View the list: A-F
64 | Commissioner, Big East Conference
Val Ackerman
Val Ackerman was named as commissioner of the Big East Conference in 2013 at age 53, overseeing the newly reconfigured collection of college athletics programs. As commissioner, Ackerman has led the relocation of the Big East headquarters, managed network partnerships and led the negotiations that brought the storied University of Connecticut program back to the conference. Before taking charge of the Big East, Ackerman was USA Basketball’s first female president, a role she held from 2005 to 2008 following her nine-year stint as the WNBA’s founding president.
67 | Conductor
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is one of the world’s leading conductors and one of the few women who has made it to the upper echelons of the conducting world. Alsop shattered one of orchestra’s highest, hardest glass ceilings in 2007 at 51, when she became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra—the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a role she held for 14 years. Today, she is its music director laureate and chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
84 | Actor
BokHee An
“Grey’s Anatomy” fans know BokHee An as a surgical scrub nurse at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. They may not realize that, for 56 years, An was a working cardiovascular and neurosurgery scrub nurse, and in the earliest days of the series, juggled filming with real-life hospital shifts. An’s medical expertise has come in handy on set, where she’s offered advice on proper surgical tool protocol. An, who was born in South Korea and moved to California in 1968, retired from the OR at 76 but continues as the show’s longest-running supporting actor.
57 | Owner & President, Erewhon
Josephine Antoci
High-end grocery chain Erewhon is a hot spot for Los Angeles’ elite—Hailey Bieber even has her own $19 smoothie there—but a force behind this business is someone just as powerful: Josephine Antoci, who bought the company with her husband Tony in 2011. Together, the two have expanded one store into a chain of 10 across Southern California. While Tony runs operations, Josephine is the brains behind the company’s viral products, including kale chips, bone broths, and yes, those celebrity smoothies. Antoci is so well known for her tastemaking that packaged-food founders will offer to alter their ingredients if it means getting on Erewhon’s shelves.
53 | Chief Content Officer, Netflix
Bela Bajaria
NETFLIX
One of the most powerful women in television, Bela Bajaria was named Netflix’s chief content officer in January 2023, after serving as head of Global TV since 2020. She is in charge of the streamer’s breadth of content—ranging from film to scripted and unscripted series—around the world. Bajaria is responsible for hits including “Bridgerton,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Lupin” and “Cobra Kai.” Before joining Netflix in 2016, Bajaria was president of Universal Television, where she made history as the first woman of color to oversee a studio.
60 | Founder, ~Pourri
Suzy Batiz
Suzy Batiz is the founder of ~Pourri, the before-you-go toilet spray that led to an empire that, in 2019, landed her on the Forbes list of America’s richest self-made female entrepreneurs. Today, the sprays are sold in Target, Costco and Bed Bath & Beyond. Quick on her feet, Batiz pivoted during the height of the pandemic into making hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. She made nearly 30 career changes and filed for bankruptcy twice before getting the idea for ~Pourri (then named Poo-Pourri) in 2006. Today, she still owns 97% of the company.
52 | President, Mattel Films
Robbie Brenner
Robbie Brenner was promoted to president of Mattel Films last September, following the success of the “Barbie” movie, which Brenner executive produced and—with a $1.4 billion worldwide haul—became the highest-grossing film of 2023. Brenner first joined Mattel in 2018 after serving as an independent producer and an executive at Relativity, Miramax Films and 20th Century Fox. Her prior production credits include “Dallas Buyers Club” (which netted her an Oscar nomination), “The Fighter,” “Mirror Mirror” and “Serendipity.”
59 | Sports Announcer & Analyst
Doris Burke
Hall of Fame broadcaster Doris Burke’s career began in 1990 at Providence College as a radio analyst covering her alma mater’s basketball games. One year later, she landed at ESPN and has been a mainstay in the network’s WNBA and NBA coverage ever since. At age 59, in 2024, she made history as the first woman to call the NBA Finals. Burke is no stranger to breaking broadcasting barriers: In 2020, she became the first woman to serve as an NBA Finals analyst, and in 2017, the first woman to serve full-time as a national television NBA game analyst.
