6 Female Celebrities College Students Should Follow From Forbes Magazine's Top 100

By Alexandra Brown on June 3, 2015

Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful women of 2015 came out last week, highlighting 100 of the world’s most powerful women.

These women hold the positions of CEO, entrepreneur, celebrity role model, billionaire activist, head of state, and philanthropist.

A specific category of these women, celebrity role models, are especially under our radar, as we as college students tend to follow popular culture, whether it’s through social media, the news, or even print media.

If we’re going to be following these celebrities, we may as well follow the ones who are considered the most powerful and that have great impact on the world, right?

Here is a list of 6 celebrities to follow and look up to from Forbes’ Top 100 most powerful women of 2015.

1. Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is the youngest woman to make Forbes’ list. At just 25 years of age, she landed number 64 on the list of 100 women.

Swift has not only impressed the world with an insane amount of awards won (including being nominated for a total of 22 Grammy awards since 2008, and seven of those won), but she has also proven herself in the business world.

In late 2014, Swift decided to pull her entire music catalogue from Spotify, holding the opinion that music should not be free, and that these free music streaming services do not adequately provide artists the praise and compensation they deserve.

2. Beyoncé Knowles

At 33, Beyoncé Knowles has reached number 49 on Forbes’ list of America’s self-made women in 2015, number 1 on their list of the world’s most powerful celebrities in 2014, and number 21 on this year’s list of the world’s most powerful women.

She was the highest-ranked entertainer on the list this year, and has personally raked in more than $500 million in gross earnings as a solo artist, according to Forbes’ article. In addition to all of her numbers, Beyoncé has proven herself a role model for young girls and women everywhere, pushing feminism in her music.

3. Sofía Vergara

The self-made, Colombian actress of 42, Sofía Vergara has landed herself the number 57 position on Forbes’ list this year, ranking number 32 the previous year. She also made number 54 on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities in 2014.

The actress, most commonly known for her role as Gloria from ABC’s sitcom “Modern Family,” remains the highest-earning actress on television, pulling in $325K per episode. She’s also responsible for co-founding the talent management and entertainment-marketing firm Latin World Entertainment in the ’90s.

She’s also the spokeswoman for CoverGirl and Head & Shoulders. One reason she’s been so attractive in marketing is because endorsers are able to hit both the English and Spanish markets at the same time. This can’t be said for most women in her industry.

4. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie was ranked number 73 on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities of 2014, and has reached number 54 on this year’s list of top 100 most powerful women.

In addition to her many on-camera successes, she’s recently been writing, directing, and eventually starring in the drama “By The Sea” with actor husband Brad Pitt.

Jolie also makes a difference outside of Hollywood, advocating for human rights, and speaking out against the U.N. Security Council in April for their lack of action in relation to the Syrian war.

5. Michelle Obama

As the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama ranks as number 10 on Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful women of 2015. She was ranked number 8 in 2014.

Obama has proven herself as a strong women’s rights advocate, traveling to Southeast Asia at the start of the year to push the increase of the education of girls, and their well-being and financial status.

She has also advocated for an end to homelessness among military veterans in the United States, as well as for the importance of healthy lunches in America’s schools.

6. Tory Burch

College girls love the classic look of Tory Burch leather ballet flats, and her signature handbags.

At the age of 48, Burch is a self-made designer, and holds the position of CEO at her label, Tory Burch. She made number 17 on Forbes’ list of America’s self-made women of 2015, number 1741 on their list of billionaires of 2015 (number 513 in the United States), and has landed number 73 on their list of the 100 most powerful women of 2015.

In the past year, Burch has expanded her brand to include watches with a deal with Fossil, and has launched her fragrances and cosmetics overseas. Next, she’s working on a line of workout wear.

Outside of fashion, President Obama appointed Burch in April of 2014 as one of 11 ambassadors for global entrepreneurship.

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