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Career

Girl Bosses in Entertainment

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hampton U chapter.

Female bosses have been dominating the entertainment industry for the last few decades. The influence of women is seen all over social media, in areas of fashion, music, politics, and more. Here’s a look at some female bosses in the industry today. 

Wanda Sykes 

Wanda Sykes is known as one of the best female comedians of all time. Holding the Illustrious Hampton University as her alma mater, it’s no wonder this Hamptonian has had great success. She has been featured in various films and television shows, both as a voice actor and on set. She wrote for the infamous Chris Rock show and won a Primetime Emmy Award for it in 1999. 

Oprah Winfrey 

Oprah Winfrey is the epitome of that B****. Early on in her career, she was fired from her job as a weatherwoman. She was told that she would never amount to anything. After, she decided to assert herself to a different level. This was only the start of her boss journey. She went on to producing her own talk show called, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Many women around the world would sit down and listen to Oprah’s success story. Oprah had a rough upcoming, and was able to turn her downfall into something great. Even though her show was very successful, she decided to end it and start on her next big dream. In 2011, Oprah developed a television network called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). 

J.K. Rowling 

The world renown author J.K. Rowling wasn’t always successful in her field. Rowling was fired from her secretary job at the London office of Amnesty International for reportedly “daydreaming” too much. Fortunately for us Harry Potter fans, that downfall gave her the opportunity to write. Now she is a multi-billionaire of arguably the best book series. 

Beyonce 

Beyonce Giselle Knowles held a success story from the start. She started singing when she was young at her local church and branched out to one of the best pop vocalists to this day. She caught the eye of the public when she was apart of the R&B group Destiny’s Child. Soon after that she moved on to establish a solo career, releasing the hit album Dangerously in Love. Beyonce has had sold-out tours, sold millions of albums, and won an abundant amount of awards. In 2016 she released her fifth studio album, Lemonade, which included visuals for music videos. Creating a whole new view on how music albums could be presented. Two years later she dropped a joint album with her husband, Jay-Z, branching a couples tour right after. In 2019, Queen B released a concert film, Homecoming, about her performance at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This film was written, directed and produced by Beyoncé herself. Did I mention that she’s also a full time mom of three healthy children, Blue Ivy, Sir, and Rumi. What can’t this female boss do?

Ellen Degeneres 

Comedian and actress Ellen Degeneres is a force to be reckoned with. She first gained popularity in her own sitcom, Ellen, starring her as the main character. The show lasted from 1994 to 1998. After Ellen came out in 1997, Ellen was one of the first shows to have an openly lesbian lead. After the show ended, Ellen only went up from there. She hosted her Emmy award winning talk show called, “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” and has been relevant for sixteen seasons.

Briana Previlon is a junior at Hampton University where she is pursuing a major in Political Science on the Pre-Law track. When she is not writing, you can find her listening to music, watching Harry Potter, or hanging out with her friends.
Jordyn Edwards is a graduating senior at the illustrious Hampton University studying strategic communications with an emphasis in liberal studies. Jordyn creates for others while being deeply motivated for her passion of storytelling and helping women find their voices.