Just when you thought Taylor Swift rules over us all—well, yeah, she does.
Taylor’s pop queen status is solidified by her recent and first-time inclusion in Forbes magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women List. She snags the #64 spot for her loyal following (her 58 million Twitter followers gives us a glimpse of her influence), award-winning work (seven Grammys under her belt), and her record-breaking platinum album 1989.
She’s also one of the few women under 45 to do so. Joining the ranks of Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie, Taylor has donned a feminist front which proved her relevance not just in pop culture, but also in the bigger advocacy a loud majority is fighting for.
The 100 Most Powerful Women List is Forbes’ yearly tradition to compile names of women who have made an impact in their respective industries. The list follows a certain criteria. Forbes staff Kate Pierce writes, “Our criteria is based on the reach of women’s influence and relevance, ranked by money and media momentum. The 11 women in entertainment on our list are all at the top of their game and committed to inspiring change. They have a combined social media imprint exceeding six billion followers and fans.”
It’s clear that Taylor will be in such a list one of these days. Her steady rise to fame, one that’s not wholly credited to her being the underdog who once peddled country music in a sundress, proves that she doesn’t just rely on her Swiftie cult. Rather, it’s more accurate to say she started out privileged, and worked hard to deserve to be.
Update: We’ve mistakenly made Taylor Swift a lot older by naming her album 1984 and not 1989.
Photo courtesy of Melodies1917 via Wikimedia Commons