76 | Cofounder, Panda Express
Peggy Cherng
ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES
Peggy Cherng is the cofounder and co-CEO of Panda Express, the $5.4 billion (est. sales) Chinese fast-food chain with some 2,400 locations. Born in Myanmar, Cherng got a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in the U.S. and, after using her degree to design battlefield simulators for the U.S. Navy, helped her husband open Panda Express’ first store in 1983. She has since used that Ph.D. to turn Panda Express into a fast-food juggernaut. “A lot of people in the restaurant business aren’t educated as engineers,” she told Forbes in 2023. “I have an advantage.”
56 | Singer
Celine Dion
In December 2022, Grammy-winning artist Celine Dion revealed she’d been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes muscle spasms. It affected her voice, she said, and forced her to cancel her 2023 and 2024 world tours dates. After four years out of the spotlight, the Queen of Power Ballads returned to the stage in late July for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Dion belted Edith Pilaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour” from a sparkling Eiffel Tower in widely called inspirational performance. “If I can’t run, I’ll walk,” Dion has said. “If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl… I won’t stop.” Dion has sold over 230 million records, earning her a net worth of $550 million and solidifying her rank as one of the best-selling artists of all time.
61 | CEO, Signet Jewelers
Gina Drosos
Everyday shoppers might be more familiar with Signet’s name brands—Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared and Diamonds Direct—than with the $4 billion (market cap) parent company. At the helm of this jewelry empire is CEO Gina Drosos. She took on the job of leading the world’s largest diamond jewelry retailer in 2017 at age 54 and, in the years since, has helped pull the company out of a slump and prepare for future headwinds by closing 20% of Signet’s physical locations, diving deep into customer research and adapting to the e-commerce era with the acquisition of Blue Nile.
62 | President, Carnival Cruise Line
Christine Duffy
Christine Duffy became Carnival Cruise Line’s first female president in 2015, when she was 53. She came to the job after serving as the president of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) – where she was also the first woman to hold the role. Duffy has since helped introduce eight ships to Carnival’s fleet and is spearheading the development of the company’s cruise port in the Bahamas, called Celebration Key. In response to rising sexual crimes on cruise ships, mostly by passengers, Duffy announced increased security measures last year.
51 | Director; Founder, Array
Ava DuVernay
Now an Oscar-nominated director, DuVernay famously didn’t pick up a camera until 2005, when she was 32. She’s made the most of her time since, becoming the first woman of color to direct a $100-million-grossing film (2018’s “A Wrinkle in Time”) and, in 2023, developing a movie-making model that taps into philanthropists like Melinda French Gates and organizations like the Ford Foundation for funding. “There are stories all around us, and they just ignite my imagination all the time,” she says. See the official Forbes 50 Over 50 interview with DuVernay here.
62 | Master Blender, Uncle Nearest
Victoria Eady Butler
Victoria Eady Butler was about to retire from a three-decade career in law enforcement when she got a call from Fawn Weaver, the founder and CEO of whiskey brand Uncle Nearest. Weaver wanted Butler—the great-great granddaughter of Nearest Green, the formerly enslaved master distiller who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey and the brand’s namesake—to work for her, and Butler couldn’t say no. What began as a position running administrative affairs turned into a job as Uncle Nearest’s master blender after Butler’s first batch of whiskey received industry plaudits. Under Butler’s leadership, Uncle Nearest has become the most-awarded bourbon and American whiskey for the past five consecutive years.
