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the gentlewoman

Names

AdeleSinger-songwriter“I’ve never looked at a magazine cover and gone, ‘That’s what I need to look like if I’m going to succeed.’”Alasdair McLellanPhotographerAlex HarringtonStylistAlex NeedhamWriterAlice GoddardStylistAlice NealePhotographerAllison JanneyActor“I definitely know how to use my body, and the power a tall woman has walking into a room.”Amanda FortiniWriterAnastasia BarbieriStylistAnders EdströmPhotographerAndrea SpotornoPhotographerAndrea ZittelArtist“What makes us feel liberated is not total freedom, but rather living in a set of limitations that we have prescribed for ourselves.”Andreas LarssonPhotographerAndrew TuckerWriterAndrew VotteroStylistAngelo FlaccaventoWriterAngelo PennettaPhotographerAnn FriedmanWriterAnna-Marie SolowijWriterAnnabelle SelldorfArchitect“You get quite close to someone who tells you where they want to put their socks.”Annemarieke van DrimmelenPhotographerAnton GottlobPhotographerApollonia PoilâneCEO, breakmaker“Never eat the bread they give you at the beginning of the meal – it’s like eating the peanuts on the bar.”Ari MarcopoulosPhotographerAva DuVernayFilm director“Do you want a bigger house and a fancier car? Or to get up everyday and do what you want to do?”Benjamin Alexander HusebyPhotographerBernat SobrebalsStylistBertha Gonález NievesEntrepreneur“We’re rebels in our own industry, trying to push the boundaries of what’s been done before.”Beyoncé Knowles-CarterSinger-songwriter“I need to be able to go places and have normal conversations with people. You don’t have to alienate yourself from the world.”Bianca RaggiStylistBjörk GuðmundsdóttirSinger-songwriter“I always get a reflex to rebound and do something different.”Bolade BanjoPhotographerBritt Marie KStylistBruno StaubPhotographerCamilla NickersonStylist“An awful lot of it comes down to asking one question: ‘What do women want to wear?’”Carlyne Cerf de DudzeeleStylistCaroline NewellStylistCaroline RouxWriterCate Le BonSinger-songwriter“I can be quite guarded in my personal life so using strong imagery in the songs is a way of saying things I can’t in person.”Cathy DennisSinger-songwriter“Although I write pop music, it’s an effort.”Charlotte ColletStylistChitose AbeFashion designer“Running a business is hard, not because you’re a woman but because it’s business.”Chris HarveyWriterChris RhodesPhotographerChristy TurlingtonSupermodel, activist“I am positive, optimistic. When people say it’s hard to effect real change, I think that’s bullshit!”Clara BalzaryPhotographerColin DodgsonPhotographerCristina RuizWriterCynthia BreazealRobotics engineer“Robots are never going to be human; that’s not the point. The magic of this technology is how it complements and empowers us.”Daniel RieraPhotographerDavey AdésidaPhotographerDavid Benjamin SherryPhotographerDavid SimsPhotographerDavid VincentWriterDeborah OrrWriterDelphine DanhierStylistDiana AthillWriter, editor“I’ve gone off fiction a bit because I’ve read too many novels. I think, ‘Oh, God. I know what’s going to happen next.”Dr Frances Prenna JonesCosmetic dermatologist“I know I’m not performing life-saving brain surgery, but I think you do make a difference to people’s lives.”Edwina Ings-ChambersWriterEleanor MorganWriterElena FerranteWriter“Profound change will be possible only if we build a grand female tradition that men are forced to measure themselves against.”Eliza ConlonFashion editor of The GentlewomanElizabeth PeytonArtist“I'm interested in making pictures of artists whose work inspires me.”Ellie Grace CummingStylistElodie David TouboulStylistEmilie KarehStylistEmily KingWriterEmma WymanStylistErica WagnerWriterErin BrockovichEnvironmental activistEsther TheakerPhotographerEva WisemanWriterFatima BhuttoWriter“The personal experience is unique, but the experience of violence, of assassination, of not getting justice in court, that’s everyone’s, basically.”Floriane de Saint PierreRecruitment mogul“Business? I love it. I love it. I absolutely love it.”Florine BonaventureDesign DirectorFrancesca BurnsStylistGaia RepossiJewellery designer“I remember asking my dad, ‘Are you sure this looks OK?’ Menswear’s such a strong look when you’re a schoolgirl.”George CortinaStylistGert JonkersAssociate Editor of The GentlewomanGlenn O’BrienWriterGrace Wales BonnerFashion designer“How I live is about respect. I want people around me to be healthy and take themselves seriously.”Guy AdamsWriterHannah MacGibbonCreative directorHannes HettaStylistHeidi JulavitsWriterHolly BrubachWriterHoracio SilvaWriterInez & VinoodhPhotographer“You want to keep doing better work than everyone else. You want to keep making amazing photographs.” — InezIsabel MarantFashion Designer“Having shops in key cities is important, but I would hate to be on every street corner.”Jamie HawkesworthPhotographerJane HowStylistJasmine HassettStylistJason EvansPhotographerJean Claude CoutaussePhotographerJekka McVicarHerb farmer“We’re not all tussie-mussies and scented handkerchiefs; this is a working nursery. We get our hands dirty.”Jennifer EganWriter“To me, sheer frivolity is not fun. It gets very dull.”Jenny HolzerArtist“I spent a lot of time hoping that I didn’t really exist. If I could, I would hide under the bed.”Jina KhayyerWriterJo RatcliffeIllustratorJodie BarnesStylistJody RogacPhotographerJohannes SchwartzPhotographerJohn WalshWriterJohnny DufortPhotographerJonathan KayeFashion Director of The GentlewomanJop van BennekomCreative Director of The GentlewomanJude RogersWriterJuergen TellerPhotographerJulia DavisComedian“When I got Nighty Night commissioned, people in charge were open-minded about having radical people writing for British TV.”Karim SadliPhotographerKate FinniganWriterKate PhelanStylist“You can’t go wrong with monochrome. And cream is real glamour.”Katie HillierAccessories designer“I get on the tube every day to see what people are carrying. People will pay anything for bags, it seems.”Katja RahlwesPhotographerKazuyo SejimaArchitect“I am just interested in making architecture.”Kim DealRock star“I wasn’t in a band until Pixies. Nobody would play in a band with a girl from the Midwest.”Kirsten DunstActor“TV pays. You can play an interesting role and support your family. You can’t do that in independent film.”Kirsty YoungBroadcast journalist“There’s no part of this journey, through all the work I’ve done, that doesn’t make sense.”Laura BartonWriterLaura VartiainenStylistLauren CollinsWriterLéa SeydouxActor“Only people obsessed with cinema would know me. Otherwise it’s ‘Seydoux? How do you spell that?’”Leila McAlisterChef, grocer“Despite all the mania for food programmes, people really know surprisingly little about buying ingredients.”Lester GarciaStylistLiz CollinsPhotographerLiz HoggardWriterLucy BrightMusic supervisor“Music can’t make a bad film good, but it can hide a multitude of sins, and when it really works, it’s like alchemy.”Lynn YaegerWriterMalina GilchristStylistManuela WirthArt dealer“I don’t like art fairs. I’m the worst salesperson, and I’ve never sold a piece of art.”Marcie MayerFarmer, entrepreneur“During the Second World War, many people on Kea did eat acorns. It was their greatest shame.”Maria SharapovaTennis Player“How can you be real friends with someone when in a few minutes, you’re going to be out on the court, wanting to beat them more than anything?”Mario SorrentiPhotographerMark PeckmezianPhotographerMark SmithWriterMarlene DumasArtist“I don’t have any hobbies. I don’t exercise. I don’t ride a bicycle. I don’t even like brushing my teeth.”Martha Lane FoxDigital activist“I completely underestimated the expectation that I would be a statesmanlike figure.”Martha StewartEntrepreneur“When I started, nobody was paying attention to the mass market. For ordinary people America was a pretty bad place to shop.”Martine RoseFashion designer“Girls like the wide-legged styles. