These female celebrities were not only chosen for their good looks or fortunes, but also because of their involvement with charity work and their contributions to the society.
Oprah Whinfrey – American Media hostess, actress, producer, literacy critic, entrepreneur and magazine publisher. Winfrey is best known as multi-award winning TV show hostess, her “Oprah” became the highest rated program of its kind in the history. From self proclaimed promiscuous teenager and sexual abuse victim, who suffered a great loss- death of her only child at a tender age of fourteen. Oprah managed to rise up and pursue her education and a promising career in mass media. She became a household name, wealthy and powerful African American woman. Upon achieving her international success Winfrey has found a way to give back to those less privileged, she has established “Oprah’s Angel Network” charity group. Throughout the years she managed to raise 51 millions dollars to help those in need, in addition, Oprah personally covers all of the administrative costs related to the charity, so one hundred percent of the donations go towards charity needs. From her involvement with African schools and orphanages, to raising money to rebuild homes for Hurricane Katrina victims, Oprah has set an example for many celebrities to follow. It is estimated that she has personally given around 303 millions of dollars making her the 32 most philanthropic people. She managed to break many racial stereotypes and change lives of many people. Her generosity over the years has become a large part of her image. However, the promotion of her motivating self-helping techniques made her the ultimate female celebrity known for overcoming her own troubling past and building a better future for herself, and those around her.
Madonna – American artist, actress and entrepreneur. Always in the middle of controversy, Madonna is a master of pushing the boundaries; her explicit lyrics, musical videos, that leave very little to imagination, the world famous “Sex” coffee book, high profile romantic affairs, several followed religious practices throughout the years, dedication to yoga have made her the sexiest pop icon of our century. Like many talented people Madonna did not limit her career only to singing, after her role as famous Evita, Madonna took home the Golden Globe Award for best actress. She is considered one of the most influential female singers of modern music, her ability to constantly reinvent herself became prominent example for the new generation singers. However, Madonna career wasn’t the only aspect that made her the persona influential, she was one of the first women who openly chose to raise a child as a single parent, her fearlessness and openness about female sexuality and its needs have contributed to the development of the modern day culture. Madonna is an active member and sponsor of “Raising Malawi’s Advisory Committee”, she helps with the volunteer organization’s mission to help orphans in one of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi, by providing water, food, medical care and schooling. She recently became a mom to two Malawian orphans’, whose adoption was prolonged and complicated by her provocative image. Complicated, provocative, talented and unpredictable, Madonna never ceases to amaze her fans as well as critics. Her ability to challenge and question the norms of modern society brought her to the stardom.
Beyonce Knowles - an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Her fame started from all girl group “Destiny’s child”, where she performed as a lead singer. Together with her band Beyonce sold over 75 million records throughout her career. Her modesty and song-writing talent made her the teen role model. Growing p under a radar wasn’t easy, in her early twenties Beyonce suffered from severe depression that she managed to keep under wraps. Her fear of damaging the reputation of her group earned respect of her group members. Sixteen years into her singing career Beyonce realized that she was limited in her ability to express herself as a singer while being in a group; her efforts to blend in were only exposing her superior talent over other group members. After sixteen years together as a group, Beyoce launched a solo-singing career only proving it to be a huge success and international recognition. Her personal life has always been a taboo topic to the media, only after legally tying the knot with famous rapper Jay Z, Beyonce confirmed their romantic involvement. Her designer brand “House of Dereon” in collaboration with her mother was inspired by Beyonce’s late grandmother, seamstress and clothing designer, made a strong statement in African American community. Beyonce’s philanthropic achievements include assisting Hurricane Katrina victims. She has founded several charity organizations :the Survivor foundation and Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston , in partnership with her former group member and a close friend, Rowland. Beyonce personally donated $100,000 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, which benefits victims of Hurricane Ike in the Houston area. She also organized a fund raising benefit for Hurricane Ike relief through the Survivor Foundation. Her modesty, generosity and quiet strength placed her at number four on our most influential female celebrity list.
