Now in its third edition, Vogue Women Of The Year awards has become synonymous with glamour, excellence and remarkable success. Weve raised the bar up another notch for 2019, bringing together the most inspiring names from all over the world to tip our hats to their unparalleled talent, and the countless hours they spent perfecting their crafts. From the countrys most successful sportswomen to business leaders, designers, supermodels, Bollywood celebrities and more, meet the winners of Vogue Women Of The Year 2019.

Viral YouTube star Lilly Singh is systematically dismantling the all-white world of suits that anchored late-night television. As the NBC newcomer and first Indian-origin female host on broadcast television in America, she has opened the doors for many others who look like her, and brought some much-needed diversity to our TV screens.

In 2007, Kunal Nayyars big break came when he starred as part of an oddball cast of geeks who charmed viewers in The Big Bang Theorywhich went on to become the longest-running multi-camera series in television history. While Nayyars Raj Koothrappali was a bit of a dorky clown, his intrinsic role in the group and the ability to keep it real set him apart. In 2015, the actor even penned a book titled Yes, My Accent Is Real to talk about how he wasnt just another Apu in America. After 12 years of relentless work and phenomenal success, he announced to the world his plan to take a break from social media.

At just 25 years old, Canadian model Winnie Harlow has already changed the face of fashion. Since she was discovered by Tyra Banks on the 21st series of Americas Next Top Model in 2014competing under her real name, Chantelle Brown-Youngshes been central in the move towards a more diverse and inclusive fashion industry. Harlow may not have won the competition, but she didnt need to. Shes fronted campaigns for the likes of Diesel and MAC Cosmetics, a regular on the catwalk and fashions front rows and appeared on dozens of magazine covers, all the while raising awareness about her skin condition, vitiligo (which causes patches of pigmentation loss).

It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Huda Kattan is currently the beauty worlds brightest star. She has close to 40 million Instagram followers, clocked 150 million YouTube views and owns a beauty brand with an estimated value of US$1.2 billion. When Kattan started out as a beauty blogger back in 2010, white influencers were the norm, a few African-American names were in the mix, but brown women were totally missing. Kattan has gone on to popularise her own Arabian style of makeup (which resonates strongly with brown women) all over the worlda near-miraculous phenomenon, as traditionally beauty ideals are passed from West to East, not the other way around.

Our Style Icon of the Year considers style an accessory to life, not the principal driver. A believer in fashion thats believable (but not basic), Anushka Sharmas is a covetable wardrobe youd want to replicate. Shes routinely spotted in a range of athleisure staples and casual wear, and white sneakers are more likely to show up than over-the-knee patent leather boots. Sometimes we push ourselves to wear extremely uncomfortable clothes. There are clothes meant for a specific reasonthey look beautiful on screen but theyre not the most amazing clothes to wear. In my own space I want to be comfortable in what Im wearing and, most importantly, it has to reflect me, she reveals.

As a child, Alia Bhatt would dance for her grandparents every Sunday. Her game of choice with her best friend was actress-actress. Left to play, shed conjure an imaginary audience to dance and act for. At 26, this prodigiously talented actor seems to have achieved everything. Gully Boy is on its way to the Oscars, her father is directing her in Sadak 2, and her upcoming feature, Brahmastra is frantically awaited. No wonder she has been crowned our Performer Of The Year this time around.

With her brand new venture into the world of beauty, Katrina Kaif might have just cracked the code to being an unpredictable enigma and yet coming as close to her fans as a superstar can at the same time. Her makeup brand, Kay by Katrina is an unapologetic, honest ode to beauty, and has been two and a half years in the making to speak Kaifs language. I want it to portray my philosophy. It definitely does not say, Look like me. I want you to have fun with my makeup and let it enhance the favourite parts of you, she says.

Acting was not part of the game plan for Taapsee Pannu. She had an engineering degree and was preparing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to apply to business schools. So when did she decide to actually become an actor? She says it was after she completed her debut film, a Tamil feature called Aadukalam (2011). Cut to 2019, Pannu is a well-known face in the Hindi film industry, with blockbusters like Pink and Badla to her credit. Her formula for success? Being slow but steady, and accepting your own reality.

Ananya Panday may be just one film old right now, but she has already made a lasting impression in the Hindi film industry. After a prestigious debut in Karan Johars Student Of The Year 2 (the first SOTY launched the careers of the likes of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra) earlier this year, the 20-year-old actor is now gearing up for her upcoming feature, Pati Patni Our Woh, where she will share screen space with Kartik Aaryan and Bhumi Pednekar. Panday has been ticking off everything that sums up a stars listshe had signed on as Lakms youngest brand ambassador even before SOTY 2 released, made her runway debut at Lakm Fashion Week winter/festive 2019 for Arpita Mehta and Anushree Reddys show, and has now become a regular on best dressed lists. Today, her bag of endorsements also includes denim brand Only and Gillette Venus.

In Ranveer Singh, we have a leading man who takes his work seriously but not himself. Quixotic, intense, angsty and the class clown all rolled into onehere is a man who makes the movies more fun than they have been in a long time. Over the years, he has combined a hyperbolic goofball public persona with a versatile body of workincluding Zoya Akhtars Gully Boy, Indias official entry to the Oscars this year, and Kabir Khans upcoming 83, which will see him playing the countrys first cricket World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev.

