Anny Ma has the low-down on the leading ladies who’re serving up inspo left and right.
FAMOUS LAST NAMES
Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet Stallone
@sophiastallone | @sistinestallone | @scarletstallone | 1.5M followers combined
It’s the Miss Golden Globe girls! The triple-threat Stallone sisters were given the honour of handing out the awards at the 2017 ceremony, with then 14-year-old Scarlet the youngest ever to do so. NTB at all. But being Rocky’s offspring apparently does have its downsides — Sistine’s adamant most of her Insta followers are just fans of her dad. We think each of their ’grams is worth a follow, whether you’re a Sly fan or not.
Lottie Moss
@lottiemossxo | 191k followers
Not many 19-year-olds go from modelling for their parents’ vintage store to being shot for Teen Vogue, but when you’re Kate’s half-sister, it’s basically a given. Lottie also managed to juggle her A levels while wowing at the Cannes Film Festival, so maybe you really can have it all.
Frances Bean Cobain
@space_witch666 | 746k followers
With a name that refers to the fact that dad Kurt thought she looked like a kidney bean in her ultrasound, 25 years later, Frances models, creates art and has an annoying ex she just can’t seem to shake. Totes relatable. The face of Marc Jacobs’ SS17 campaign, she later tagged her image on the billboard on Melrose Place in a move she called “just a couple of bandits leaving their mark”. Will she become the Banksy of It-girls? Time will tell…
Paris Jackson
@parisjackson | 2.2M followers
The daughter of the late MJ has been in the spotlight her whole life, and has been embracing it lately, appearing on the cover of mags including Rolling Stone, CR Fashion Book and Harper’s Bazaar. She’s an outspoken activist and uses her profile to draw attention to issues like the Dakota Access Pipeline. Her passion and carefree attitude somehow balance out perfectly, so we want what she’s having ASAP.
MUSIC MOGULS IN THE MAKING
Tinashe
@tinashenow | 2M followers
MAC describes her as part of “the next generation of women shaping music’s future” and we defo agree! Tinashe’s d-floor filler ‘2 On’ with Schoolboy Q took her career to the next level, adding to a CV already peppered with dancing, acting and modelling credits. Before she was getting 2 on, she was part of girl group The Stunners, who supported Justin Bieber on his My World Tour. Since then she’s toured with Maroon 5, collaborated with A$AP Rocky and Charli XCX, promoted her own MAC eyeshadow palette, and fronted campaigns for Juicy Couture x Urban Outfitters and John Frieda.
Julia Michaels
@imjmichaels | 359k followers
Sure, our favourite popstars are extraordinarily talented, but they’re just as time-poor as the rest of us — and that’s where the support crew comes in. Songwriters such as Julia are as important to the charts as the big names, and she’s been credited with writing for all your faves: Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Fifth Harmony, Nick Jonas and the Biebs, among others. She’s also been touring with Shawn Mendes and working on her own music, releasing EP Nervous System (featuring hit single ‘Issues’) in July.
Maggie Rogers
@maggierogers | 95.3k followers
Hands up if you’ve written a song in 15 minutes, played it to Pharrell, then been launched into superstardom? *sound of crickets chirping* Well, that’s how Maggie made her name. Pharrell ran a masterclass at NYU, where Maggie was a student, heard the song she whipped up for it, ‘Alaska’, and was instantly obsessed. Less than two years later and she’s releasedan EP and performed on the likes of The Tonight Show and The Late Late Show. Get used to her folksy electronica sounds, because you’re definitely going to be hearing more from her.
Tokimonsta
@tokimonsta | 100k followers
Making herself at home behind decks all over the world, DJ and producer Jennifer Lee, AKA Tokimonsta, is setting the electronica world on fire. Her indie-/hip-hop-/R&B-infused remixes and records have opened her up to a collaboration with Anderson Paak and given her the platform to start Young Art Records, a label that supports up-and-coming artists. She’s adorable and badass, a combo as excellent as Maltesers and popcorn. Pop on one of her EPs next time you’re getting ready to go out, and you’ll be in party mode before your lippy’s even mattified.
FASHION INDUSTRY FAVES
Winnie Harlow
@winnieharlow | 2.7M followers
Winnie was the first ever Canadian to compete on America’s Next Top Model, and wowed the judges with her beauty and presence. Growing up with the skin condition vitiligo, she struggled withlow self-esteem, but gave the haters the middle finger and look at her now. Her chill attitude is celebrated in her 2017 Converse campaign, with the classic brand just one of many in her portfolio. She’s appeared on covers from Glamour to Elle, been endorsed by Queen Bey and featured in the visuals for Lemonade, but she also videos herself dancing to Nicki Minaj, just like the rest of us.
