Kara Nortman was on a mission. After attending the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup soccer final in Vancouver, Canada, where the U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) defeated Japan in an electrifying 5-2 game, she was determined to buy American defender Meghan Klingenberg's jersey for her then five-year-old daughter, Layla. And yet, Nortman says, she couldn't find one anywhere. "I went to store after store," she recalls. "I finally found a jersey that fit, but it was blank and had no name on it."
When Nortman-a venture capitalist with a background in tech returned home to Los Angeles, she realized she also couldn't find regular-season National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) matches on TV. Then the USWNT won again at the 2019 World Cup, with a team headlined by Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Christen Press, three players from a group that had launched a high-profile lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation over unequal pay compared with that of the men's team players.
To Nortman, the overwhelming interest represented an opportunity. "You had a billion people watching on broadcast and another half billion on streaming," she says. "You have an activation at the highest level, but then you can't do anything with your enthusiasm."
Nortman found someone whose enthusiasm matched her own in actress Natalie Portman. The two had met at an event in 2018 and bonded over their love for women's soccer and their dedication to pay equity.
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ALL Aboard
LUXURY TRAINS offer a uniquely NOSTALGIC way to SLOW DOWN and ENJOY the RIDE
Keep It MOVING
COMMUTER-CORE has become more than a VIRAL TREND, as designers meet the NEEDS of our BACK-to-OFFICE lifestyles
MEMENTO Mori
JEWELRY can be deeply PERSONAL. LEAH CHERNIKOFF reflects on a NECKLACE that represents LIFE and LOSS.
IN CONVERSATION - JESSICA LANGE and PAULA VOGEL
Actor JESSICA LANGE and playwright PAULA VOGEL on their new BROADWAY PRODUCTION, MOTHER PLAY, creating and portraying COMPLICATED WOMEN, and the FUTURE of THEATER
What PADMA Wants
After almost two decades of TOP CHEF, the beloved HOST and cookbook AUTHOR is figuring out WHAT COMES NEXT
The AUDACITY of LORRAINE O'GRADY
At 89, the eternally PUNK-ROCK PERFORMANCE and CONCEPTUAL ARTIST still gets a kick out of CRASHING art-world parties. Only now she's the GUEST of HONOR.
REGINA'S Resolve
REGINA KING on LEARNING to LIVE with LOSS, the LEGACY of SHIRLEY CHISHOLM, and finding a WAY FORWARD
GUIDO Palau
Over the past three decades, GUIDO PALAU has SHAPED how the WORLD perceives HAIR, with his STYLES seen at Givenchy (1) and Valentino (4), among so many others. Now he's bringing ZARA HAIR to life. Here, the renowned artist lets us in on his CREATIVE PROCESS.
CAVE Dwelling
Accommodations nestled in natural or man-made GROTTOES provide an UNFORGETTABLE ESCAPE
What WOMEN Want
BEFORE THERE WAS \"quiet luxury,\" there was Donna Karan.