Often times our perception of female celebrities is clouded by magazine headlines and click-bait articles, but there are a lot of women in the spotlight who are changing the game through their entrepreneurial pursuits. The six inspiring ladies below are proof that badass business women are taking over the world and honestly, we’re loving it.
1. Jessica Alba
Jessica is mostly known for her roles in Sin City, Fantastic Four, and Valentine’s Day, but after becoming a mom and learning about the harmful chemicals found in many household items, she turned her focus to founding a company that would provide families with safe, non-toxic products. As a result, The Honest Company was created in 2011, and launched just 17 products for families with young children . Since then, the company has expanded into the beauty industry with the introduction of the Honest Beauty line and, as of August 2015, is valued at $1.7 billion. Talk about a #girlboss.
2. Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy is slaying the game. From her classic role of Sookie St. James in Gilmore Girls, to her huge blockbuster movies like Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat, Melissa has definitely secured her place in the acting world. A little known fact about McCarthy is that she studied Textiles at Southern Illinois University in hopes of pursuing a career in fashion design. It’s no wonder then that this hilarious lady has since fulfilled her dreams by launching her very own clothing line for plus-size women, Seven7. Her brand is available at Penningtons and on her website.
3. Kylie Jenner
The Kardashians are known to most for being famous, outrageous, and savvy business women. While I could easily list each Kardashian/Jenner on this list, Kylie is the youngest of the bunch and is currently taking the world by storm by way of her makeup company, Kylie Cosmetics. The items up for grabs include the famous matte lip-kits, as well as the cleverly named Kylighters, Kyliners, and Kyshadow palettes just to name a few. Most recently, her brand has moved into pop-up shops in LA and New York which sell her beauty range and her merchandise in one convenient location.
Much like her sisters, she also regularly updates her personal app with both free and exclusive content ($3.99/month) and with the help of Glu Games Inc, launched a joint app with her sister Kendall where players can live like Kendall and Kylie in a virtual setting. The youngest Jenner is also the most recent brand ambassador for the athletic wear company Puma.
4. Drew Barrymore
Drew is a super busy lady. She’s a mom of two sweet girls and the lead in Netflix’s new show, Santa Clarita Diet. More than that, she published her third book Wildflower in 2015 where she tells both hilarious and touching stories about her life growing up in the entertainment world (and how she bonded with Cameron Diaz!). Her beauty company called Flower has been a total success for Drew; Walmart now carries the brand and all of the products are cruelty-free! As if that wasn’t enough, Drew also founded her very own production company, Flower Films, with Nancy Juvonen in 1995 which has produced films like 50 First Dates, He’s Just Not That Into You, and How to Be Single. This Charlie’s Angel is totally killing it.
5. Michelle Phan
Meet Michelle Phan. She’s a kickass lady who began her career on YouTube as a beauty guru but has since then expanded her brand in many ways. Her makeup company (a popular theme within this list of ladies) EM Cosmetics began with the goal of empowering women to embrace their beauty. While the cosmetics brand is currently undergoing an update, we’re psyched to see what Michelle has planned next. She also created a mega beauty subscription box called Ipsy, where subscribers pay a monthly fee to have a unique mix of products sent to them each month. It doesn’t stop there; Michelle has also written her own book Make Up: Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style, and Success and her digital comic Helios: Femina (free!) which she drew herself. Who says YouTube is a waste of time?
Ready to have your #girlboss moment? Come to our Headshot event on Friday, March 10th from 10am – 4pm in the Michele Pujol room in the SUB! Photos are free and are perfect additions to your LinkedIn accounts!
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Her Campus @ UVic is not affiliated with or sponsored by The Honest Company, Penningtons, Seven7, Kylie Cosmetics, Flower, Ipsy, or EM Cosmetics.