Amina Blue
@amina.blue | 619k followers
Her Instagram bio reads “I am the influence” and TBH, she is. This German-Pakistani beauty rose to fame through modelling for Yeezy, appearing in music videos for acts including Tyga and A$AP Ferg, and you may have spotted her in 032c magazine, in a shoot styled by New Zealanders Sebastian Hunt and Dylan Richards, otherwise known as Kim and Kanye’s stylists. The passionate vegan is working on a vegan shoe line and encourages her followers to go cruelty-free — and when her bod looks like that, who wouldn’t consider trying a plant-based approach?
Halima Aden
@kinglimaa | 430k followers
The new wave of models is changing the game both on and off the catwalk, and Halima is one of the crusade’s leading ladies. As models become as loved for their personalities as their walks, Halima made a statement that showed the world who she is when she wore a hijab at Yeezy’s 2017 NYFW show. Refusing to compromise her beliefs, the Muslim beauty is inspiring women all over the world and breaking down an industry that’s under fire for its lack of diversity. Halima’s first photoshoot was with photographic royalty Mario Sorrenti, so being herself is clearly working out well.
Barbie Ferreira
@barbienox | 450k followers
‘Plus size’ is NBD these days, thanks to women like Barbie, who’ve worked hard to point out it’s actually the norm. The US size 12 model (NZ size 16) is dominating the industry with her unapologetic attitude and self-love. Causing a stir by appearing in a 2016 Missguided campaign without a single pixel of Photoshopping, ‘no retouching’ is a common theme in her career, and considering she’s signed to mega-agency Wilhelmina and is picking up jobs left, right and centre, it’s definitely an attitude we should all be getting behind.
GIRLS ON FILM
Rowan Blanchard
@rowanblanchard | 5.1M followers
Rowan Blanchard is the Disney star we all wish we could be. With humility and intelligence well beyond her 16 years, she has used her position to publicly advocate for queer rights, human rights, gun violence and feminism, including speaking at a UN Women conference. She recently filmed A Wrinkle In Time with our faves Reese and Mindy, though she didn’t make it to New Zealand with them. We hear she loves chocolate, so maybe we could entice her down herewith some Whittaker’s?
Yara Shahidi
@yarashahidi | 1.4M followers
Yara’s Rowan’s BFF, and with these girls among those creating a path for the next generation, we’re SO behind them. Yara is an actress, model, outspoken activist, feminist and casually the second cousin of rapper Nas. Another young star with Bey’s stamp of approval, she starred in an Ivy Park campaign and has plans to attend Harvard, plus there’s a spin-off based on her Black-ish character in the works, so don’t expect her star to dim any time soon.
Millie Bobby Brown
@milliebobbybrown | 12.3M followers
Stranger Things is the Netflix series no one can get enough of, and Millie’s character Eleven is partly to thank for that. Who doesn’t love frozen waffles? After popping up in music videos and TV ads, at age 12 she became the youngest face to front a Calvin Klein campaign, an achievement she juggled with filming both Stranger Things and Godzilla. Subsequently signed to IMG, it was all a bit much and she bravely let her fans know on Instagram that she was taking a break. We all need a duvet day every now and then, which just makes her even more likeable than she already is. Double taps and snaps.
SOCIAL STARS
Candace Reels
@femalecollective | 118k followers
Candace created the @femalecollective Instagram as a place where women could celebrate each other, and it’s grown into a huge online community and failsafe source of great memes. Candace has said that her mum and the Spice Girls taught her everything she knows about feminism, so you bet she’s the perfect woman to be running this. Plus, her feminist slogan tees and totes are some of the best we’ve seen.
Claire Marshall
@heyclaire | 707k followers
Claire Marshall is the beauty genius and vlogger with that effortless cool-girl vibe you’d kill to successfully copy. When she’s not working on set as a makeup artist, editing videos, designing tees for crowdfunding campaigns to help build schools in Ghana or attending Coachella as a guest of Urban Decay, she’s at home with her kitty, Bruce. You can also catch her Snapchat segment, ‘Mail Time’; watching her unboxing the dozens of beauty product-filled PR packages she gets each week is almost as much fun as receiving them yourself.
Words: Anny Ma
Photos: Instagram
This article originally appeared in Miss FQ Issue 3 2017.
