Actress Taraji P. Henson, tennis superstar Coco Gauff, and singer Audra Day have been listed among the “Women of the Year” by Time magazine.
Henson, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in the Brad Pitt-led The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, became a lightning rod for controversy when she discussed the vast pay disparity in Hollywood.
Time magazine explained how Henson, who first rose to fame via the urban classic Baby Boy, earned her spot on the esteemed list.
“That sense of urgency [runs] through this year’s edition of Women of the Year, Time’s annual list of trailblazers who are breaking new ground and fighting for a more equitable future,” the magazine stated.
“Lately, Henson, one of Hollywood’s most electric personalities and prolific stars, has been pulling back the curtain, sharing her frustration and heartbreak as a Black woman in the industry.”
Taraji P. Henson joined by Coco Gauff
Gauff, 19, was included on the list after the charismatic tennis phenom won her first major at the U.S. Open in August 2023, the youngest American to win a major since her hero, Serena Williams, accomplished that feat in 1999. It is more than ironic and serendipitous that Gauff first exploded into the sports world by defeating her other idol, Venus Williams, as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon in the summer of 2019.
The Grand Slam title in New York, coupled with other signature wins in 2023, also helped Gauf cement her status as the world’s highest-paid female athlete. Gauff, who turns 20 on March 13, said “it’s crazy” that she is leaving her teenage years behind.
“So much of my career, people have called me the teenaged this, teenaged that,” Gauff told Time. “At first, I was scared to grow up. But now I’m embracing adulthood. There’s always going to be change needed in this world. I hope I can play a small part.”
Taraji P. Henson is joined by other prestigious women
In addition to Henson, Gauff, and Day, the founder and executive director of the Chisholm Legacy Project, Jacqui Patterson, was also honored. Others on the list, according to Time, include director Greta Gerwig, global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair, co-founder and leader of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace Yael Admi, founder and director of Women of the Sun Reem Hajajreh, president and chairwoman of nonprofit Nadia’s Initiative Nadia Murad, medical scientist and professor of research on hyperemesis gravidarum Marlena Fejzo, poet Ada Limón, and economic historian and labor economist Claudia Goldin.
