TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ Features Queer Trailblazers
Since 1998, TIME Magazine has released a yearly list of the most influential individuals. The list hopes to recognize the most impactful members of the society in the categories of artists, innovators, titans, leaders, icons, and pioneers. This week, TIME released its 2022 list, which included several out-and-proud queer people.
Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the accomplishments of LGBTQ people as recognized by TIME Magazine:
Ariana Debose
A recent Academy Award winner for her performance as Anita in the 2021 remake of West Side Story, Debose is also a prolific musical theater actress, probably most well known for her role as The Bullet in Hamilton. Some of her upcoming work includes roles in HBO’s Westworld, an upcoming Marvel film Kraven the Hunter, and a queer romantic comedy titled Two and Only.
Demna Gvasalia
A gay, Eastern European man, Gvasalia has risen to prominence as a fashion designer. In 2014, he founded his own company Vetements, before becoming the creative head of Balenciaga in 2015. Most famously, he dressed Kim Kardashian for the 2021 Met Gala where she wore a head-to-toe, black bodysuit.
Emmett Schelling
The executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, Schelling has been a staunch advocate for and defender of transgender rights in Texas. Due in part to Schelling’s work, only one anti-trans school sports ban was passed despite dozens of attempts by Texas lawmakers.
Megan Rapinoe
Captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Rapinoe was involved in the battle for equal pay for men’s and women’s national teams. The win is thought to open the door to decreasing gender inequality in sports around the country. Rapinoe is also one of several athletes to publicly state support for trans youth participation in sports.
Michael R. Jackson
A playwright, Jackson has won a Pulitzer for his semi-autobiographical and metafictional musical, A Strange Loop. This made Jackson the first Black musical theater writer to win the award. The musical has also been nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including the first nomination for a transgender actress.
Michelle Zauner
A Korean American musician, Zauner is the lead singer and songwriter for the band, Japanese Breakfast. The band has released three albums and did the soundtrack for the 2021 video game Sable. In 2021, Zauner also released her first book, titled, Crying in H Mart: A Memoir. The book has been picked up to be adapted into a film, with Zauner herself writing the soundtrack.
Nadine Smith
The executive director of Equality Florida, Smith has been a long-standing LGBTQ activist. She co-founded IGLYO, an LGBTQ youth, and student organization. Smith also co-chaired the 1993 March on Washington and was one of the first group of LGBTQ leaders to meet with a sitting president.
Tim Cook
Cook became the first fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay back in 2014. While Cook has not headed as many “revolutionary” products as Steve Jobs before him, under Cook’s leadership, Apple became the first company valued $1 trillion in the United States.
Photo courtesy of Ariana Debose on Instagram