53 | Rapper & Producer
Missy Elliott
AARON J. THORNTON/ GETTY IMAGES
In 2024, at age 52, hip-hop trailblazer Missy Elliott announced a major career milestone: Her first-ever solo headline tour. The 24-city “Out of This World” arena tour kicked off in July of 2024 with Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland as supporting acts. While Elliott has shared the stage as a co-headliner or special guest with artists including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Madonna and Mariah Carey, this is the first time she’ll headline her own tour. In November 2023, Elliott scored another first: She became the first female hip-hop artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
55 | Owner & President, Jill Furman Productions
Jill Furman
Jill Furman is one of the most powerful women on Broadway. In 2024, alongside Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai and Rachel Sussman, Furman produced and opened the women’s suffrage-focused show “Suffs.” It scored six Tony Award nominations and two wins. Furman has previously scored Tony wins for her work on “Hamilton,” “In the Heights” and “Freestyle Love Supreme.” Furman received her MBA from Columbia University in 1997 and founded Jill Furman Productions two years later.
G-L
51 | CEO, JetBlue
Joanna Geraghty
The first commercial airline launched in the U.S. in 1914. More than a century later, the country saw its first major airline helmed by a woman when Joanna Geraghty, at 51, took over as JetBlue’s CEO in February. She had previously served as the company’s president and COO. Geraghty has risen through the ranks of the Long Island-based company since joining in 2005 as director of litigation and regulatory affairs. Before joining JetBlue, Geraghty was a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight.
70 | Founder & CEO, First Aid Beauty
Lilli Gordon
In 2009, at age 55, Lilli Gordon left a full-time career in finance and founded First Aid Beauty, a beauty company with a focus on clean products safe for sensitive skin. Gordon led the company to an acquisition by Proctor & Gamble in 2018 for $250 million, but has stayed on as CEO. Since the acquisition, First Aid Beauty has expanded across the U.S. and internationally; its products are sold at beauty chains Ulta and Sephora and also on QVC.
53 | Cofounder & CEO, Vontélle Eyewear
Tracy Green
After losing a pair of glasses, Tracy Green called her friend Nancey Harris to talk about how hard it was to find glasses that fit their faces—the conversation spawned a business idea. She left a C-suite job to bootstrap the company and, at 50, cofounded Vontélle Eyewear with Harris. The luxury frames are designed to fit diverse face shapes. This year, Vontélle became the first Black women-owned eyewear company to partner with National Vision, the nation’s second-largest optical retailer, for a line of frames that hit 900 over America’s Best stores around the country. They also have an exclusive children’s Nickelodeon collection, sold online at Amazon and Walmart.
81 | Model; Director; Founder, Bethann Management
Bethann Hardison
JON KOPALOFF/ GETTY IMAGES
Bethann Hardison rose to fame as one of the first Black supermodels in the 1970s. A decade later, she founded her own modeling agency, Bethann Management, to reshape the fashion industry and promote diversity. Her agency has launched countless careers, including those of Naomi Campbell and Tyson Beckford. Hardison has been a powerful advocate against racism within the industry and formed the Black Girls Coalition, a part celebratory, part watchdog group, with fellow model Iman in 1988. In 2023, she co-directed the film “Invisible Beauty,” which explored her life and career as a model and activist.
53 | Cofounder & COO, Vontélle Eyewear
Nancey Harris
In 2019, at age 50, Nancey Harris cofounded Vontélle Eyewear with her best friend, Tracy Green. The pair pooled their combined finance and marketing skills to bootstrap a business aimed at disrupting America’s $35 billion eyewear industry. Their shared experience of struggling to find eyewear that fit their bone structure inspired a line of products designed to better fit the faces of people of color. The luxury frames, which feature vibrant prints and patterns from the African Diaspora, can be found in 900+ America’s Best stores nationwide and online at Saks Fifth Avenue.
60 | CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch
Fran Horowitz
Few retail brands have a comeback story as compelling as Abercrombie & Fitch, and the credit goes to CEO Fran Horowitz. She came to the company—which houses both Hollister and Abercrombie—as Hollister CEO in 2014. After a successful turnaround there, she stepped into the role of parent company CEO in 2017. At the time, Abercrombie was suffering from sluggish sales, an out-of-touch image and a frayed internal culture following a host of allegations against ex-CEO Mike Jeffries. Horowitz dialed up the quality of the products, scaled back retail store footprints, expanded the size range and doubled down on a more inclusive, more current brand persona. The brand closed out 2023 with sales of $4.28 billion, the best operating income margin in 15 years, and the best stock performance in the S&P 1500 Index.
