Time Magazine has just released its list of the 16 most influential teens of 2013. The most surprising and awesome part of this list is that it is dominated by the girls! Its no uncommon to see “top ten” lists, or “most powerful” lists with mostly male names, and a few females littered here and there. But it’s quite a sign of the times when you see the gender balance swing in favor of the women, especially when it comes to the younger generation.
Women were the most influential, according to Forbes’ Top Earning Celebrities Under 30 list, and the same deal goes for their Top 10o celebrity earners. The women took out the majority of the top ten which was quite a thrill for us all!
Back to the most influential teens, the list is a variety of entertainment, activism, sport, politics (yes, teens in politics) and literature.
Malala Yousafzai, 16, comes in at number 6, and her achievements are incredibly noteworthy. After being shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating education for girls in her home country of Pakistan, the teen activist’ platform and sphere of influence has been growing rapidly. This year she received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and a Clinton Global Citizen Award. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malia Obama, 15, US president Barack Obama’s daughter, takes the number 10 spot, counted for her public poise and positive influence her and younger sister Sasha have on their parents when it comes to issues such as gay marriage.
Actresses Hailee Steinfeld, 16, Chloe Grace Moretz, 16 (Carrie), and Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men), 14, are all included in the list. Hailee had no previous acting experience when she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in True Grit in 2010, and still considers herself somewhat of a beginner.
There are two authors on the list, Beth Reekles, 17 from the UK, and Maya Van Wagenen, 15, from Texas. Beth starting writing as a hobby, as she was sick of reading teen novels about werewolves and vampires. At the age of 15 she penned The Kissing Booth which she released online and got over 19 million views! She is now signed to Random House Children’s publishing for a 3-book deal, but plans on studying physics in college.
Maya became an author by accident. She started keeping a diary in a quest to become ‘popular’ at school, and got the attention of the right people. She landed a six-figure Penguin book deal for her book called Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. In October 2013 she signed a deal with Dreamworks who optioned the rights to turn the novel into a motion picture film. This deal makes her the youngest ever “non-actor” to make a deal at the film studio. Pretty impressive!
Golfer Lydia Ko, 16, takes out the number two spot, and Olympic Gold Medallist Missy Franklin, 18, sits at number four. Missy won 6 gold medals for swimming at the 2012 London Olympics, claiming the title of the “winningest female swimmer ever at a world meet”, and won the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year award this year. Oh and something else that’s cool about Missy, she turned down millions of dollars in endorsements to pursue a college degree!
South Korean-born New Zealand-based golfer Lydia Ko is blowing the golf industry out of the water. The minimum age requirements to turn pro in the LPGA is 18, but the organization waived the requirement because she was so darn good, and so far she has won 3 pro tournaments and is the world’s reigning U.S Women’s Amateur Champion. She’s the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event and the youngest person ever to win an LPGA tour event (and the only amateur to ever win two LPGA Tour events).
Recently elected New York Mayor Bill De Blasio (whose 16 year old son Dante is number 6 on the list for being a NYC fashion icon) walked onto the stage for his victory speech to the tune of Lorde’s ‘Royals’. He won the vote for his strong message against economic equality. Seems fitting!
For the record, Lorde whose real name is Ella Yelich O’Connor just signed a publishing deal worth $4 million on the day of her 17th birthday. Here’s the full list of influential teens.Its encouraging and inspiring to see teen girls in a variety of different industries making a name for themselves, and showing their peers around the world that you are never too young to make an impact or do something influential.
Impressive! Gives us hope for what the future will hold for these women and all of us.
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