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When you think of a humanitarian celebrity, Angelina Jolie usually comes first to mind. Her status as one of the most philanthropic actresses in Hollywood is well-deserved. Jolie serves as an ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has fought for the education rights for international children as a co-chair for the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict and has received numerous awards, such as the Citizen of the World Award by the United Nations Correspondents Association.
But if you look beyond Jolie, you’ll find that Hollywood is budding with actresses, models and celebrities that are also honing in on making the world a better place.
Here are five women who are also using their fame to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
Playing Sophia Burset from Netflix’s hit show “Orange Is The New Black,” Laverne Cox is one of the biggest names in LGBTQ advocacy. By just being herself, Laverne Cox proves time and time again that talent is not limited by race, gender or sexuality.
Beyond her role as Sophia, Cox has used her fame to actively discuss and spread awareness of what it means to be both a person of color and a transgender woman. Among many of her accomplishments and awards, Laverne is the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, feature on the cover of TIME and have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds.
She is currently producing a documentary titled “Free Cece” in order to heighten visibility and awareness surrounding CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman convicted of second degree manslaughter “after allegedly defending herself against a racist and transphobic attack,” says Huffington Post.
You may recognize her from “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Bring It On.” Gabrielle Union has quite the impressive acting resume. Now also known as the star of BET’s “Being Mary Jane” and the wife of NBA Star Dwayne Wade, there is more to this actress than meets the eye.
Gabrielle Union is also an advocate for survivors of sexual assault as she is a survivor herself. Attributing her own survival to the Oprah Winfrey Show, Gabrielle uses her own experience and voice to speak out on the issues surrounding sexual assault and rape.
Iman is one of the most important women in the modeling industry. With 14 years experience as a high fashion model, Iman represented the works of designers such as Gianni Versace, Issey Miyake, Halston, Calvin Klein and Yves Saint-Laurent.
Born and raised in Somalia, Iman shares her experiences as a woman with a dark skin tone. Realizing the limited supply of makeup products available to people of color, Iman turned around created her own cosmetic line with the regal name IMAN. Furthermore, Iman continues to speak out on the lack of diversity in both the fashion and beauty industries.
After taking the world by storm with her hit song “Hips Don’t Lie,” Shakira became Colombia’s sweetheart. With a vibrato unlike any other, her vocal waves traveled much further than the stage. When Shakira was a young girl, her father introduced her to an orphanage so that she would be grateful for her own upbringing. After seeing the children that society had turned away, Shakira told herself that she would do something for them when she was older.
Keeping her word, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which funds schools for underprivileged children throughout Colombia. Also a UN Goodwill Ambassador, Shakira has received numerous awards in honor of dedication to the education of children living below the poverty line.
Performer of arguably the best song of the ’80s – “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – singer Cyndi Lauper has had a successful career for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she has has been a loud supporter of the LGBTQ community.
She founded her True Color Fund, which advocates for and promotes equal rights for the LGBTQ community. In 2010, the Fund launched the Give A Damn campaign, which pushes straight people to become more active in fighting for the rights of LGBTQ individuals. Upon discovering that 40 percent of the homeless teen population identified as LGBTQ, Lauper started the Forty to None Project, which provides temporary housing and job search assistance to the LGBTQ homeless youth in New York City.
