Women to watch in 2015
2014 had both a lot of highs and lows for women. It will be hard to top it but we have a feeling 2015 has a chance of being pretty interesting, especially with these ladies involved.
Elizabeth Holmes
You won’t just be watching this young woman next year. You’ll be hearing this name for quite some time. Holmes is the youngest female billionaire and her company is a game changer for healthcare. A fear of needles never produced such great results. She wants to simplify all medical tests by having using just one pinprick of blood gathered in a container smaller than a dime to be used for 70 lab tests. Holmes thinks that ease of testing will make people more likely to go through with blood tests and help with earlier detection of illness. “Forty to sixty percent of Americans today are not compliant with even the basic tests that their physicians give them when they do see them, because often they can’t afford it, or they are scared of needles,” Holmes told CNN. Holmes would never have been as far with her company if she hadn’t dropped out of Stanford University at 19. “I think a lot of young people have incredible ideas and incredible insights, but sometimes they wait before they go give their life to something,” she said. “What I did was just to start a little earlier.”
Misty Copeland
2014 was a great year for prima ballerina Copeland so there is no question that 2015 will be even more amazing. The Under Armour spokeswoman (whose ads rocked the internet and your television) is getting her own show on Oxygen tentatively titled ‘The Misty Copeland Project’, which will focus on Copland mentoring aspiring dancers. There’s no one in dance more inspirational than Copeland, as she didn’t start ballet until she was 13 years old (which is like 40 in dance world) and was constantly told she had the wrong body for dance (i.e. she was short, had boobs, and muscular legs). “I’m constantly inspired by her mental strength and discipline as a dancer,” Jennifer Whelan, a corps de ballet dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, told The New York Daily News. “She’s attracted a very diverse audience that perhaps in the past were not exposed to ballet.”
Loretta Lynch
Loretta Elizabeth Lynch is the current United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. This fall the Harvard Law alumna became the first-ever African-American woman to hold the position—the highest ranking in the U.S. Justice Department. “She has spent years in the trenches as a prosecutor, aggressively fighting terrorism, financial fraud, cybercrime, all while vigorously defending civil rights,” President Obama said when she was nominated. Lynch replaces Eric Holder, who announced his resignation in September after serving as the nation’s first black attorney general. “Loretta doesn’t look to make headlines. She looks to make a difference,” Obama said. Lynch said she promises to “wake up every morning with the protection of the American people [as her] first thought.”
Emily Weiss
Some of you may remember Weiss from her appearances on The Hills as super intern Emily who made Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port look like slackers. But some of you know Weiss as the founder of Into the Gloss, the beauty blog. But now Weiss, 29, is moving into business territory with her recent $8.4 million funding round for her new skincare line Glossier (the company also went from 6 employees to 25). So what gives a beauty blogger the authority to create a skincare line? Well, quite a bit of insight actually. “We’re trying to create one holistic beauty experience where you can be inspired by other women, both the people we’re interviewing and the community contributing to the conversation” [on her blog, Into the Gloss], Weiss said in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily. “A huge number of women are shopping for beauty products based on recommendations from friends and we really look to be that friend.”
The brand, which is available on glossier.com, consists of four products — foundation, rosewater mist, priming moisturizer and universal balm. “We’re looking to provide context around the commerce experience in a way where [the customer] feels heard and represented,” she told WWD. “We want these products to live with her. [They aren’t meant to be] really precious items that are symbolic of this aspiration that she’ll never quite get to.”
Marissa Webb
Marissa Webb is going to be more than just the Creative Director this spring at Banana Republic. She is going to be the face of the company as well. The designer who built her loyal following at Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco and J.Crew before starting her own line, will be incorporated into many aspects of the line including its new aesthetic and branding. Racked writer Chavie Lieber says Banana is clearly trying to make her the next Jenna Lyons, the Creative Director at J.Crew who has also become the brand’s poster child in some ways.
Her first collection for Banana will arrive this summer. “Banana Republic has been very popular for straightforward workwear,” she said. “We are pushing that 360-degree lifestyle. I think it’s about being adventurous. My phrase is, ‘Don’t be so dull.’ You can undo that top button. We want people to know that this is who we are and we are taking risks and we’re being adventurous and we are leading the conversation and really being creative.”
Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones has been a working actress for years but with her role as Stephen Hawking’s wife, Jane, in The Theory of Everything, she is in the forefront. Already nominated for a Golden Globe, we could see this Oxford grad taking home an Oscar for her work in the dramatic film. “I am definitely romantic and I love romantic stories – that’s why I keep making romantic movies. It’s funny how seeing a love story never gets boring because it’s the dream isn’t it? It’s the dream to have a true connection with another human being.”
Hillary Clinton
It looks like 2016 will really be Hillary’s year, but that doesn’t mean 2015 won’t be exciting. The RealClearPolitics spread for the Democratic nomination has Clinton way out front with an average of 62.7 percent of the party vote. Here we go girls!