66 | Co-Chair, Gensler
Diane Hoskins
Diane Hoskins is the global co-chair of Gensler, the world’s largest architecture and design firm by revenue ($1.84 billion full-year 2023) and number of architects (6,000). She has worked at Gensler since 1995 and served in a number of roles, including co-CEO from 2005 to 2023. Hoskins forged her love of architecture at a young age: As a kid, she built bridges and towers out of Legos and constructed Barbie houses with her sisters.
88 | Artist
Joan Jonas
Joan Jonas is one of the only living artists to have pioneered an entirely new art form and is commonly credited with popularizing both performance and video art. A true multi-media artist, her captivating work blends choreographed movement, drawings, photographs, sculptures and video. This year, her career retrospective, “Joan Jonas: Good Night Good Morning,” opened at the MoMA. Celebrating five decades of groundbreaking work, the exhibition took over the museum’s sixth floor from mid-March to early July.
65 | Owner, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, Washington Spirit
Michele Kang
BERTRAND GUAY/ GETTY IMAGES
In March 2022, Michele Kang became the first woman of color to own a National Women’s Soccer League team when she bought a stake in the Washington Spirit. In December 2023, she added to her portfolio by buying the London City Lionesses (a professional women’s soccer club in the U.K.) and, in February, acquired a majority stake in Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. Last week, she announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International, the first multi-club global organization dedicated to women’s soccer. Kang invested $50 million into its innovation hub, hoping to pioneer female performance research “so we can stop training women as if they are simply small men–and unlock their true potential.
61 | Principal & Founder, Diana Kellogg Architects
Diana Kellogg
Diana Kellogg founded her eponymous architecture firm in 1992 and made a name for herself in high-end residential designs. Three decades later, she is shifting her attention from wealthy New Yorkers to communities in need: The GYAAN Center, home to the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School, opened in India 2021. Located in the Thar Desert region of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, where female literacy is 36%, the striking sandstone structure was designed by an all-female team to accommodate 400 girls, withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and remain standing for centuries. In 2023, the project was awarded AIA Architecture and Dezeen Awards.
61 | Founder & CEO, BuzzBallz
Merrilee Kick
Merrilee Kick founded BuzzBallz, a company selling high-proof cocktails in colorful plastic-ball-shaped containers, in 2009. She came up with the idea when she was a public high school teacher and grading papers. Today, she’s one of America’s richest self-made women, and BuzzBallz cocktails are now sold at supermarkets, liquor stores and convenience stores across the U.S. Drinks firm Sazerac acquired BuzzBallz in April 2024 in a deal reportedly worth at least $500 million. Until the Sazerac acquisition, Kick resisted taking money from outside investors; her two sons, now executives at the company, have 24.5% stakes apiece.
62 | President & CEO, Nestlé Purina
Nina Leigh Krueger
Valued north of $133 billion, the U.S. pet food market is the biggest in the world, and since becoming head of Nestlé Purina in 2021, Nina Leigh Krueger is one of the industry’s most prominent power players. The first female CEO in the company’s 126-year history, Krueger oversees all 11,000 U.S. employees and a brand portfolio that includes some of the world’s most popular pet foods, including Fancy Feast and Purina Dog Chow. Under her leadership as CEO, Purina has seen three consecutive years of double-digit growth between 2021 and 2023. Krueger is a Nestle lifer: she started as a marketing intern 31 years ago and worked her way up to her current position.
62 | Cofounder & Executive Vice President, The Ginger People
Abbie Leeson
In 1990, Abbie Leeson cofounded The Ginger People with her husband, Bruce. Big believers in the health benefits of ginger, their goal was to make the aromatic mainstream. Today, their company, which continues to be family-owned, is one of the largest players in the growing ginger market: Annual revenue is $40 million, and Ginger People products are sold in 23,000 retail locations across 30 countries. Abbie, who serves as head of innovation, has expanded the company’s product offerings, most recently adding dietary supplements to its range of ginger chips, spreads and juices.
