In what world do BTS, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Glenn Close, Dwayne Johnson, Ariana Grande, and Sandra Oh land on the same plane of influence as Pope Francis?
The answer: ours, as Time magazine has named each of these culturally significant figures to its annual 100 Most Influential People list.
The publication’s 2019 class includes several Hollywood heavy-hitters among other politicians, religious figures, and cultural newsmakers, with their industry peers — including Celine Dion, Viola Davis, Tessa Thompson, Robert Redford, Julianne Moore, and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke — providing thoughtful commentary on each person’s inclusion.
“How exactly does one accomplish world domination? Surely it takes remarkable talent, charm, kindness, altruism and dedication. But you’d still be missing a key component: a devoted community to uplift your efforts, soften your stumbles and shoot light from their eyes into the sky in your name every single night,” Halsey writes of her “Boy with Luv” collaborators BTS, while Roma director Alfonso Cuarón calls his breakout star Aparicio “incredibly grounded in her truth and not easily swept away by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood” as “she focuses on being a force of change and empowerment for indigenous women, embracing the symbolic value of what she has done and carrying that responsibility with dignity and grace.”
In addition to the aforementioned celebrities, recent Oscar-winners and nominees such as Spike Lee, Yalitza Aparicio, Regina King, and Mahershala Ali also appear on the list next to political and social leaders like Donald Trump, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Dr. Leana Wen, the current head of Planned Parenthood.
Check out Time‘s full list of the 100 most influential people of 2019 here.
