Female celebrities are breaking the stereotypes of Hollywood and diving into the world of business. Check out how these women are using their fame, fortune, and power to start their own companies. From media production to makeup, these Top Female Celebrity Business Owners are doing it all!
As part of our women in business series, we’re taking a look at Top Female Celebrity Business Owners who are using their power and time to do more than just vacation. That sounds a tad harsh. However, if you think about it, it’s the truth. If you live anywhere but under a rock, wherever you go, you’ll see and hear tabloid clickbait. Who is dating who? Did she wear that? Pregnancy scares? Honestly, it’s all stupid and a waste of time and energy.
The worst part? It distracts from the timely news. For example, what big news happened the last week of October? In Somalia, al-Shabab fighters stormed a hotel in the capital city killing 29 people and injuring 30 more. In Spain, the Spanish government seized control of Catalonia after it declared independence. Did you hear about this news? Maybe. But what was the one story that seemed to top over everything? The Kardashian- Jenner pregnancy rumors. No words. Why highlight nonsense that doesn’t matter when there is a lot more important content and news that should be covered? This is coming from a twenty-something, somewhat recent college graduate. So if you’re thinking it’s the young people to blame, I promise you, we aren’t all bad.
Needless to say, when I see celebrities, particularly female celebrities, using their fandom, wealth, and power for good, I can’t help but give them my support. It’s 2017 and women in business are taking the industry by storm. These women are changing the stereotypes of celebrity and encouraging others to do the same, while at the same time encouraging creative new business ideas for women. To pay homage to these inspiring women, we’re bringing you our picks of the Top Female Celebrity Business Owners!
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Oprah Winfrey.
No list of top female celebrity business owners would be complete without Oprah Winfrey. Plus, we have to top our list with a fellow Chicago native! Oprah is a media proprietor, actress, producer, philanthropist, and, of course, talk show host. She is a household name that is synonymous with success. In her early 20’s she was fired from her evening news reporter job at WJZ-TC in Baltimore. The reason? In her book, Become Your #1 Fan, Oprah says she was fired because the producer felt she was too invested in her stories. Well, Oprah took this criticism and made it a career. The same producer put her into daytime TV. As her audience picked up, Oprah became the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for 25 seasons. She’s currently worth an estimated $3 billion, according to Forbes. Oprah used her show to talk about many issues other talk shows shied away from talking about, including sexual assault and harassment, and LGBTQ rights. Since the ending of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah now TV network, her own magazine, network, and charity benefiting young girls.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Christy Turlington.
The former supermodel set her sights on being a socially conscious entrepreneur. Becoming a mother gave her a whole new lease on life. She began to become concerned for the millions of women around the world who don’t have access to proper care during childbirth. Despite it being almost the end of 2017, hundreds of thousands of women around the world die from childbirth each year. Turlington started by raising awareness to this problem with a documentary, No Women No Cry, that she produced and directed. Following the documentary’s success, she went even further to tackle achieving safe childbirths for all women by founding a nonprofit organization called Every Mother Counts. Her philanthropic actions have been praised by many, including Time which named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2014.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Rihanna.
The award-winning singer, songwriter, fashion designer, model, and actress is adding another professional to her resume: entrepreneur. In the fall of 2017, Rihanna released her own makeup line, Fenty. The makeup line is a prestige brand sold exclusively at Sephora. However, this isn’t your typical makeup line. Rihanna didn’t just put out a lipstick or eyeshadow. She debuted her line with a 40-shade range foundation line. She did this to tackle a huge problem in the beauty industry – lack of shade ranges to cater to all skin tones, particularly deeper skin tones. Brands have typically launched far fewer dark shades than lighter shades. It’s not fair. To solve this, she spent almost 2 years creating a shade range that would be inclusive of all skin tones and undertones. Rihanna has answered the prayers many women who never felt included by beauty brands.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Sofia Vergara.
