no undergarments on at all. 

In Shepard's absence, she got a bit of affection from her Nobody Wants This co-star Jackie Tone, with whom she shared a warm embrace - and puckered up for a kiss.

Tohn caught sight of Bell and excitedly beckoned her over, whereupon the two women enjoyed their cozy exchange, as filmed by Entertainment Tonight. 

The actresses, who have been starring on the Netflix sitcom since 2024, appeared delighted with each other's company, laughing giddily as they mingled.

Bell is serving as mistress of ceremonies for the third time, after hosting the then-SAG Awards last year and then before that in 2018.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothee Chalamet are facing off in a hotly anticipated contest for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, for their respective roles in One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme.

The category also features Michael B. Jordan for a dual role in Sinners, Ethan Hawke for the Broadway biopic Blue Moon and Jesse Plemons for the thriller Bugonia.

Meanwhile Hamnet star Jessie Buckley and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You actress Rose Byrne are facing off for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, alongside Bugonia's Emma Stone and Song Sung Blue's Kate Hudson.

One Battle After Another has two of its cast vying to be named best supporting actor - Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn - amid a field otherwise populated by Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein, Paul Mescal for Hamnet and Miles Caton for Sinners.

As for female supporting performances, Ariana Grande has earned a nod for Wicked: For Good, as have Odessa A'Zion for Marty Supreme, Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another, Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners and Amy Madigan for Sinners.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture is a contest between Hamnet, Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another and Sinners.  

Meanwhile Seth Rogen's new show The Studio is in the running for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building.

Among the sitcom performances nominated that night are Rogen and the recently departed Catherine O'Hara for The Studio, Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building, Jenna Ortega for Wednesday and Jean Smart for Hacks.

Bell's current co-star Adam Brody is nominated for Nobody Wants This, while her former The Good Place co-star Ted Danson for A Man on the Inside

The ensemble in a drama series category is a formidable race including The White Lotus, The Pitt, Severance, The Diplomat and Landman.

Noah Wyle is nominated for his comeback turn on The Pitt, as are Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood for The White Lotus, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses and Billy Crudup for The Morning Show.

The revered miniseries Adolescence has earned recognition in the limited series and TV movie categories, with nominations for actresses Erin Doherty and Christine Tremarco and actors Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper.

Other nominees in those categories include Michelle Williams in Dying for Sex, Sarah Snook in All Her Fault, Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys for The Beast in Me, Jason Bateman in Black Rabbit and Charlie Hunnam for Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

Sunday evening's SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award is being presented to Harrison Ford, 83, after more than a half-century of stardom.