57 | Founder & CEO, Undercover Snacks
Diana Levy
In 2017, after working for 20 years as a stay-at-home mom, Diana Levy founded Undercover Snacks. Two of her daughters had been diagnosed with Celiac disease, and Levy wanted to create a chocolate snack they could not only eat but enjoy. She landed on a chocolate quinoa crisp that, today, is sold in 25,000 stores nationwide at Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, Target and CVS. Undercover’s crisps are also available on flights with United Airlines, which has distributed over 80 million packets since March 2023.
51 | Cofounder & CEO, Barre3
Sadie Lincoln
Following a heavy blow dealt by the pandemic, the fitness industry has been bouncing back—with boutique gyms, in particular, seeing a newfound surge within the $30 billion sector. Sadie Lincoln is an entrepreneur behind one of these buzzy brands: In 2008, Lincoln cofounded Barre3, a fitness studio offering classes that blend elements of aerobics, Pilates and yoga. That year, Lincoln opened her flagship studio in Portland, Oregon. Today, thanks in part to a franchise model for expansion and acquisition of The Bar Code in 2023, Barre3 operates 191 studios throughout the U.S. and Canada, all owned and operated by women.
63 | Actor; Host, Wiser Than Me Podcast
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
NATHAN CONGLETON/ GETTY IMAGES
Comedy superstar Julia Louis-Dreyfus added podcaster to her resume when she launched “Wiser Than Me” in 2023 at 62. Each week’s episode features candid conversations with iconic women such as Jane Fonda, Julie Andrews, Ina Garten and Billie Jean King. The show was named Apple’s Best Podcast of the Year in 2023 and Webby Podcast of the Year in 2024. Louis-Dreyfus is also one of the most awarded actors in television history: She holds the top spot for most Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work in “Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and “Veep.”
M-Y
55 | Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Drunk Elephant
Tiffany Masterson
As Tiffany Masterson turned 50 in 2019, she scored one of the biggest deals in beauty brand history: She sold Drunk Elephant, her fast-growing skincare startup, to Shiseido for $845 million. Masterson stayed on as chief creative officer and has overseen the brand’s recent boom with Gen Alpha—those young teens and pre-teens who, inspired by TikTok, are flocking to Sephora for Drunk Elephant’s colorful packaging and skin-friendly ingredients. Once a stay-at-home mom, Masterson built many of the brand’s first products using marula oil—a byproduct of a fruit popular for elephants.
52 | Publicist; Founder, Premium PR
Tree Paine
Tree Paine launched Premium PR in 2014 and signed Taylor Swift as her first and only client that same year. The powerhouse publicist partners with Swift and is a figure in the artist’s rise to fame. Two decades later, with the highest-grossing tour of all time and regular record-shattering weeks on the charts, Swift’s star power is higher than ever. Right beside her—and maintaining her image—is Paine, now in her 50s, an industry power player in her own right. Before founding Premium PR, Paine worked at Warner Music, overseeing publicity of the country and Christian music divisions.
53 | CEO, Forever 21
Winnie Park
When Winnie Park took the reins of fast-fashion brand Forever 21 in 2022, the brand was still reeling from the double-whammy of its 2019 bankruptcy filing and the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that forced shoppers out of brick-and-mortar stores. Park jumped head-first into a refresh for the brand, leaning on influencers and creators to better connect with Gen-Z shoppers. Before her role at Forever 21, Park spent six years as the CEO of stationery chain Paper Source and nine years as an executive at luxury product giant DFS Group.
