Women Who Changed Our World
Malala Yousafzai
1997-
ACTIVIST
Malala is a fearless humans rights activist and proponent of female education. She was shot by a Taliban gunman at just 15 years old, but lived to tell her heroic story. She received the Nobel Peace Prize by age 17, making her the youngest recipient to date.
Emma Watson
1990-
ACTRESS
Watson has done far more than fend off evil wizards in Harry Potter. The British actress, model, and activist is a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and has an influential footprint within the sustainable fashion industry.
Ashley Graham
1987-
PLUS-SIZE MODEL
Hailing from a small town in Lincoln, Nebraska, Graham has made a name for herself in the modeling industry — she’s paving the way for body positivity through her vivacious confidence and healthy curves.
Beyoncé
1981-
QUEEN BEE
Throughout her career, Beyoncé has embodied fierce femininity at its finest. She has sold over 100 million records, won 22 Grammy Awards, and consistently contributes to a wide range of philanthropies using her superstar image to bolster support to create a better world.
Serena Williams
1981-
TENNIS CHAMPION
Serena Williams is a professional tennis player who has been ranked No. 1 in the world on eight separate occasions. She continues to leverage her career for social change and activism through numerous philanthropic and women’s rights initiatives, in addition to her personal fund.
Murphy Brown
1988-1998
NEWSWOMAN AND SINGLE MOM
Publicly chided by former Vice President Dan Quayle for having a baby on her own, the television journalist once played by Candice Bergen was hailed by millions of women as funny, feisty, flawed, and ferociously relatable.
Tarana Burke
1973-
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT
Time Person of the Year for 2017, Tarana Burke founded the “Me Too” movement in the ’90s long before the hashtag went viral. She has since founded Just Be Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides support for victims of sexual harassment and assault.
Mia Hamm
1972-
SOCCER CHAMPION
She has scored more international goals than any other soccer player, and led a generation of adolescent girls to become passionate about sports.
Mary Richards
1970-1977
CAREER GAL
Mary Tyler Moore’s character — a single working woman in her 30s who wasn’t desperate to settle down with a fella — offered ambitious American women a much-needed role model. Maybe we could make it after all. Hats in the air, everyone!
Sheryl Sandberg
Wendy Kopp
1967-
FOUNDER, TEACH FOR AMERICA
It was her senior thesis at Princeton — a plan to create a corps of desperately needed teachers for schools in low-income neighborhoods. Twenty years later, Teach for America has trained more than 24,000 teachers and reached three million students.
J.K. Rowling
1965-
AUTHOR OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES
Anyone who gets hundreds of millions of kids around the globe to love reading is a world-changer in our book.
Michelle Obama
1964-
FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIRST LADY
Before she was a First Lady, she was a lawyer and Mom in Chief. During Barack Obama’s time in office, she led several meaningful initiatives, most notably her Let’s Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity. Her official portrait was just released at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., to much acclaim.
Diana, Princess of Wales
1961-1997
ROYAL AND HUMANITARIAN
Her legacy of charm and charity endures, especially her campaigns for acceptance of AIDS victims and against land mines. We remember most the uniting effect of the world’s mourning after her sudden and shocking death.
Barbara Millicent Roberts
1959-
ANATOMICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TOY
Yep, that’s Barbie’s full name, according to her official biography. Whatever your relationship with her is, this wildly popular Vinyl American (millions sold, in 150 countries) got us talking about body image. Today her waist has been widened, and she’s no longer always on tiptoe. You’ve come a long way, doll face.
Maya Lin
1959-
ARTIST AND ARCHITECT
She was a 21-year-old undergraduate at Yale when she won a competition to design her most famous work, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Controversial at first, but now one of the capital’s most visited monuments, it proves the healing power of art.
Winona LaDuke
1959-
NATIVE AMERICAN ACTIVIST AND ENVIRONMENTALIST
A member of the Anishinaabe nation, she filed lawsuits to recover lands withheld from Native American communities, reminding the nation of long-standing wrongdoings.
Ellen DeGeneres
1958-
MEDIA MOGUL AND LGBTQIA ACTIVIST
DeGeneres is a multimedia genius, having mastered film, TV, voice-acting, and stand-up comedy. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and continues to remind us that the world should be a more fun and loving place … with dancing, of course.
Madonna
1958-
SINGER
Commonly referred to as the “Queen of Pop,” Madonna is well-known for producing innovative, boundary-pushing music. Her top-of-the-chart hits have spanned across an impressive four decades.
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