Chimamanda Adichie, Jane Fonda, Gemma Chan Others Make Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s List Of Women She Admires As She Guest Edits For Vogue
The Duchess of Sussex is the guest editor on the September issue of British Vogue – and its cover features 15 ‘women she admires’.
The women picked from different sects and walks of life includes Nigerian author and feminist Chimamanda Adichie, actors Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek Pinault, Laverne Cox, Jameela Jamil, Yara Shahidi and Gemma Chan, alongside models Christy Turlington Burns, Adwoa Aboah and Adut Akech.
Also among the 15 stars on the front are also Boxer Ramla Ali, diversity advocate Sinead Burke, Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward.
The Duchess becomes the first royal to guest-edit the fashion bible, bringing together 15 ‘trailblazers’ and ‘changemakers’ for the special edition dubbed ‘Forces for Change’ issue.
The line-up of women she admires includes celebrities, politicians and activists known for championing issues such as diversity, body positivity, transgender rights and climate change.
The Duchess despite guest editing chose nnot to put herself on the cover, the magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful said, as she felt it would be a “boastful thing to do”.
The duchess who gave birth to her first child in May, said she had spent the last seven months working on the project
“to take the year’s most-read fashion issue and steer its focus to the values, causes and people making impact in the world today”.
“Through this lens I hope you’ll feel the strength of the collective in the diverse selection of women chosen for the cover as well as the team of support I called upon within the issue to help bring this to light,” she said.
“I hope readers feel as inspired as I do, by the forces for change they’ll find within these pages.”
- Adwoa Aboah: The 27-year-old model – born and raised in the UK to an English mother and Ghanaian-born father – is a mental health campaigner. She has also called for sanitary products to be provided free in schools for children on free school meals
- Adut Akech: The 19-year-old South Sudanese model – a child refugee who emigrated to Australia with her family – became only the second ever black model to close the Chanel haute couture show in 2018. She works with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Ramla Ali: The Somali boxer, who says she doesn’t know exactly how old she is, arrived in the UK as a refugee. She is training to represent Somalia at the 2020 Olympics and also teaches self-defence to a group of Muslim women
- Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand’s prime minister, 39, became only the second elected leader in modern history to give birth while in office. She is the world’s youngest female leader
- Sinead Burke: The 29-year-old Irish woman – an academic and disability activist – was born with the bone growth disorder achondroplasia. A Vogue contributing editor, she campaigns for fashion to be for everyone
- Gemma Chan: The UK-born Oxford law graduate shot to fame in box office hit Crazy Rich Asians. The 36-year-old has been involved in the Time’s Up campaign – a project to help fight sexual harassment in the film industry
- Laverne Cox: The 47-year-old transgender advocate rose to prominence with a role on the Netflix hit show Orange Is The New Black. The American became the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy award in 2014
- Jane Fonda: The 81-year-old actor is known for her work as a writer, political activist, fitness guru and fashion model. The Oscar-winning star is an outspoken supporter of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct in Hollywood
- Salma Hayek Pinault: The 52-year-old Hollywood star campaigns to raise awareness of violence against women and discrimination against immigrants. The Mexican-born American said she was once an illegal immigrant in the US
- Jameela Jamil: The 33-year-old British actor, who rose to fame as a presenter on Channel 4 and BBC Radio 1, is an advocate for body positivity through her “I Weigh” campaign. She has also spoken out about body-shaming and airbrushing in the media
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The 41-year-old Nigerian award-winning novelist is an outspoken voice on politics, race and feminism. She delivered two hotly debated Ted talks that were published as a book titled, ‘Why We Should All Be Feminists’ in 2014
- Francesca Hayward: The Kenyan-born British ballerina is among the cast of the new Cats film. The 27-year-old is a Royal Ballet principal dancer
- Yara Shahidi: The 19-year-old American actor and activist founded Eighteen x 18 – a creative platform to engage her generation to vote
- Greta Thunberg: The Swedish teenager was the schoolgirl behind a global wave of youth climate change protests. The 16-year-old, who was nominated for a Nobel peace prize, became a global phenomenon, speaking at Westminster and addressing world leaders
- Christy Turlington Burns: The 50-year-old American model is the founder of Every Mother Counts – a charity dedicated to making childbirth safer for women around the world7:
- You!
![Meghan says this image — a mirrored panel — represents ‘a mirror to include the reader]()
