List Rules Vote up the women who had the biggest impact in 2018.
The greatest women in history change the game in terms of the power and the presence women have in society. From inspirational female celebrities to business women to political activists, women have made a truly amazing impact in 2018! While much of the news about women in the world has been bleak, it has been a great year for women in terms of illuminating and addressing systemic problems in the United States and the world.
The Me Too movement has made many aware of the epidemic of sexual violence in Hollywood and elsewhere and has been spearheaded by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Ashley Judd, and Salma Hayek. In the wake of Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss, female politicians like Elizabeth Warren have become an increasingly vocal presence in the political sector. Powerful world leaders like Angela Merkel and Meghan Markle continue to make headlines and female writers like Roxane Gay put difficult topics into perspective for the public.
Who are the most inspiring women of 2018? Vote up the most influential women below and feel free to add anyone you think is missing!
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jsnungaray added Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She achieved popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery ...more
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jsnungaray added Charlize Theron Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress, producer, and fashion model. She starred in early films in the late 1990s, such as The Devil's Advocate, Mighty Joe Young and The Cider ...more
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jsnungaray added Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock is an American actress and film producer. She is one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, and is the recipient of one Academy Award from two nominations, and one Golden ...more
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RobertDowney added Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir is an Icelandic politician and a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency since 2007. She is the leader of the Left-Green Movement and ...more
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RobertDowney added Bidhya Bhandari Bidhya Bhandari is the current vice-chairperson of Communist Party of Nepal. She is former defence minister of the government of Nepal.
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RobertDowney added Hilda Heine Hilda Cathy Heine (born April 6, 1951) is a Marshallese educator and politician, currently serving as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands. Prior to assuming office, she served as the ...more
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RobertDowney added Mercedes Aráoz Mercedes Rosalba Aráoz Fernández (born 5 August 1961 in Lima) is a Peruvian economist, professor, politician, the current First Vice President of Peru since March 23, 2018, as well ...more
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RobertDowney added Ana Brnabić Ana Brnabić (born 28 September 1975) is a Serbian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Serbia since 29 June 2017. She is the first woman and first openly gay person to hold the office. ...more
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RobertDowney added Kersti Kaljulaid Kersti Kaljulaid (born 30 December 1969) is an Estonian politician who is the fifth and current President of Estonia, in office since 10 October 2016. She is the first female head of state of ...more
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The Superhero Nerd added Gal Gadot Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and fashion model. She won the Miss Israel title in 2004 and went on to represent Israel at the 2004 Miss Universe beauty pageant. She is the leading fashion ...more
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Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress, model, and activist. Watson rose to prominence as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, appearing in all eight Harry Potter films ...more
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Melania Trump Melania Knauss-Trump is a Slovenian former model and the wife of American real estate magnate Donald Trump. They married on January 22, 2005.
J. K. Rowling Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE FRSL, pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have gained ...more
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Meryl Streep Meryl Streep is an American actress. A three-time Academy Award winner, she is widely regarded as one of the greatest film actors of all time. Streep made her professional stage debut in The ...more
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Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991. In 1996, she appeared in Freeway and ...more
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Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American lawyer and writer. She is the wife of the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady ...more
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Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981), is an American-born member of the British royal family, and a former film and television actress. Markle was born and ...more
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II is the Queen of 16 of the 53 member states in the Commonwealth of Nations. She is Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Upon her accession on 6 ...more
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Katherine Gallardo added Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. Born and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas, she was first featured on the children's series Barney & Friends in the early 2000s. In 2007, ...more
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Ivanka Trump Ivanka Marie Trump is an American businesswoman, writer, and former model. In her role as Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization, Trump is involved ...more
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She ...more
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Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, ...more
Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She was the star in the popular sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998, and has hosted her syndicated talk ...more
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Angela Merkel Angela Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany and the head of the political party CDU in Germany. In addition to being the first female German Chanchellor, she is also considered by Forbes ...more
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Melinda Gates Melinda French Gates, is an American businessperson and philanthropist. She is the wife of Bill Gates, and the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She worked at Microsoft, ...more
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jkzion21 added Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American campaign manager and political advisor who was appointed White House Press Secretary to President Donald Trump in July ...more
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Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, the ...more
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child, and ...more
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Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American actress. Her first major role was as a lead cast member on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show. She appeared in the independent dramas The Burning Plain ...more
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Emma González Emma González is an American activist and advocate for gun control. As a high school senior she survived the February 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, and ...more
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jkzion21 added Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway is a Republican strategist and pollster. She is president and CEO of the polling company, inc./WomanTrend.
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Tomi Lahren Tomi Lahren (born August 11, 1992) is an American conservative political commentator and former television host. She garnered international attention as the host of Tomi on TheBlaze, ...more
RobertDowney added Kamla Persad-Bissessar Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC, MP is the seventh Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the sixth person to hold this position. Inaugurated on 26 May 2010, she is the country's first ...more
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RobertDowney added Theresa May Theresa Mary May PC is a British Conservative politician, and the current UK Home Secretary. May was first elected to Parliament in 1997 as Member of Parliament for Maidenhead. She went on to be ...more
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RobertDowney added Arundhati Bhattacharya Arundhati Bhattacharya is an Indian banker. She is the first woman to be the Chairperson of State Bank of India. In 2014, she was listed as the 36th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
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Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican and American film actress, director, and producer. She began her career in Mexico starring in the telenovela Teresa and went on to star in the film El ...more
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Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren is an American academic and politician who is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. She was previously a Harvard Law ...more
jkzion21 added Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska, from 2006 to her resignation in 2009. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice ...more
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RobertDowney added Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is a Croatian politician serving as President of Croatia since February 2015. From 2011 to 2014 she served as Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at NATO ...more
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RobertDowney added Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen is a Finnish politician who was the 11th President of Finland, serving from 2000 to 2012. She was the first female head of state in Finland and while she was in office, in ...more
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Matt1345 added Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann, who goes by the stage name Skylar Grey, is an American singer and songwriter from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, under the moniker Holly Brook, at the age of 17, she ...more
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Tarana Burke Tarana Burke is an African-American civil rights activist from The Bronx, New York who founded the Me Too movement. In 2006, Burke began using the phrase "Me Too" to raise awareness of ...more
Betsy DeVos Elisabeth Dee DeVos (born January 8, 1958) is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, politician, and the United States Secretary of Education. DeVos is a Republican known for her support for ...more
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Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand is an American actress. She married director and writer Joel Coen in 1984 and has starred in several of the Coen brothers' films, including Blood Simple, Raising ...more
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RobertDowney added Laura Chinchilla Laura Chinchilla Miranda is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his ...more
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Cardi B Belcalis Almanzar (born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, she first ...more
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Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American attorney, politician and member of the Democratic Party. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was First Lady of ...more
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Tiffany Haddish Tiffany Haddish credits her social worker for her success as a comedian/actress. Growing up in foster care in South Central Los Angeles, it was her excessive talking and imaginary friends that ...more
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RobertDowney added Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party's shadow cabinet. She was first elected to parliament as a list MP at the 2008 general election.
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RobertDowney added Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician, who has served as President of the Indian National Congress party since 1998. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi ...more
