21 Under 21: Unstoppable Young Women Manifesting a Brighter Future

Age: 18

Since January, Olivia Rodrigo's double-platinum hit "Drivers License" has made US Billboard Hot 100 history as one of the most-played No. 1 hits ever. Before her professional music career kicked off, Olivia began formal singing and acting training when she was just 6 years old. Her acting debut was in an Old Navy commercial, and she later booked her first TV role as Grace Thomas on An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success in 2015. Today, she stars as Nini Salazar-Roberts in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and serves as a speaker and panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

What's Next: Following the success of her hit single, Olivia is putting the finishing touches on her first EP.

Age: 17

Thandiwe's activism started when she was a toddler. Her mom would bring her along to protests and then, as she got older, to Black Lives Matter meetings. In her adolescence, Thandiwe created an offshoot of the organization focused on children: the BLM Youth Vanguard. As a national conversation emerged about defunding the police, and Thandiwe focused her efforts on reducing (and eventually removing) police presence in Los Angeles schools. The group successfully stopped random searches in the Los Angeles Unified School District and, most recently, the Los Angeles Board of Education reduced its school police force by 35 percent in July 2020.

What's Next: With the Youth Vanguard, Thandiwe hopes to remove police presence in LA schools entirely, and will continue her studies at Howard University.

Age: 20

Chloe Kim is an Olympic snowboarder and currently holds the title for World, Olympic, Youth Olympic, and X Games champion in the halfpipe. After taking a temporary break from the sport to study science at Princeton, the six-time X Games gold medalist hopes to compete again in 2022. She has also been featured on the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box, has her own Barbie doll, has three ESPY awards, and played an angel recruit in the recent Charlie's Angels reboot.

What's Next: Chloe recently announced that she's the co-founder of TOGETHXR, a media and commerce company aimed at creating a more comprehensive portrayal of women via storytelling.

Age: 20

Zandra Cunningham is an international public speaker, philanthropist, and the founder and CEO of sustainable plant-based skincare brand Zandra Beauty. She founded the brand when she was 9 years old and now donates 10 percent of sales to help educate girls around the world. She's also written a two-part book series, The Science Behind It ($25), which encourages young entrepreneurs to challenge the status quo on the road to success.

What's Next: Zandra continues to provide people with natural and healthy skincare products via Zandra Beauty. She hopes her work will inspire other young entrepreneurs to make their dreams a reality.

Age: 20

Zoey Luna is no stranger to being in front of the camera, and she currently stars as Lourdes in The Craft: Legacy. At 13, she came out as transgender and has been advocating for the protection of transgender youth since. She's also been featured in MTV's The T Word (2014), Raising Zoey (2017), and 15: A Quinceañera Story (2017), all of which go into depth about her advocacy for the transgender community, as well as her own transition process and that of other trans girls.

What's Next: Zoey continues to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities on and off screen.

Age: 16

Marsai Martin's name has become synonymous with "record breaker": The Black-ish actress is also a producer, a nine-time NAACP Image Award-winner, and the youngest person to ever get a first-look deal with a studio. She is an advocate for young women, pursues projects that elevate the Black community, and uses her platform to speak out against injustices of all kinds, including bullying, school lunch debt, and the Breonna Taylor case.

What's Next: Marsai remains booked and busy with her production company, Genius Entertainment. Recently, Disney Channel advanced a pilot order from her group about a young girl and her roller skating crew.

Age: 13

Ashlyn So started her fashion design journey when she went to sewing camp at age 6. Her love for the art form only grew, eventually landing her not one but two shows during New York Fashion Week. She was even honored at the People's Choice Awards for creating face masks amid the pandemic. Ashlyn's heart lies in streetwear and avant garde design, but recently she's channeled her passion into "accidental" activism as she stands up for Asian Americans experiencing increased violence nationwide.

What's Next: Ashlyn's work on her eponymous fashion label is unstoppable, as is her commitment to speaking out against anti-Asian hate.

Age: 19

Famous for her tiny '90s sunglasses and carefree monologues delivered in between crunchy bites of potato chips, Elsa Majimbo is a comedian whose work has been featured on Comedy Central and praised by millions of viewers across the internet. In 2020, she won the People's Choice Award for Favorite African Social Star and was honored with a creator award at the 2020 YouTube Streamy Awards. She is also an ambassador for MAC cosmetics and Fenty Beauty.

What's Next: Elsa recently released a couture book collaboration with Valentino titled The Alphabet for Kids & Adults. She was also recently honored as one of Teen Vogue's five cover stars for the publication's annual Young Hollywood issue.

Age: 15

You can thank Jalaiah Harmon for the famous "Renegade" dance seen all over TikTok last year. The teen reclaimed her choreography after it went viral, setting an example for young women everywhere: take credit for your creations. She eventually performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and at an NBA All-Star game, and later signed with United Talent Agency.

What's Next: Jalaiah hopes her passion for dancing will carry her to a career as a full-time choreographer. In the meantime, you can continue to catch her standout routines on social media.

Age: 15

The 15-year-old from Frisco, TX, made headlines when she won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge for discovering a molecule which could be instrumental in COVID-19 treatment and a search for the cure. Her findings, which won $25,000, is a potential treatment for the virus and can further the efforts of researchers and medical professionals. Anika Chebrolu advocates for other young women to push the boundaries of curiosity and seize opportunities to make change.

What's Next: Anika wants to join the scientists investigating the virus to hopefully turn her experiment into a COVID-19 cure. She hopes to one day be a full-time medical researcher.

