--- title: Megan Rapinoe Is on the 2020 TIME 100 List description: Find out why Megan Rapinoe is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-09-22T19:15:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-21T07:22:19.368Z og:title: Megan Rapinoe: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:description: Find out why Megan Rapinoe is on this year’s list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt271d3cef193b091c/698a1252656a3f8398bda81a/time-100-Megan-Rapinoe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Megan Rapinoe: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Megan Rapinoe: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 twitter:description: Find out why Megan Rapinoe is on this year’s list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt271d3cef193b091c/698a1252656a3f8398bda81a/time-100-Megan-Rapinoe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Megan Rapinoe by Kirsten Gillibrand  Megan Rapinoe Megan RapinoeCait Oppermann for TIME Arms spread wide, confidence radiating from her face, [Megan Rapinoe](https://time.com/5623543/megan-rapinoe-world-cup-trump-equal-pay/) celebrating at the World Cup was one of the defining images of 2019\. [Rapinoe and her teammates joyfully dominated on their way to a record fourth title](https://time.com/athlete-of-the-year-2019-us-womens-soccer-team/), showing the world the best of American ideals: hard work, strength and heart. Rapinoe’s impact goes far beyond the pitch. In an era where many demand that athletes “stick to sports,” Rapinoe—a proud feminist and an out gay advocate—[refuses to be silenced](https://time.com/5634983/megan-rapinoe-book/). In the past year, her [activism for gender pay equality](https://time.com/5653250/uswnt-equal-pay-lawsuit/), racial justice and LGBTQ rights has become as iconic as her fabulous pink hair. Some critics are threatened by her boldness and power. Millions of her fans around the world—and I count myself one—are inspired. Megan Rapinoe fearlessly uses her voice to make the world a more equal place. No matter your politics, ethnicity or gender, that’s something we should all celebrate. _Gillibrand is a Democratic Senator from New York_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/"},"headline":"Megan Rapinoe","datePublished":"2020-09-22T19:15:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:19.368Z","description":"Find out why the soccer star is one of the most influential people of 2020, according to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Icons"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt271d3cef193b091c/698a1252656a3f8398bda81a/time-100-Megan-Rapinoe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt271d3cef193b091c/698a1252656a3f8398bda81a/time-100-Megan-Rapinoe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888293/megan-rapinoe/","name":"Megan Rapinoe"}}]}] ```