64 | Cofounder & CEO, Lafayette 148
Deirdre Quinn
Lafayette 148, regularly worn by celebrities and political leaders alike, is one of today’s few vertically integrated fashion brands. Its success story is intricately woven with the journey of its cofounder and CEO, Deirdre Quinn, known for her ability to act in times of crisis. When her partner and mentor passed away in 2013, Quinn stepped into the role of CEO and continued to scale the company. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, she led a massive logistical shift, pivoting operations from 70% wholesale to 70% direct-to-consumer. It was the right call, and when businesses worldwide were shuttering storefronts, Quinn opened the doors to new retail locations.
59 | Founder & CEO, Commence
Brooke Shields
MARY BETH KOETH FOR FORBES
Actor and model Brooke Shields has been working since she was 11 months old—“I’ve sold stuff for other people my entire life,” she says—but at 59, she’s entering what she says is the most “challenging and exciting” stage of her career: that of founder and CEO of Commence, a hair care company for women over the age of 40 that she dreamed up during the pandemic. It’s still early days—Shields raised $3.5 million from outside investors to help fund Commence’s first three products, which were released in June. It’s not her only new role: In May, Shields was elected president of the Actors Equity Association, a union representing some 51,000 actors and stage managers in the U.S. See full profile.
77 | Author, Artist
Patti Smith
Musician, poet, author and photographer Patti Smith published her memoir “Just Kids” at age 63 and received a National Book Award following its release. In 2010, she was named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and has, in the years since turning 50, exhibited her photographs at Trolley Gallery in London, premiered her concert film “Horses” at the Tribeca Film Festival and released seven albums and several singles. In 2007, at age 60, Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
94 | Actor
June Squibb
There aren’t many actors who land their first blockbuster leading role in their 90s, but that’s precisely what June Squibb has done. The 94-year-old is the star of the action comedy film “Thelma,” which opened in nearly 1,300 theaters across the country in June 2024. The film earned $2.2 million in sales on its opening weekend—a solid box office showing for an indie flick. A stage actor who made her Broadway debut in 1959, Squibb’s first-ever film role came in 1990, at age 61, with a supporting role in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy, “Alice.” In 2013, when she was 84, Squibb scored an Oscar nomination for her performance in the 2013 movie “Nebraska.”
85 | Singer, Activist
Mavis Staples
In July, Mavis Staples turned 85—and signaled to the world that her career is far from finished by releasing a new song and a children’s book. Staples is a three-time Grammy and Lifetime Achievement winner. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017. Briefly married, in 1967 Staples divorced her then-husband, who’d asked her to end her career to stay at home. A longtime civil rights activist, her work has inspired a University of Chicago course called “The Soundtrack for Changing the World: Mavis Staples, Chicago, and the Music of the Civil Rights Movement.”
76 | Author
Danielle Steel
Prolific novelist Danielle Steel has published more than 210 books over her five-decade career. In 2023, at age 75, she reached an incredible 1 billion copies sold—reportedly enough to stack higher than 45,000 Empire State Buildings and solidify her place as the world’s best-selling living author. Steel writes her manuscripts on a 1946 manual typewriter, a lifelong method that hasn’t slowed her publishing pace. She is slated to have seven book releases in 2024 and has two publication dates already on the calendar for 2025. Her work has also fueled directors: 21 of her novels have been adapted into television miniseries and movies.
102 | Founder, Rancho La Puerta & Golden Door
Deborah Szekely
For 102-year-old Deborah Szekely, the secret to aging well is working three days a week and walking a mile daily. The “Godmother of Wellness” continues to operate Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, one of North America’s first wellness resorts, cofounded with her husband in 1940. In the ‘50s, Szekely built on its success by opening Golden Door in San Marcos, California. In 1984, President Reagan appointed her president of the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency that invests in community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean. On her 100th birthday, she released the book, “100 Lessons from a Grasshopper.”