Age: 18

With over two million TikTok followers, Taylor Cassidy is best known for her Fast Black History series, where she uses witty humor and creative visuals to highlight Black historical figures, many of them lesser-known. Taylor also spotlights the excellence of Black creators via her Black Girl Magic Minute series. She hopes her content will inspire people to educate themselves about Black history and give credit to Black creators who are often overlooked for their cultural contributions.

What's Next: Taylor recently did an interview for ABC's Soul of the Media about her experience as a Black creator. After recently signing with WME, Taylor hopes to develop her YouTube channel and explore other projects.

Age: 19

Choyce Brown is a successful model and influencer who's making her mark in the fashion world with brands like Free People and more. While she initially lost interest in modeling as a child, Choyce has since rediscovered a passion for the industry and uses fashion and beauty as an outlet for self expression, leading a new generation of fashion stars and trendsetters. In addition to her work in the fashion sphere, Choyce is known for her funny cooking and lifestyle collaborations with her mom, beloved TikTok foodie, Tabitha Brown.

What's Next: Choyce is working on releasing her own natural skin care line, SkinByChoyce, with a tentative launch date in 2021.

Age: 18

You may recognize Millicent Simmonds as Regan in John Krasinki's A Quiet Place. After losing her hearing when she was 1 year old, she learned American Sign Language and has since become an advocate for the visibility of deaf people, like herself. Through her roles, Millicent has expanded audiences' understanding of what it means to be deaf and encouraged people to embrace ASL as a common language. In 2020, she partnered with fair trade clothing retailer Rafi Nova to create the Millie face mask, which has a clear plastic mouth covering to make lip reading in public easier.

What's Next: Millicent will appear in A Quiet Place II in 2021.

Age: 16

Marley Dias is the brilliant mind behind #1000BlackGirlBooks, which she launched in November 2015 when she noticed all of the main characters in her elementary school books were either white boys or dogs. Her goal? Gather 1,000 books about Black female protagonists and donate them to Black students nationwide. Four years later, she's an author in her own right, an activist, and the host of her own Netflix series, Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, which premiered in September 2020.

What's Next: Marley plans to use her platform to get more resources to teenagers through her mom's GrassROOTS Community Foundation. She'll also continue pushing for curriculum changes, and amplifying voices of other activists who deserve to be heard.

Age: 19

As an Indian-American woman, formerly undocumented South Asian immigrant, and first-generation college student, Pranjal Jain has dedicated herself to championing women's rights and self-empowerment. At 12, she began serving as a peer educator to advocate for the prevention of cyberbullying. Today, she is the founder of Global Girlhood, an organization empowering women globally via digital collaboration, media, and storytelling.

What's Next: Pranjal is a sophomore studying Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and co-hosts the Brown Sugar podcast about feminism and dating.

Age: 20

Laurie Hernandez is a two-time Olympic medalist and recently made a comeback to the world of gymnastics following a four-and-a-half-year hiatus. Since her return to the sport, Laurie has been vocal about the emotional and verbal abuse she was subjected to by her former coach. She has also spoken about experiencing depression and eating disorders as a result of this trauma and how her outlook on gymnastics has changed. Laurie is the author of the New York Times bestseller I Got This: To Gold and Beyond ($7) and the children's book She's Got This ($11).

What's Next: Laurie uses her platform to promote mental health awareness and is set to participate in the Gold Over America Tour this September.

Age: 16

You probably recognize Madison Reyes as the lead of Netflix's Julie and the Phantoms. This breakthrough role introduced her as a triple threat who can skillfully sing, dance, and act. She cites former Disney Channel stars Zendaya and Vanessa Hudgens as a couple of her career inspirations, and she's following in their footsteps.

What's Next: Madison continues to raise her voice, whether that's singing songs on Instagram or empowering other teens to embrace their identity. We're hopeful that Julie and the Phantoms will be renewed for season two soon.

Age: 14

The Baby-Sitter's Club needed the perfect Claudia Kishi, and they found her in Momona Tamada. The actress took on the role, knowing Claudia stands as an icon in Asian American media. She brought the character's story of cultural acceptance to life, while also using her own experiences to stress the importance of representation in media. (You might also recognize Momona as young Lara Jean from the latest To All the Boys movie.) In addition to her onscreen work, Momona is also an advocate for mental health awareness.

What's Next: You can catch Momona in The Baby-Sitter's Club season two, which is set to start filming this spring.

Age: 19

Kiya Johnson is one of the top all-around gymnasts in the nation and a member of the LSU Tigers gymnastics team in Dallas, TX. She is a two-time Junior Olympics national champion and earned gold as the junior Nastia Liukin Cup all-around, vault, and beam champion in 2015. In 2020, she was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and earned first team All-America honors on vault, floor exercise, and the all-around.

What's Next: Kiya is majoring in sociology, kinesiology, and political science at Louisiana State University, where she is the ninth gymnast in her school's history to earn a score of 9.95 or higher on all four events.

Age: 17

Coco Gauff is an unstoppable force as the youngest player ranked in the top 100 by the Women's Tennis Association. She has competed against the likes of Venus Williams and made it to the quarter finals of the prestigious Australian Open last year. Coco also uses her platform as an acclaimed athlete to support Black Lives Matter and uplift the Black community.

What's Next: Coco sharpens her competitive edge with every upcoming match, and will continue to compete throughout 2021.

Age: 18

A member of the indigenous Mexican Otomi-Toltec nation, Xiye Bastida's work as a climate activist has made her a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant communities. In 2018, she received the Spirit of the UN award and was invited to speak at the 9th United Nations World Urban Forum. She is also on the administration committee of the People's Climate Movement; she is the co-founder for the Re-Earth Initiative and a major organizer for Fridays For the Future; and she's a member of Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion.

What's Next: Xiye is pursuing a degree in environmental studies and environmental policy at University of Pennsylvania.