Danes is Hasty Pudding’s woman of the year

Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals has chosen Claire Danes to receive its 2012 Woman of the Year award. The actress, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance on the Showtime series “Homeland,’’ will receive the award Thursday, after leading the traditional Pudding parade through Harvard Square. Danes, who briefly attended Harvard’s hated rival, Yale, may be best known for her work on the ’90s TV show “My So Called Life,’’ which earned her an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe. Danes, who’s married to actor Hugh Dancy, has a long list of movie credits that include “Shopgirl,’’ “Igby Goes Down,’’ and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.’’ Last year, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals bestowed its prized Pudding Pot on Julianne Moore and Jay Leno. The company has not yet announced its 2012 Man of the Year.