The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Pioneers

America Ferrera Kennedy Odede Ophelia Dahl Sharon Lavigne Sam Tsemberis Lesley Lokko Stuart Orkin Asma Khan Priyamvada Natarajan Yoshua Bengio + more

- BLAKE LIVELY

America Ferrera
National treasure

God blessed America.

America Ferrera is an Oscar-nominated actress, activist, producer, director, writer, advocate, mother, wife, sister, daughter-you get the idea.

There isn't enough room on this page to include all her hyphenates. A simpler way of saying it is, America Ferrera is everything.

She brings 980% of herself to all she touches, which elevates everyone around her to their highest selves. She transforms with every character she steps into. But the power of America is she doesn't transform and disappear into a role as we're so trained to think we want-America transforms and appears.

The world was awakened when they heard her as Gloria give the film-defining monologue in Barbie, discovering truths within themselves as they laughed, cried, and reveled.

But for everyone who knows America as a person, we watched the world simply discover America. Our friend, our role model, our ally, our sister as she soared like only she does.

That's how she lives. How she speaks. How she challenges, and comforts. How she hurts, and heals.

How she flies, and falls. How she loathes, and how she loves.

She is a hot pink hypodermic needle of adrenaline right into the heart of everyone watching that film. And the effects are lifelong. I speak from experience.

I've known America for 20 years exactly. Since I was 16 years old, that girl, and now woman, has been the example of what a friend is. What an artist is. What a human is. And I thank her. For sharing her life with me, and her talent with us all.

God blessed America, but really, we are the blessed ones to live in the same time as her and her imprint on our world. The future is bright... pink.

Lively is an actor

Kennedy Odede