52 | Actor; Founder, ¡Dios Mío! Coffee
Sofía Vergara
DANIELE VENTURELLI/ GETTY IMAGES
In 2024, actor Sofía Vergara launched ¡Dios Mío! Coffee, a fair-trade coffee company selling beans that are grown in Vergara’s native Colombia by a group of female farmers. Though Vergara is best known for playing Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on “Modern Family”—which ran for 11 seasons and helped her become the highest-paid TV actress for seven straight years in the 2010s—she has long held the dual title of businesswoman. Vergara cofounded talent management and production company Latin World Entertainment in 1994, launched clothing and fragrance lines with Kmart in 2011 and, in 2023, launched a skincare and makeup line with Cantabria Labs.
63 | Founder, Peace Love World
Alina Villasante
In 1999, Alina Villasante threw a “Love Party” for her fellow working mother friends and, as a party favor, made her guests T-shirts and pajamas with “love,” “peace” and “happiness” designs. The parties and these favors became an annual tradition, and in 2007, Villasante turned her passion project into a business. Today, her line is sold in 2,000 boutiques and on QVC; celebrities including Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashians have been spotted in her wares.
72 | Playwright
Paula Vogel
Over the course of a five-year decade career, playwright Paula Vogel has won a Pulitzer Prize, an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award. She’s received three Tony Award nominations—the most recent of which came in 2024 for “Mother Play,” a show that debuted on Broadway in April starring Jessica Lange. In addition to writing, Vogel has spent much of her career in the classroom: She founded and led Brown University’s playwriting program from 1984 to 2008. While there, she developed a theater workshop for incarcerated women in maximum security in Rhode Island, and the program continues today.
54 | Artist
Kara Walker
STEFANIE KEENAN/ GETTY IMAGES
Artist Kara Walker has spent her entire career pushing the envelope with works that explore the complex issues of race, gender, sexuality and violence. She is best known for her large-scale cut-paper silhouettes, which have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. One of the most acclaimed Black artists in the U.S. today, Walker has been awarded the MacArthur Fellowship and the Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship, among others. This year, she added book illustration to her repertoire: Walker collaborated with author Jamaica Kincaid on the children’s book “An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children,” released in May.
62 | Director & CEO, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
Mariët Westermann
In June, Mariët Westermann stepped into one of the most high-power positions in the art world as the first woman to lead the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. As director and CEO, she will oversee the institution, which, in addition to its flagship New York location, has branches in Venice, Bilbao, and Abu Dhabi. Previously, Westermann was the vice chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi, where she established MFA and MBA programs, developed the campus’s first Climate Action Plan and recruited its first Nobel Laureate.
62 | Pitmaster
Lee Ann Whippen
Lee Ann Whippen is one of the world’s preeminent female barbecuers and food personalities. In 2019, at age 57, she was crowned ‘Master Of ‘Cue’ on the Food Network show “BBQ Brawl” and was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2022. Whippen is the co-host of radio show and podcast “BBQ Nation” with fellow barbecue master Jeff Tracy and competed on TLC’s “BBQ Pitmasters” for three seasons. She’s also begun to sell her dry rub, Pig Powder, at mom-and-pop stores in Kansas City and direct-to-consumers online; Whippen calls the spice her “secret weapon” in barbecue competitions.
74 | Global Chief Content Officer, Conde Nast; Editor-in-Chief, Vogue
Anna Wintour
One of the most prominent figures in fashion and media, Anna Wintour has sat at the helm of Vogue as editor-in-chief since 1988. Her influence at Condé Nast, Vogue’s parent company, has only increased with time: Wintour took on roles as Condé’s U.S. artistic director in 2013 and global content advisor in 2019, when she was 70. Wintour is also a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has served as host of the Met Gala fundraiser since 1999. The 2024 Met Gala raised a record $26 million.
68 | President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Janet Yang
In 2022, Janet Yang became the first Asian American President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Earlier in her career, Yang was a high-powered producer: She worked closely with Steven Spielberg on “Empire of the Sun” in 1987 as a liaison between the production crew and the Chinese government. In 1998, she founded her own production firm (Janet Yang Productions). Yang has received one Emmy nomination and one Golden Globe win for her work—a portfolio that includes “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Dark Matter” and the 2020 animated hit, “Over the Moon.”
