Modern-day titans! Time magazine released its 100 Most Influential People list for 2015 on Thursday, April 16, and as usual, it celebrates heavyweights across entertainment, politics, business, and tech, and some unexpected dedications.
Kim Kardashian and her husband Kanye West both nabbed individual spots on the list, the former heralded as “The First Lady of #Fame,” and the latter dubbed “Boundary Breaker.” In a surprising move, Martha Stewart wrote admiringly about Kardashian, 34.
“Beautiful in an exotic, totally exaggerated way, Kim exudes energy, sexuality, drama, determination, impetuousness and happiness,” Stewart, 73, wrote of Kardashian. “But she and her famous, entrepreneurial siblings—shepherded by a savvy, tireless matriarch [Kris Jenner]—have also expanded the very definition of family.”
“Despite the flamboyance, the self-aggrandizement and the self-promotion (Kim set out to break the Internet by baring her bum in an extraordinary photograph), Kim comes across as an enviable big sister in a clan where everyone seems to love one another,” she continued. “Are they indeed today’s Brady Bunch?”
West, 37, got an ebullient dedication from tech innovator Elon Musk.
“Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list,” the SpaceX CEO, 43, begins. “The dude doesn’t believe in false modesty, and he shouldn’t.”
“In his debut album, over a decade ago, Kanye issued what amounted to a social critique and a call to arms (with a beat): ‘We rappers is role models: we rap, we don’t think,'” Musk continued. “But Kanye does think. Constantly. About everything. And he wants everybody else to do the same: to engage, question, push boundaries. Now that he’s a pop-culture juggernaut, he has the platform to achieve just that. He’s not afraid of being judged or ridiculed in the process. Kanye’s been playing the long game all along, and we’re only just beginning to see why.”
West’s foe-turned-pal Taylor Swift also penned an entry for the list, gushing about celebrity chef Ina Garten.
“It was five years ago that I first heard of Ina Garten from my friend Lily Aldridge, a jet-setting model and new wife, who told me she’d found the perfect fish recipe that she could make in only 15 minutes in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook,” the “Style” singer, 25, wrote, casually name-dropping one of her many celeb BFFs. “As soon as I started watching Ina’s show, I realized why so many people adore her. Her goal is to make things easier for us. Fans love her warmth and generosity. She shows us how to create memories that we’ll treasure for years to come. For that, we will always cherish the merry and magnificent Ina Garten.”
Below, five other priceless celebrity dedications from the Time 100:
Tilda Swinton on Trainwreck costar Amy Schumer: “She’s the first in the water every time, fully clothed with the abandon only 8- or 80-year-olds tend to display, and she urges us to join her. I’m in… Amy’s got your back. / She’s in your corner. / She’s an honesty bomb. / And she’s coming for you.”
Mindy Kaling on Reese Witherspoon: “She is an icon. Yes, she is beautiful, and I would buy any lipstick or bottled water she is selling. Hell, I’d buy cigarettes if her picture were on the pack. But that’s not it (even though I think she could make a lot of money doing that). Reese is an artist, but she is also a hustler, a quality I recognized in her the first time I met her. She’s impatient that Hollywood won’t generate the kind of quality roles she wants to play, so she creates quality roles by creating quality movies. That resourcefulness is what makes her someone I not only admire, but someone who inspires me. And that is influence.”
Kirsten Gillibrand on The Good Wife‘s heroine Julianna Margulies: “She puts her heart and soul into every issue she cares about. She’s not afraid to dream big and do what she loves, whether it’s in her acting career, in her advocacy or being a mom. It’s because of women like Julianna that I know we can and will change the world.”
Amy Poehler on her Parks and Recreation buddy Chris Pratt: “Chris Pratt is here to save us—from aliens, dinosaurs and general boredom. America has decided he is its next big movie star, and I understand why. It’s not because of his broad shoulders and humble roots. It’s not because he looks like the perfect combination of a guy you know mixed with a guy you want to be. It’s because he has that something special… He is a real man in a sea of ciphers, a good father and friend, and one naturally funny dude. Pratt may spend the next few years riding horses or chasing comets, but he can land a joke with a natural ease that most people spend a lifetime trying to achieve.”
Mariska Hargitay on Taylor Swift, who memorably named one of her cats after Hargitay’s SVU character: “I’m amazed at how much earned wisdom Taylor threads into her work. She seems tuned in to the greater good, and she embraces—thoughtfully and authentically—the chance to contribute to the world. I’m always trying to find the best words to talk to my kids (and myself) about growing up, but you can’t top her beautifully articulated advice. The haters are gonna hate, but, well, shake it off. She illuminates our inner music that lets us dance to our own beat… Also, it doesn’t hurt that she named her cat after me.”
