For International Women’s Day 2024, part of the wider celebration of Women’s History Month, Us Weekly has published a list of the world’s most “inspiring and powerful women currently dominating the cultural landscape,” – including Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Margot Robbie.
The Most Powerful Women of 2024, Beginning with Taylor Swift
The publication’s 2024 list of women makes special mention of Taylor Swift, and highlights how the singer’s ongoing Eras Tour became the first tour in history to gross over $1 billion in December 2023.
Taylor Swift has broken a number of records in recent years, with the Eras Tour now the highest-grossing concert film of all time, and the 2024 Grammy Awards earlier this year seeing the artist announce her forthcoming 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, which is set to be released on April 19.
The star’s tour is also reportedly boosting local economies in cities it is brought to, with survey company QuestionPro estimating that the tour could generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the US alone – with fans spending on travel, accommodation, food and new clothes.
With the release of Speak Now in July 2023, Taylor Swift became the first woman to have four albums on Billboard’s Top 10 Chart at the same time. The re-recorded album was also the singer’s 12th record to reach number one, more than any other female artist in history.
Last month also saw Taylor Swift’s Album of the Year Grammy win for Midnights, which made her the only artist to win the accolade four times.
Reese Witherspoon
The actress has an Oscar as well as being known for several iconic movie roles in Hollywood, but she has branched out beyond being in front of camera. In 2016, she co-founded the production company Hello Sunshine, which centers on female-led projects.
On top of producing a significant library of content that includes Daisy Jones & the Six and Where the Crawdads Sing, Hello Sunshine is in charge of Reese Witherspoon’s book club, which is known to boost sales of the picks it makes.
The actress sold a share of Hello Sunshine for $900 million in 2021 and is currently tied up with both acting and producing roles on both The Morning Show and the upcoming third season of Big Little Lies.
Quinta Brunson
Quinta Brunson is a creator, executive producer, star and co-writer on the hit sitcom Abbott Elementary. In January, she became the first black woman in more than 40 years to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy. She also signed a multiyear contract with Warner Bros. Television Group in 2022 to create, develop and produce original content.
“I’ve lived my whole life proud to be the underdog, but to be recognized in this way makes me feel like something has changed,” Quinta Brunson told Harper’s Bazaar in January 2023 after winning her first Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. “And that’s good for the world.”
Shakira Among Most Powerful Women of 2024
Shakira has three Grammys and 14 Latin Grammys under her belt, making her one of the biggest global artists working today. Last year she was crowned Woman of the Year at Billboard’s Latin Women in Music 2023 and broke records when the video for her post-divorce revenge song “Out of Your League” got 82 million views on YouTube in one day.
The singer’s next album, Los Mujeres Yo No Lloran, is set to come out on March 22. She is now planning her first tour in six years with arena and stadium dates in Latin America, North America, the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Alex Cooper
Alex Cooper signed a $60 million three-year contract with Spotify in 2021, which makes her the second-highest paid podcaster on the streaming company’s payroll. She’s host of the extremely popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” which has seen her interview stars like Miley Cyrus and John Mayer.
She also launched the Unwell Network in August 2023, signing influencers Alix Earle and Madeline Argy to develop their own podcasts. On top of this, she co-founded a “Gen Z media venture” called Trending with her fiance Matt Kaplan.
Beyonce
Beyoncé has also been selected by the magazine as one of the most powerful women of 2024. The star has won 32 Grammys, more than any other artist in history, and is releasing a new country album called Act II, which serves as a sequel to 2022’s Renaissance, on March 29.
After shining in the world of R&B, pop, hip-hop and house music, Beyonce became the first black woman to get a number one hit on the country charts with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” one of two lead singles from Act II.
Her voyage into the new genre comes after her 2023 Renaissance World Tour, which made $579 million, putting it at the second-highest grossing tour by a female artist after Taylor Swift.
Zendaya
The star of Euphoria made Emmys history in 2022 when she became the youngest two-time winner for acting and the first black woman to win for Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice. The actress also became an executive producer on the show ahead of its second season.
With two huge film releases set for the first half of 2024 – Dune: Part Two and The Challengers – Zendaya has climbed her way to the top.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain is the bestselling female country artist of all time, and has sold over 100 million records during her 30-year career. She’s also been a beacon for other country-pop crossover artists including Taylor Swift, who has said Shania Twain is her biggest musical influence.
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie starred in and produced the highest-grossing movie of 2023, Barbie, which brought in $1.45 billion globally. The star bought the rights to Barbie in 2018 and championed the project for years, eventually convincing executives of its surefire success.
“I told them that it’d make a billion dollars,” she told Collider in August 2023.
Simone Biles
With four Olympic gold medals, one silver and two bronze, Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast ever. She’s a six-time all-around World Champion and holds the record for most World Champion medals – she presently has 30.
Biles started speaking up about the relationship between mental health and athletic performance in 2021, and that year, she featured on Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for “championing mental health.”
Ali Wong
Wong made history earlier this year as the first actress of Asian descent to win an Emmy for a lead role. On top of the Emmy, her portrayal of Amy Lau in Beef earned her a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Award.
She has also released three successful Netflix stand-up specials and plans to return her focus to comedy.
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson has found success in both singing and business. The performer has sold 20 million albums worldwide and her fashion line, The Jessica Simpson Collection, is worth around $1 billion.
The star has announced plans to get back to her music this year, with a new album and a tour. During an interview with Footwear News last year, she said she feels “enlightened” in the studio.
Kelly Clarkson
The first-ever American Idol champion went on to release 10 studio albums and win three Grammys. She has also won seven Daytime Emmys – four for best host – for her daily talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, which debuted in 2019.
Eva Longoria
The actress became a major celebrity while starring in Desperate Housewives in the mid to late 2000s, and has since become a producer and director. Her directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot, earned several accolades during the 2023 awards season, including Best Feature Film at the 38th annual Imagen Awards.
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Sweeney received Emmy nominations for The White Lotus and Euphoria in 2022 before rising to mega popularity with 2023’s romantic comedy Anyone But You. The film became the first R-rated movie to bring in more than $100 milion worldwide since 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby.
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