--- description: Find out why Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92831d1769e963bd/6998c5b883ec372607c7a7e9/time100-2025-branden-jacobs-jenkins.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Branden Jacobs-Jenkins by Michael R. Jackson  Meron Tekie Menghistab—The New York Times/Redux The first time I ever saw a play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, my jaw hit the floor. I had never seen anything so sophisticated, experimental, and intelligent that also used black (and Black) humor to such great effect. It was immediately clear to me that I was in the hands of a master. As I’ve gotten to know Branden over the years, his genius has only become more apparent. He is a creator of trends, not a follower, so his work is always original and interesting. And with an unflappable nature and a genuine curiosity about the world, it feels like he was simply born with the ability to create singular, knockout shows—including _An Octoroon, Appropriate,_ and his latest to arrive on [Broadway, _Purpose_](https://www.vogue.com/article/branden-jacob-jenkins-purpose-april-2025 "undefined")_._ Even though he’s younger than me, I look up to Branden in so many ways. He is truly in a class of his own, and, as history unfolds, there is no doubt that he will be noted as one of the greats. _Jackson is a Pulitzer Prize– and Tony Award–winning playwright and composer_ Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273819/branden-jacobs-jenkins/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273819/branden-jacobs-jenkins/"},"headline":"Branden Jacobs-Jenkins","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:46:22.773Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273819/branden-jacobs-jenkins/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","t100artists2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92831d1769e963bd/6998c5b883ec372607c7a7e9/time100-2025-branden-jacobs-jenkins.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":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92831d1769e963bd/6998c5b883ec372607c7a7e9/time100-2025-branden-jacobs-jenkins.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":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273819/branden-jacobs-jenkins/","name":"Branden Jacobs-Jenkins"}}]}] ```