Since 2014, TIME’s biannual Next Generation Leaders franchise, produced in partnership with Rolex, has featured more than 60 young people who are blazing new trails in politics, entertainment, fashion, science, sports and more. And many have gone on to make a profound impact on the world.
Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 24, who appeared in the 2016 edition, has been nominated for three Oscars. American figure skater Nathan Chen, 19, who was featured in March 2017, recently competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and won gold at the Figure Skating World Championships. And 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz was elected Chancellor of Austria in December 2017.
Other notable NGL alumni include Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, 21, Glossier founder Emily Weiss, 33, Star Wars actor John Boyega, 26, pop star Dua Lipa, 22, who recently became the youngest female artist to hit one billion YouTube views on a music video, and Daily Show host Trevor Noah, 34, who won his first Emmy last year. “I see the Daily Show as an opportunity to speak truth to power,” the Johannesburg-born comedian told TIME in March 2017. The Daily Show is now watched in 176 countries, up from around 70 before Noah took the reigns.
To view TIME’s most recent edition of Next Generation Leaders, as well as all past entries, click here.
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- Iran, Trump, and the Third Assassination Plot
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- The Ordained Rabbi Who Bought a Porn Company
- Introducing the Democracy Defenders
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
