Top 10 Women Who Owned 2016

Australian actress Margot Robbie made her mark on Hollywood in a big way in 2016. She’s had momentum building since 2013’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” but it was “Suicide Squad” and her portrayal of the iconic Harley Quinn that skyrocketed her to the next level. But that wasn’t her only movie this year, since she had “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “The Legend of Tarzan” come out as well, all of which showed that this woman has serious range. She’s also funny and doesn’t take herself too seriously as shown by her hosting spot on “Saturday Night Live.” We expect to see a lot more of her in years to come.

Politicians don’t always get the respect they deserve, but Theresa May is making the world pay attention. As the Prime Minister taking over during an uncertain time in the UK thanks to events like Brexit, she’s been tasked with uniting her nation. Since she’s been appointed, she’s tried to guide with her party’s conservative values while bridging the divide between the haves and have-nots in the UK. What’s more is that she’s only the second female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Being in charge of a nation is never an easy task, but May certainly seems like she’s up for it.

After a four-year hiatus, Adele feared that she wouldn’t be able to make up a comeback. Lucky for her - and us, she was wrong. 2016 proved to be the year of her triumphant return to the spotlight. She dropped her third album “25” in the fall of 2015 with “Hello” as the lead single. It was a monster hit and it propelled her into the new year. The album also became a monster success and has been certified diamond; she’s the only artist of the 2010s who’s has two albums achieve this honor. While it took “21” 92 weeks to do it, this one needed less than that. Besides selling albums, the world’s been delighted to have Adele touring, doing interviews, and cracking jokes.

As the campaign manager of President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne was thrust into the spotlight this year. In one of the most controversial presidential elections of the modern era, Kellyanne had to put out fire after fire when it came to the political snafus Trump had. Conway was actually the third campaign manager to join the Trump team, but she also made the biggest impression. Even though she was only formally in the role as of August, a mere 3 months away from election day, Conway had to deal with some of the biggest stories of the campaign, including the leaked video of Trump and Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush.

Who runs the world? Beyoncé, of course. More than ever, Beyoncé came into her own this year as an artist with the release of the visual album “Lemonade,” which is her most personal and political album to date. To kick everything off, she surprised fans with the release of “Formation,” a powerful song calling for the empowerment of black women. She then performed it at Super Bowl 50, which caused controversy among conservatives who saw it as being “anti-police”. But Bey was unapologetic, and seemingly aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter movement. She also had some of the best performances of her career with spots on the BET Awards, MTV VMAs, and CMAs. And on top of that, she led the most successful music tour of the year.

It’s been a major year for Kate and one that’s well deserved. She’s been on “Saturday Night Live” for four years, but with the 2016 presidential election she became a household name with her impressions of Hillary Clinton; she also made us made us cry with her rendition of “Hallelujah” after Clinton lost. Kate made history at the Emmys when she became the first SNL cast member to win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in many years. In addition to all her SNL success, Kate showed she had the chops to be a movie star with her portrayal of the weirdly wonderful Jillian Holtzmann in “Ghostbusters,” which she starred in alongside SNL co-star Leslie Jones, another breakout star of the year.

This year, Ashley taught us all that “plus size” and “sexy” aren’t mutually exclusive terms. As a plus sized model, Ashley’s been a fierce advocate for body positivity and teaching women to love their body at any size. She had the honor of being the first plus size model on the cover of the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and she rocked it in a string bikini. And she’s been everywhere this year from being featured as the love interest in the DNCE music video for “Toothbrush” to continuing her work as a spokeswoman for Lane Bryant to the announcement of her role on the “America’s Next Top Model” reboot. We’re excited to see what she does next.

As the First Lady of the United States, Michelle spent eight years in the public spotlight and time and time again she proved that she’s a role model. In 2016, she hit the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton and was one of her most powerful weapons in inspiring hope. In addition to her political activity, she’s let her hair down and had some fun by appearing on things like Carpool Karaoke and having fun with Ellen in CVS. Her positivity, wit, intelligence, and heart have modeled what it means to be a First Lady in the modern era.

All the members of the US Women’s Gymnastics team worked hard to make team USA undefeatable - but Simone was by far the standout member. At only 19, Simone has shattered major records: she’s the most decorated American gymnast with 19 Olympic and World Championship medals and she’s the sixth woman to win an all-around individual title at both the World Championships and Olympics. She dominated the Games with 5 medals in total, just like swimming sensation Katie Ledecky. Besides her athletic achievements, Simone has become America’s sweetheart due to her personality and excitement for life and her sport.
Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Elaine Thompson

Sia


Serena Williams

As the first female candidate to be nominated by a major political party in a US presidential election who also obtained a plurality of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton has a lot to be proud of. She’s spent her entire adult life working in the public sphere, advocating for the rights of families, women and more, which led her to positions of power as both the Senator of New York and the Secretary of State under the Obama Administration. What’s more is that Secretary Clinton is a feminist icon, the matriarch of a family, and a fighter. Even after her defeat, she managed to congratulate her opponent and encouraged her disheartened supporters to never give up. She’s an inspiration to many, and will go down in the history books.


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