TIME has released their annual 100 list with a variety of LGBTQ+ names across a number of sectors securing a spot.
The 100 influential figures are a mixture of LGBTQ+ individuals, and other high-profile stars such as SZA, Sadie Sink, Simone Ashley and many more.
Each person who made the list has a synopsis written about them by a fellow famous face, typically from the same or a similar field to their own.
The TIME100 Next list is representative of the biggest up-and-coming change-makers.
Here’s which LGBTQ+ icons made this year’s TIME100:
Rina Sawayama
by Tommy Dorfman
TIME
Pop sensation Rina Sawayama made it into the 100, with text written by actress Tommy Dorfman.
“When you have the kind of artistic integrity that she has, you can’t fail. Because she’s not competing with anyone—she’s in a league of her own. Her music is so powerful and so danceable.”
“I don’t think we can underestimate the power that she has, serving what she’s serving on a global platform. I’m of the belief that there’s people who feel seen, heard, understood, and held by her in a way that no other artists could.”
Casey McQuiston
by Emma Straub
TIME
Non-binary author Casey McQuiston was written about by writer Emma Straub.
Straub stated: “Their three books—gay royal romance Red, White and Royal Blue; queer New Adult romance One Last Stop, which features an instantly classic sex scene aboard a Q subway train; and this year’s sweet YA romance–mystery I Kissed Shara Wheeler—are all deeply pleasurable, romantic, and very, very queer.”
“The fact that we hosted a midnight launch—the sounds of which still bring to mind a certain fantasy series—seems to me a reclaiming of wild fandom, of passion for books and shared excitement, all of it laced through with absolute queer joy.”
Ncuti Gatwa
by Russell T Davies
TIME
Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T Davies wrote a touching tribute to the Sex Education star.
He said: “The man is like a thunderbolt, and he keeps winning new ground: Ncuti Gatwa’s creation of Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education went soaring around the world.”
“The character of the gay sidekick is meant to stay in the shadows. Not Eric! He strutted in, stole the spotlight, and I think a gracious, awestruck cast simply stood back and allowed him the room.”
“I’d watched him onscreen, and thought I had the measure of him, until he walked into the room for Doctor Who audition. Bang! Thunderbolt. And bear in mind, for U.K. TV, the part of the Doctor is the Crown Jewels, it’s history, it’s tradition, it’s … Oh, sod that, I said, and threw it at him.”
Davies concluded: “He’s conquered the world. Now all of time and space is his.”
FKA Twigs
by Courtney Love
TIME
Grammy-nominated musician Courtney Love said: “I remember her from L.A. when she was a little sprite. I could see the artist in her then. I love how, over the years, she has toyed with us, as if she’s whatever we imagine her to be but you know she’s not.”
“This year, on her mixtape Caprisongs, she breaks it all down in front of us: her insecurities, sex, heartbreak, her songwriting, her trauma.”
“The photo on the cover was so on point—her mouth open, ready to spill her guts. She is ready to tell us who she is, victorious, flying by in the breeze, the music in every muscle in her body.”
Alba Rueda
by Jessica Stern
TIME
Argentine politician Alba Rueda also made the list. Stern wrote: “Alba’s voice was singular, because as the Undersecretary of Diversity Policies in Argentina’s Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity, she was both an expert and the sole transgender official in such discussions.”
“There aren’t enough trans people in government worldwide. That’s why I celebrated this May when Alba was named Argentina’s Special Representative on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. She now has a global platform.”
Joel Kim Booster
by Margaret Cho
TIME
Comic to comic, Margaret Cho wrote the following about Booster: “When we wrapped Fire Island, which Joel Kim Booster wrote, produced, and starred in, we were given a gift of shorts that said IT’S GIVING MOVIE.”
“That’s exactly what I think when I look at Joel. He’s giving star. He’s giving excellence.”
“He’s giving the queer Asian Americans something truly amazing to aspire to. And he’s giving laughter and lots of important observations on race, class, culture, sex, and being gay in all of those realms. He’s giving voice to the previously unheard and unknown. He’s giving a gorgeous face to the invisible. As a fellow Asian American queer comedian, he’s giving community. And together, we are giving family.”
Law Roach
by Christian Siriano
TIME
“Law Roach’s talent is truly unmatched. He and I were there for each other in the very beginning of each other’s careers, which means the world to me,” wrote designer Christian Siriano.
“He’s a true creative visionary in every sense of the word. Look at what he has done with Zendaya and so many of his other clients.”
“When I get a call, I get a call from him—not an assistant. I think that goes a long way, and is part of the reason the moments he creates are so magical and unbelievable. He’s the definition of a creative genius, and the fashion industry is lucky to have him.”
George M Johnson
by Jason Reynolds
TIME
Novelist and poet Jason Reynolds had a lot of praise for non-binary author of All Boys Aren’t Blue, George M Johnson.
Reynolds said: “Brave is an overused word. A word, I’d argue, that has become milquetoast and cliché. So despite the urge to do so, I will refrain from calling George M. Johnson brave. I’d rather consider George urgent, because urgency implies spark and pulse.”
“To stand in the love they have for the children they serve through their writing and advocacy. When their debut memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue, became a focus of growing book-banning efforts in 2021, George responded with that trademark urgency—contesting not only the censorship of their work, but threats to other such works across the country.”
Tyler Mitchell
by Amy Sherald
TIME
Photographer Tyler Michell was written about by portrait painter Amy Sherald.
Sherald said of Mitchell: “I admire that his images are both narrative and ethereal, with a prose that invites us into the stories of those they portray. Tyler’s photographs situate our lived experiences at the bounds of reality. The mundane becomes extraordinary with his gift of always making us, as he puts it, ‘feel good.'”
“His practice is not only joyful but generous, and it is a true pleasure to behold.”
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