As Beyoncé once wisely pointed out, Girls, they run the world. And over the past year, they rose up and proved it. From the Women’s March in January to the #MeToo movement that sprung up in October to combat sexual assault and harassment, the highlights of 2017 confirm that the future really is female.
The Power of Women: A Look Back at 2017’s History-Making Moments
As Beyoncé once wisely pointed out, Girls, they run the world. And over the past year, they rose up and proved it. From the Women's March in January to the #MeToo movement that sprung up in October to combat sexual assault and harassment, the highlights of 2017 confirm that the future really is female.
As Beyoncé once wisely pointed out, Girls, they run the world. And over the past year, they rose up and proved it. From the Women's March in January to the #MeToo movement that sprung up in October to combat sexual assault and harassment, the highlights of 2017 confirm that the future really is female.
Nabbing her fifth Grammy of the night — for Album of the Year — 25 creator Adele skipped the gracious acceptance speech in February. Splitting her trophy in half, she declared Beyoncé deserved the honors because her disc Lemonade "was so monumental and so well thought-out."
Taking home Best Supporting Actress honors (and delivering a rousing speech!) wasn't Viola Davis' only triumph at the Academy Awards in February. With her win, the Fences standout became the first black star to score an Emmy, Oscar and Tony for acting. "I can't believe my life," she told Us backstage. "This is sort of like the miracle of God."
Beauty and the Beast star Emma Watson came out on top when MTV abolished gender-specific categories at the Movie & TV Awards in May. The former Harry Potter star said of her Best Actor win, "It indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and that doesn't need to be separated into two different categories."
After its summer release, the Gal Gadot–led, Patty Jenkins–directed Wonder Woman slayed box office records (and inspired countless girls to dream of becoming warriors). By November, it was named the highest-grossing superhero origin film ever.
When radio DJ David Mueller sued Taylor Swift, saying her claim he groped her at 2013 meet-and- greet got him fired, she refused to brush it off. The pop star countersued for a symbolic $1 and won in August. After, she pledged to donate to "organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves."
Pink's big moment — nabbing the Video Vanguard trophy at MTV's Video Music Awards in August — became a teaching opportunity. Sharing a time when daughter Willow, 6, said she was ugly, she recounted her advice: Never change. Said the singer, "We help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty."
Minutes after scoring an Emmy in September for comedy writing — a first for an African-American female — Lena Waithe said that more should follow. "There's so many other funny women of color," the Masters of None scribe and actress told reporters. "I hope they will now have an opportunity because this door has been opened."
Not about her: When revealing via Twitter in September that she had breast cancer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus used the attention to share the importance of medical coverage for all. Noting she has "the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union," the add actress wrote, "not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality."
In the wake of a New York Times exposé in October detailing decades of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein (including an account from Ashley Judd), Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong'o and dozens more spoke truth to power. In stories ranging from harassment to assault, women shared their horrifying experiences with the Hollywood exec.
She makes money moves: Days after Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" dethroned Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" from Billboard Hot 100's top spot in October (Swift sent flowers to mark the occasion), the catchy hit became the longest-running No. 1 from a solo female rapper.
A breakout performance in the summer flick Girls Trip earned Tiffany Haddish a gig as host of S aturday Night Live in November. The first black female stand-up host in the NBC sketch show's 43-year history — and one of only 12 women of color total — she slayed. Her advice for those hoping to follow her trail: "Just stay focused and do what you love every day," she tells Us, "and you'll never work a day in your life!"
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