Growing up as the son of Mammootty, superstar of the Malayalam film world, Dulquer Salmaan had a vantage point on fame and cinema that few do. But he didnt really want to act. He was always in awe of his father, so he felt that acting was that one thing he couldnt do. My biggest fear was Id be a humongous failure son of my dad, and that I would lose it all, he says. Today, Salmaan has some 30 acting awards to his name, and is a consistent name in listicles for the best-dressed and the influential. Clearly he was wrong.

To call Zoya Akhtar unstoppable would be an understatement. Her latest film, Gully Boy, was recently announced as Indias official entry to the Oscars for 2019, and she also produced her first web series, Made In Heaven, for Prime Video earlier this year. Considering her wide range of as a filmmakerher earlier work includes the likes of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015)its not surprising that shes considered as a fine storyteller and observer of subcultures by critics and audiences alike.

Anyone who grew up in the 90s can attest to the all-pervasive message of Benettons ad campaigns: joy, colour, celebration, acceptance, love. Taking the brands ideals of multiculturalism, diversity and inclusivity forward is its new artistic director, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who has been designing clothes since 1968. The long-time champion of diversity believes that fashion has a responsibility, and that you can say important things with creativityfashion but with a cause.

She was the Vogue India Fashion Fund winner in 2014, the Woolmark International Prize Winner in 2018, and this year at the Vogue Women Of The Year Awards, shes Designer Of The Year. Ruchika Sachdeva has carved a space for herself in Indias fashion landscape in less than a decade since she founded her label, Bodice, in 2011, dedicated to impeccable construction, menswear tailoring traditions and Indian crafts. Her collections may look deceptively simple, but actually boast of rich, complex textures, a detailed analysis and research of handlooms, and an overarching message of thoughtful design.

An international debut in 2016 at Louis Vuitton catapulted Pooja Mors continental career shift, where part of the perks include being shot by the best photographers in business (Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel and the late Peter Lindbergh), a stream of global campaigns and a platform for championing causes. Almost 16 seasons, 68 runways and 76 looks later, Mor has made the worlds runways her stage.

Garima Arora has had quite the year. She became the first female Indian chef to receive a Michelin star for her restaurant Gaa in Bangkok in 2018, and was also awarded Asias Best Female Chef 2019 at the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants awards. Last month in Mumbai, the 33-year-old chef launched Food Forward India (FFI), a culinary initiative that brings together people at the forefront of the Indian food industry to re-examine, re-evaluate and reintroduce Indian cuisine to the world. The cub pharma reporter-turned-chef, who worked with Gordon Ramsay, Ren Redzepi and Gaggan Anand before opening her restaurant, is applying her journalistic curiosity and chefs laurels to be the change she wants to see.

In 2013, Heena Sidhu received a phone call that would change her lifeshe got an opportunity to compete at the World Cup in Munich, Germany. The 30-year-old pistol shooter went on to beat the then world champion with a record score of 203.8, and became the first Indian pistol shooter to win gold at the World Cup. The following year, news emerged that she has made history as the first Indian shooter to hold the World No. 1 title.

Apart from record-breaking firsts on the track, Dutee Chand is also Indias first openly lesbian athlete. The professional sprinter announced that she was in a same-sex relationship earlier this year, and earned high praise from many quarters, including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Just over a month ago, Chand clinched the gold medal in 100 metres at the World University Games in Naples, making her the first-ever Indian woman track and field athlete to do so, clocking 11.32 seconds. Next up on her list? My ultimate aim is to bring home the gold medal for India in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she reveals.

From setting up the 10-acre-large arts village Kaladham in the JSW township in Vijayanagar to starting Art India, the countrys leading magazine for contemporary art, Sangita Jindal is a patron whose engagement with art goes far beyond the act of acquiring. A champion of Indian art for more than a quarter of a century, as the chairperson of JSW Foundation, the non-profit arm of JSW (a colossal steel and energy conglomerate run by husband Sajjan), Sangita proactively promotes heritage as well as contemporary art.

It could be refusing to sit on a segregated bus seat, pledging to donate half of their wealth to charity or skipping school to protest. For social entrepreneur Neera Nundy, it was a coming together of her desire to lead and prove herself. As the co-founder of Dasra (an organisation that catalyses Indias strategic philanthropy movement), she has an ambitious goal to transform a billion lives with dignity and equity. Shes a role model of leadership today, proving that it takes vision, a real understanding of ones skills and a lot of hard work to truly make a difference.

A 30-year-old with an annual turnover of over Rs 300 crores, Foodhall founder Avni Biyani has captured the zeitgeist with a food chain that brings trending, premier foods to our pantries. From a starter team of 70 people, Foodhall has now expanded to over 800 employees in the gourmet food space as Biyani gears to open her 10th store in Delhi. The stock, too, has swelled almost double-fold in the eight years since the brand launched in 2011. From introducing India to 2,000 foreign items, they now boast an international stock of over 7,000 items. Biyani is unstoppable. With an app underway, she plans to kick off her digital expansion soon too.

There were no case studies, no reference points, no guidelines when Falguni Nayar decided to sell something as tactile as makeup and skincare products online. She noticed how her friends in the States were dependent on shopping on Amazon. She noticed the paucity of a good beauty sale experience in India and combined the two to launch Nykaa in 2012. Today, her empire is worth more than 750 million dollars. She could not define the Vogue Business Person Of The Year award betterrevolutionising the beauty industry via technology, product curation and catalogue and influencing a vast majority of the country.

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Presenting the winners: Vogue Women Of The Year 2019 - VOGUE India