Every year, beginning in 2004, Time magazine names its 100 most influential people in the world and enlists another notable person to write about each highlighted honoree. The list is divvied into five categories: pioneers, artists, leaders and icons, titans.
On Wednesday (April 17), the publication revealed its 2019 list. Of the selected 100 people, Dwayne Johnson, Taylor Swift, Sandra Oh, Gayle King, soccer star Mohamed Salah and Nancy Pelosi are featured on their own respective magazine covers.
Inside the issue, Time pays homage to a slew of notable people across various industries such as LeBron James, Regina King, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande, Mahershala Ali, Rami Malek, Chrissy Teigen, Khalid, “Surviving R. Kelly” producer dream hampton, Jordan Peele, Tiger Woods and Hasan Minhaj, among others. Additionally, much to the delight of fans, Michelle Obama was also featured and her write-up was personally handled by none other than Beyoncé.
“Loving Michelle Obama wasn’t much of a choice,” Bey writes. “It was something that came naturally, because of how she carried herself. Because she resembled us and was moving in spaces where, as black Americans, we weren’t exactly meant to be, she seemed so powerful.”
After applauding the former First Lady for her Reach Higher initiative and congratulating her on the success of her best-selling book Becoming, the Grammy Award-winning artist concludes her note with a heartwarming burst of gratitude.
“I am so grateful that my daughters and my son live in a world where Michelle Obama shines as a beacon of hope who inspires all of us to do better and to be better,” she adds.
This year, the list includes 48 women, marking the first time in the special issue’s history that nearly half of the people featured were women. Comparatively, last year’s installment featured 45 women and the inaugural issue featured 24 women.
Other iconic women featured include Dr. Christine Blasey Ford (written by Kamala Harris), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) (written by Elizabeth Warren) and producer dream hampton (written by Tarana Burke).
To see Time Magazine’s 2019 list of 100 most influential people, please see here.