The list of top 10 celebrity feminists of 2014: Who’ve made great strides for feminism

The 24-year-old screen star Emma Watson has been voted the top feminist celebrity of 2014 by the Cosmopolitan magazine and Ms. Foundation for Women.

Laverne Cox, Amy Poehler, and Rachel Maddow also made the list.

I think this has certainly been quite a year for feminists (or maybe just the word “feminist”)

My warmest congratulations Emma Watson and all.

Undoubtedly, former ‘Harry Potter’ star Emma Watson was praised after giving a powerful speech on feminism and gender equality at the United Nations when she helped launch the HeForShe campaign in her role as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.

Emma Watson previously admitted she was very “nervous” about revealing she is a feminist, but won rave reviews for her UN speech, in which she said: “For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”

“The more I spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop,” she said in her address to the U.N. “For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.”

Here is the full list of the top 10 celebrity feminist of 2014:

1. Emma Watson – Actress and model, you can follow Emma on Twitter and Facebook.

2. Laverne Cox – Actress, reality television star, television producer, and LGBT advocate, you can follow Laverne on Twitter and Facebook.

         

3. Rachel Maddow – Television host, political commentator, and author, you can follow Rachel Twitter and Facebook.

4. Beyoncé – Singer and actress, you can follow Beyoncé Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

5. Cher – Singer, actress, and television host, you can follow Cher on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and here. 

6. Amy Poehler – Actress, comedian, voice artist, director, producer and writer

7. Tina Fey  – Actress, comedian, writer, and producer

8. Meryl Streep – Actor and producer

9. Mindy Kaling – Actress, comedian, writer, and producer, you can follow Mindy on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

10. Ann Curry – Ann Curry is the NBC News National and International Correspondent and “Today” Anchor at Large. You can follow Ann on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

In a statement, Ms. Foundation President and CEO Teresa Younger explained:

“We celebrate all feminists every day, but today we’re giving a hat tip to celebrities who are helping to promote women’s equality…Every celebrity on the list has either embraced the term ‘feminist,’ spoken out for women’s equal rights or battled against sexist oppression.”

“Celebrities who embrace feminism or speak out for women’s equality are helping to spread the word and build support for women’s rights. With this survey, we’re expanding the conversation about women’s empowerment to even more people.”

Keep doing what you’re doing, ladies!

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You can reach this post’s author, Amarendra Bhushan, on twitter.