Emma Watson named top feminist celebrity of 2014; a list worth paying attention

The 24-year-old British star, Emma Watson has claimed the title of top feminist celebrity for the year 2014 in a Ms. Foundation for Women online poll conducted in partnership with the fashion website Cosmopolitan.

The UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson was praised after giving a heartfelt speech on the topic of feminism at the United Nations (UN) when she helped launch the #HeForShe gender equality campaign.

#HeForShe campaign aims to encourage men and boys to join the fight for gender equality.

“For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities,” she said in her speech. “It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”

Undoubtedly, Emma is fighting the good fight for gender equality, and she deserves this title — so, so proud.

Emma’s not advancing gender equality all by herself.

Other celebrities to make the top celebrity feminists of 2014 list include Laverne Cox, Rachel Maddow, Beyonce, Cher, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Meryl Streep, Mindy Kaling, andAnn Curry.

Clearly female empowerment and gender equality are having a moment, Keep it up, everyone!

Though it’s hardly definitive — find out who else made the top 10 feminist celebrity of 2014 list; worth paying attention.

1. Emma Watson

2. Laverne Cox

3. Rachel Maddow

4. Beyoncé
“Today women make up half of the us workforce but the average working woman earns only 77 per cent of what the average working man makes. I guess I am a modern-day feminist.” – Beyonce

5. Cher

6. Amy Poehler
“I don’t get it [when women say they believe in equality, but aren’t feminists]. That’s like someone being like, ‘I don’t really believe in cars, but I drive one every day and I love that it gets me places and makes life so much easier and faster and I don’t know what I’d do without it.'” –  Amy Poehler

7. Tina Fey

8. Meryl Streep

9. Mindy Kaling
“Here’s my feeling: for everyone, men and women, it’s important to be a feminist.” – Mindy Kaling

10. Ann Curry

Other notable feminist icons from CEOWORLD Magazine:

Claire Danes: “I am a feminist. Yes, women have more freedom and more influence than ever, but it’s hardly equal. It’s just not.”

Leighton Meester: “I identify as a feminist. I believe in equal rights for men and women.”

Zooey Deschanel – “There’s not an ounce of me that believes any of that crap [people] say. We can’t be feminine and be successful? I want to be a feminist and wear a Peter Pan collar. So what?”

Kerry Washington: “I do consider myself a feminist. I love that definition that it’s the whole belief that women are human beings and deserve equal rights, equal success.”

Lorde: “The idea of feminism is completely natural and shouldn’t even be something that people find mildly surprising. It’s just part of being a girl… ”

Julianne Moore: “Oh yeah [I’m a feminist]. Absolutely. At one point feminism became a pejorative term. How did that happen?”

Caitlin Moran: “When statistics come in saying that only 29 per cent of American women describe themselves as a feminist…I used to think ‘What do you think feminism is, ladies? What part of liberation for women is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? “Vogue” by Madonna? Jeans? Did all that good shit get on your nerves? Or were you just drunk at the time of the survey?”

Lena Dunham: “Do you believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same jobs? Do you believe that women should be allowed to leave the house? Do you think women and men deserve equal rights? Great, then you’re a feminist.”

Tavi Gevinson: “I’m a feminist because I don’t think being a girl limits me in any way.”

Kate Nash: “Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men, it does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a ‘bitch’ or ‘d-ke’, it means you believe in equality.”

Toni Collette: I’ve recently realised that I really am a feminist. For years people would say ‘You are! You are!’ and I’d say, ‘I’m not. I’m a humanist.’ Now I see a great imbalance not only in my industry, but also in the world at large. I want to change it.”

Geena Davis: “Feminism means equal social and political status for men and women. There’s nothing radical about it.”

Ellen Page: “I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists… but how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word? Feminism always gets associated with being a radical movement – good. It should be. A lot of what the radical feminists [in the 1970s] were saying, I don’t disagree with it.”

We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a looong way to go. Nominate those you think should have made the list but didn’t..