Sitcom and film icon Sofia Vergara is more than just a great actress. The Latina superstar wanted to use her fame and fortune to help launch the career of other aspiring Latin stars, writers, producers, director, and more. To do this, in 1994, she founded Latin World Entertainment. Almost two decades later, the talent management firm is one of the leading Latin talent agencies in the world. Forbes valued the company earning an annual income of $27 million dollars. The reason for its immense success? Vergara’s firsthand experience in the industry and her top-of-the-line marketing strategies that have grabbed the attention of other competitors.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Kat Von D.
Celebrity tattoo artist, Kat Von D, became famous for her intricate and realistic tattoo portraits. Getting her start in TV on the popular, Miami Ink. In 2007, she got her own reality show, LA Ink, based on her own tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo. The show aired for four seasons. In 2008, Kat used her fame and art skills to launch her own cosmetic line, Kat Von D Beauty, sold exclusively at Sephora. The line features cult favorites in the beauty world that have claimed many Allure’s Best in Beauty titles. Kat wanted to make this more than just a makeup line. The line’s central message is that it is vegan and cruelty-free. Most famously, she released a limited-edition liquid lipstick named Project Chimp, that gave 20% of sales to Project Chimps, an organization providing care for retired research chimpanzees. A fan and user of Kat’s makeup line, keep killing it, Kat!
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Venus Williams.
If you think of a famous female athlete, you probably think of Venus Williams. As you should! She is a tennis power shot who, along with her sister, Serena, have worked hard to overcome quite a few negative stereotypes in the traditionally non-diverse tennis community. Venus Williams is also making waves in a new industry – fashion. This may come as a surprise, but fashion is no new territory for Williams. She has a degree in fashion design, which came in handy as fans were always lusting after Williams’s athletic attire. Seeing this opportunity, Williams choose her entrepreneurial path by creating her own athletic clothing line, EleVen. The line was created by William’s using art and watercolor as her inspiration. She created not just tennis attire, but pieces that would fit any sport. The clothing line is a favorite by not only fans but also other athletes.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners -Reese Witherspoon.
Hollywood has gotten a lot of heat over harassment and sexual misconduct from actors, directors, producers, and many more players in the industry. Reese Witherspoon recognized this. In many interviews, the actress has spoken out about how easy it is to see the lack of female writing in Hollywood. How do you know? She says, “If a script is written by a man, in a time of crisis, the women will look to a man and say, ‘What do we do?’ That’s ridiculous. What woman would do this? She’ll go straight to figuring out how to solve the problem”. Witherspoon set out to change this along with Australian producer Bruna Papandrea to create the Pacific Standard production company. The company sets out to buy the film rights to novels that have empowering roles for women. They’ve already made a lot of success. The first film produced was Gone Girl, which made a killing at the box office, and the coming of age film, Wild.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Jennifer Anniston.
Jennifer Anniston has stolen the hearts of many from all age groups. The actress has made her mark on a number of the highest grossing TV shows and movies. Maybe you’ve heard of a little show called Friends? One of the longest-running and highest earning TV shows in history? The show pushed Anniston’s career even further making her a household name. Anniston expanded her career into entrepreneurship in 2012. She set her sights on beauty products, hair products specifically. She became the co-owner of Living Proof, a now prestige brand company. The line is a go-to in the industry to help keep frizz under control and extend your hairstyles. Anniston came in full of ideas and took a marketing and packaging to the next level. With Anniston’s hands-on help, the company now grosses $30 million a year.
Top Female Celebrity Business Owners – Jessica Alba.
After becoming a mother, actress Jessica Alba became concerned about what was actually in the food her family eats and the products used around the house. She’s not the only one. The green and eco-friendly products industries are booming! More people are concerned with what these products can do for the health of people and animals. Additionally, people are worried about how the production of these products affects the environment. Alba has become an advocate on this phenomenon, helping to raise awareness to consumers to help them make educated choices when purchasing products. She took is a step further by founding the Honest Company, targeting baby products helping parents keep unnecessary chemicals away from babies. The line has exploded! In just a few short years, the line has grown to produce more than 120 products and grosses more than one billion dollars each year.