Salma Hayek – is a Mexican-American actress, director, and television and film producer. This hour grass petite beauty proved to have the best of both worlds; looks and brains. In 2007, “The Hollywood Reporter” ranked Hayek fourth in their inaugural Latino Power 50, a list of the most powerful members of the Hollywood Latino community. The same year Hayek won the title of “sexiest celebrity” out of a 3,000 male and female celebrities. Her high profile relationships as well as provocative roles, producing and singing made her one of the best recognized Mexican Americans in the world. Upon turning 40 Hayek realized that her purpose was to become a mother and a wife, in her usual over the top style Salma landed herself a French milliner and PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault. However, it is her charity involvement that makes Salma famous in her native community she is an active supporter to reauthorizing the Violence against Women Act. She personally donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups. Upon the birth of her daughter, Hayek has worked to help mothers in developing nations worldwide. She teamed up with Pampers and UNICEF to help stop the spread of life-threatening maternal and neonatal tetanus. Hayek is a global spokesperson for the Pampers/UNICEF partnership 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine to help raise awareness of the program. She is also an advocate for breastfeeding, because of its benefits, including building stronger infant immune systems. Out of Hayek’s many talents her biggest one is the ability to relate to every day women, showing her real face and taking a risk to display and discuss the challenges of being a woman in a modern society.
Ellen DeGeneres - a twelve-time Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedienne, television hostess of the award winning syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and an actress. Over the years she was honored to host both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. After coming out as a lesbian on the”Oprah Winfrey Show”, DeGeneres was involved in romantic relationships with actress Anne Heche. After their break up DeGeneres admitting to the challenges of being over 40 single lesbian. However shortly after she met a fellow actress Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on her show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They were married at their home, with 19 guests including their respective mothers. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage, but a subsequent Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before 4 November 2008. Her philanthropic achievements include the launching of the “Small Change Campaign” to benefit Second Harvest. Ellen also supports the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund through the American Red Cross. DeGeneres’ Ellen for the Cure campaign, run during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month on her television show, supports Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Ellen’s active work and contribution to the gay/lesbian society made her the ultimately significant role model and number seven on our list.
Natalie Portman – is an Israeli American actress, who’s real name is Natalie Hershlag. In order to stay grounded, Natalie uses her real name when she is traveling or out with friends. She is the youngest member of the jury on Cannes festival. Her life’s credo is “…rather be smart than be a movie star”. To prove it, Portman has successfully completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Harvard College. While keeping her life very private, she openly talks about issues close to her heart. For instance, Portman has been a vegetarian since early childhood and is an advocate for animal rights. She does not eat animal products or wear fur, feathers, or leather. Portman was involved with the 2004 presidential campaign of Democratic candidate John Kerry and has supported antipoverty activities. In the past, she traveled to Uganda, Guatemala, and Ecuador as the Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes micro-lending to help finance women-owned businesses in poor countries. At her young age Portman has shown a promise in her charity related work as well as her acting career. The combination of her gorgeous looks and intellectual makes her irresistible number eight on our list.
Pamela Anderson – Canadian/American actress of a Finnish descent, former show girl, sex symbol, glamor model, producer, author and activist. Mainly know as the “Baywatch” babe, a leading actress on television series such as “Baywatch”, “Home improvement” and “VIP”, which she also co-produced. Pamela was formerly married to Tommy Lee, the Mötley Crüe drummer. During their turbulent union Pamela gave birth to their two sons. Their marriage was surrounded with passion, home made sex tape, violence and finally divorce. However to this day they remain on-again, off-again couple, despite of her two short lived marriages that followed the divorce from Tommy. After their divorce Anderson publicly admitted to contracting hepatitis B from her ex-husband, she has been battling with the disease ever since. Anderson has been a vegetarian for most of her life; she is also an advocate for animal rights. She is an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in several campaigns for animal rights. Her biggest achievement includes receiving the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign. While battling her own struggle with Hip B, Anderson became a model for MAC Cosmetics’ MAC AIDS Fund, which helped people affected by AIDS and HIV. Recently Anderson campaigned for making marijuana use in United States of America Legal. Pamela’s sultry looks in combination with her dedication to protecting animal rights makes this “Legally Blond” our number nine.
Jessica Alba – television and film actress. The frequent topper of the sexiest list, Alba recently embarked on a new journey of being a wife and a mother. Alba started her acting debut at the tender age of thirteen; her acting career includes several TV shows and blockbusters. Alba is a current member of these charity organizations: Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children Villages, Soles4Souls, and Step up. She also campaigned for voting rights and awareness for latest Presidential election of the United States of America. Her latest protest for killing the diminishing population of the white sharks brought along a criminal charge for vandalizing one of the “united way” posters. Alba apologized for her actions in “People” magazine and donated an undisclosed amount to “United Ways” to compensate for the damage her actions have caused. Although Alba has a long way of learning to be “politically correct” this dark angel shows a lot of potential and closes our list at number 10.
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