These people run the world! Time released its annual 100 Most Influential People list for 2016 on Thursday, April 21, and it celebrates innovators and icons in entertainment, sports, politics, tech and more! Each honoree is the subject of a short essay written by another notable public figure in their field.
Hollywood and showbiz favorites — Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicki Minaj, Quantico actress Priyanka Chopra and creator of Broadway’s Hamilton Lin-Manuel Miranda — grace four of the six covers. The other two feature Facebook cocreator Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan, and managing director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.
Almost all the top presidential hopefuls for the 2016 election made the list, including Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. President Barack Obama also made the list with a touching essay penned by Charleston shooting survivor Jennifer Pinckney.
Entertainers including Kendrick Lamar, Melissa McCarthy, Charlize Theron, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ariana Grande and Gina Rodriguez, plus supermodel Karlie Kloss, took coveted space on the list for their majorly influential work. In the sports realm, athletes such as NBA star Stephen Curry, golf pro Jordan Spieth, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey, Formula One race car driver Lewis Hamilton and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt nabbed spots on Time’s 100.
Jennifer Lawrence expressed just about everyone’s feelings for list-maker Adele. The Oscar winner wrote, “The way she is able to capture herself, and then in turn us, has turned her into a star that’s not a star we look at, but a giant star with its own gravity that we are drawn to. … Adele is a gift, an international treasure, but she’s also sweet, funny, intelligent and beautiful. Bitch.”
Vice President Joe Biden wrote about how Pope Francis’s six-day visit to the U.S. in September captivated Americans regardless of religion. “He’s electrified the world because he embodies the basic tenets of Catholic Social Doctrine that also cut across all great faith,” he said. “Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity; we have an obligation to help the poor; we have responsibilities to one another and to our planet.”
The father of a transgender daughter, Wayne Maines, gushed about Caitlyn Jenner’s bravery in her entry. “Her victory in the decathlon provided a positive role model for our nation — and created a hero for me. Having the courage to come out at this stage of her life makes her an even bigger hero. … Because no matter where you come from, how famous you might be or how much money you have, letting America see you in such a vulnerable way is daring and admirable — not self-serving.”
Empire cocreator Lee Daniels called Taraji P. Henson the “modern Bette Davis” in her dedication. “What I love most about Taraji P. Henson is that she’s fiercely loyal. During her audition for Empire, she told me she wouldn’t take the role unless Lucious was Terrence Howard,” he recalled. “She didn’t have the job yet, but she was standing there fighting for Terrence. That was the moment I knew she was Cookie.”
See the full list and all the celebrity dedications here.
