Incredible Girls 2019

INDUSTRY-DEFINING MODEL AND UNICEF AMBASSADOR

The Somali-American model, who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and lived there until she was seven, became the first hijabi model to be signed to a major agency, joining IMG in 2016. She has since been featured on countless global magazine covers, walked in shows in New York and Milan, starred in Rihanna’s groundbreaking Fenty Beauty campaign, and last year was appointed a UNICEF ambassador.

ASPIRING ASTRONAUT AND STEM EDUCATION ADVOCATE

In 2015, Astronaut Abby, as she’s known, founded The Mars Generation, a non-profit that works to teach young people about space exploration and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Four years on, the organization has sent dozens of low-income students to the US Space Camp on fully funded scholarships and provided mentorship to thousands more. Now studying astrobiology and Russian at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Harrison hopes to join NASA after completing a PhD and become the first person on Mars.

WORLD #1 TENNIS PLAYER

While her first grand-slam victory at the 2018 US Open was overshadowed by a row between the umpire and her opponent Serena Williams, all eyes were on Osaka at this year’s Australian Open, when she secured her second straight grand-slam title – taking her from 72nd in the rankings to world number one in just under a year. The Japanese player – who is also half Haitian – has become a champion of difference for the country’s often marginalized multiracial citizens, while her reported $8.5m deal with Adidas is the brand’s most lucrative contract ever with a sportswoman.

TRANSGENDER MODEL AND LGBTQ+ ADVOCATE

The Boston-born model, who was discovered in 2015 by Louis Vuitton’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquière and has walked for the industry’s biggest brands, came out as transgender in an interview with CNN Style in 2017. Since then, Quinlivan has become an LGBTQ+ advocate, receiving last year’s Visibility Award from US advocacy group The Human Rights Campaign; shared her experiences of sexual assault on Instagram; and often addresses the need for greater accountability in the fashion industry.

FIRST EVER US YOUTH POET LAUREATE

In her position as the first US Youth Poet Laureate, the LA native has opened the US Library of Congress’ literary season, introduced Hillary Clinton at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, and spoken at the UN Social Good Summit. In December last year, the Harvard student read her poem Making Mountains As We Run at the inauguration of the university’s 29th president, two months after a powerful performance at PORTER’s Incredible Women Gala. Gorman uses her voice to explore her identity and tackle issues such as race, feminism and oppression. “It’s not enough for me to write,” she says. “I have to do right as well.” While in high school, Gorman became a UN youth delegate and founded One Pen One Page, a non-profit promoting literacy through creative writing. She’s even expressed hopes of running for president… in 2036.

YOUNGEST FEMALE CHESS CHAMPION IN HISTORY

Born in Xinghua, China, Yifan began her chess career while still in kindergarten. By 13, she’d become the youngest female chess world champion ever, earning the elusive grandmaster title the following year; at 16, she’d won three further world championships. Ranked the number one female chess player in the world, Yifan also serves as a cultural ambassador for China and holds a degree in international relations from Beijing’s Peking University. Last year, she was named one of TIME’s Next Generation Leaders and began a master’s in education at Oxford on a prestigious Rhodes scholarship – past recipients include Bill Clinton and Naomi Wolf.

TRAILBLAZING FINANCIER

Simmons smashed through Wall Street’s glass ceiling when she became the only full-time female trader at the New York Stock Exchange, and (at 23) the youngest. Despite plans to pursue medicine, Simmons opted to channel her love of maths and applied for a role at Rosenblatt Securities, prepping for the rigorous Series 19 exam in less than a month and surprising everyone, herself included, when she passed. The Georgia native, who is now working in private equity, has since signed a deal with AGC Studios to turn her story into a movie.

FEMINIST CRUSADER ILLUSTRATOR

Combining her creative flair with a passion for social activism, the London-based illustrator has built a loyal fanbase for her bold, ’70s-style prints featuring mostly topless women and emblazoned with feminist slogans. Her work has caught the attention of singer Rita Ora, who commissioned Given to design the merchandise for her tour, and Swedish brand Weekday, with whom she collaborated on a collection of T-shirts that sold out in under an hour. Last year she launched a petition against Netflix’s Insatiable that attracted more than 200,000 signatures. Since criticizing the controversial TV show for its ‘fatphobic’ narrative, she has become a vital voice in the body-positivity movement.

FASTEST FEMALE ATHLETE IN BRITISH HISTORY

She was the name on everybody’s lips at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, where she became the first British woman to run 200m in under 22 seconds, smashing the European Championship record in the process and taking home three gold medals. It was a breakthrough moment that had been many years in the making; an emblem of self-discipline, Asher-Smith trains six days a week and for three years juggled an elite athletics career with studying for a history degree at King’s College London. Next stop: Tokyo 2020.

FILMMAKER, COMEDIAN AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE PINK PROTEST

The fearless provocateur hit headlines in the UK last year when she phoned in to her father Alastair Campbell’s (Tony Blair’s former spin doctor) radio show to call him out on his sexist language. The young Brit is best known for The Pink Protest, which she co-founded to address feminist issues, and which launched a campaign to end FGM by introducing a bill in Parliament. She has also produced documentaries on sexual assault, transgender rights and refugees, and was one of four female comics on Riot Girls, a feminist satire for the UK’s Channel 4.

AWARD-WINNING CHOREOGRAPHER AND CHILDISH GAMBINO COLLABORATOR

Last May, Donald Glover (under rap alias Childish Gambino) released a video for This Is America that racked up 100m views in nine days. Behind the scenes was the then 23-year-old choreographer Silver, who had been discovered on YouTube by Glover’s management and flown out to LA, eventually going on to win the MTV VMA award for best choreography. Silver, who was born in Rwanda and raised in the UK, has also set up a shelter for homeless children in Rwanda, runs vocational training centers to provide children with access to education and medical programs, and is a United Nations IFAD advocate.

AUTHOR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST

For this African-American Muslim activist, intersectionality isn’t so much a buzzword as a fact of life. Imani founded the feminist educational platform Equality for HER in 2014, but came to public attention when she was arrested in Baton Rouge during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2016. Since coming out as queer on Fox News in 2017, she has also been involved with several LGBTQ+ organizations, last year giving a powerful speech at the GLAAD Media Awards with Orlando nightclub shooting survivor Brandon Wolf. Imani has spoken at Harvard, Yale and NYU, and in 2018 published Modern HERstory, which shares the stories of 70 inspiring women and non-binary people.