Princess-in-Waiting
Who didn’t fall in love with the newly minted Catherine Elizabeth, future princess, on the day she and Wills announced their engagement this fall? Looking positively royal in blue Issa, she sat straight-backed and calm that afternoon while her fiancé formulated the blandest possible answers to 10 minutes of rote questioning. In the just-released
engagement photos, they seem genuinely happy. Forget all that nonsense about “Waity Katie.” At 28, she wears it all with astounding grace: the media scrutiny, the weight of her coming responsibilities, Diana’s ring. This elegant “commoner” proved there’s virtue in patience and for that alone we adore her.
Presidential Truth-Teller
It was at a town hall in September that one woman gave voice to the frustrations of so many. “I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now,”
Velma Hart told Barack Obama, unabashedly, to his face. Hart, who was laid off in November, was a central-casting Obama supporter: black, female, middle-class, the chief financial officer of a D.C.-based veterans service organization. Her statement left the president flummoxed and became a rallying cry for Obama supporters who’d watched the promises of his campaign—universal health care, a reinvigorated economy, immigration reform, repeal of the invidious Don’t Ask Don’t Tell—evaporate during his presidency. She won our admiration for her perfectly articulated critique.
Film Prodigy
It’s difficult to open a magazine these days without encountering
Lena Dunham, the frighteningly talented writer and filmmaker whose first project,
Tiny Furniture, has earned sloppy kisses from the critical elite. Dunham’s family drama is a tone-perfect look at post-adolescent listlessness, all the more an artistic triumph because Dunham cast and directed her own family members in the film. Her next
project is an HBO comedy pilot produced by Judd Apatow and starring Brian Williams’ daughter. Dunham is crush-worthy for her fresh voice—and bright future. Did we mention she’s only 24?
Microbiologist
NASA fellows do not often rise to national attention, and geomicrobiologists don’t often have their faces splashed across the blogosphere. But that’s what happened this month to Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a young scientist who
published a paper about a breed of microbe she and her colleagues studied that appears to eat arsenic—a startling discovery that could change our understanding of what constitutes “life.” Wolfe-Simon’s paper has since come under challenge from other
scientists. Whatever the ultimate consensus, it’s hard not to admire a young female scientist who’s challenging the established thinking.
Starlet
After a decade of running around as Harry Potter’s hotter, smarter sidekick, Emma Watson came into her own in 2010. The Brown sophomore was last year’s highest-paid woman in entertainment thanks to her role as the face of Burberry. This year, she chopped off her hair, transforming into a modern-day Mia Farrow. Her
next project is an organic clothing line, developed with Alberta Ferretti and debuting in 2011. At a time when so many young starlets seem to be tripping into adulthood one bong hit at a time, we salute Watson for pulling it off with elegance.
Biographer
It must take guts for a historian to choose as her subject the most famous woman in the history of the world. But both for Stacy Schiff and her protagonist Cleopatra, intestinal fortitude paid off. The Pulitzer Prize winner’s biography, out this fall, has drawn deserved raves. And
Schiff has been out on the scene, putting her heroine in contemporary terms and explaining what some of our half-wit leaders could learn from the
Egyptian queen. Few have written so eloquently on how women balance sex, love, power, and politics. For writing a profoundly modern book about an immortal woman, Schiff earned our undying affection.
Reformer
The tough-talking former chancellor of the D.C. public school system,
Michelle Rhee was no sooner out of work this fall than she was back in it, launching Students First, an organization devoted to
education reform. Rhee and her fellow reformers, including her mentor, former New York schools chancellor Joel Klein, are doing vital work. The American public school system is failing. Only one-third of fourth graders read proficiently. Our students ranked 25th in the world in a math performance test. We admire Rhee for her toughness and clarity of vision in taking on the bureaucratic forces that stand in the way of helping kids.
Singer, Songwriter, National Book Award Winner
We’ve always had a crush on
Patti Smith, but this year the punk-rock poet made us swoon with
Just Kids, her
National Book Award-winning memoir. The candid and beautifully written book tells the story of Smith’s life, with particular focus on her long relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whom she calls “the artist of my life.” Anyone who’s seen Smith play—even just the short acoustic set she performed at last year’s PEN gala—knows her particular brand of personal magic. Now that she’s committed it to print, generations to come will get the special privilege of feeling so close to greatness.
Crusader Against Gang Violence in Los Angeles
The Rice family is not filled with retiring females. Connie Rice, cousin to the famous Condi, made her mark and won our adoration by taking on gang violence in Los Angeles. Last year, she started the first gang-intervention academy in the country. This year, she wrote a book instructing authorities on how to confront the problem from the inside out. As part of her efforts, Rice opened up parks in L.A.’s most dangerous neighborhoods for late-night parties with skateboarding events and food. Gang violence has
plummeted under her watch. She just might be the toughest woman in America.
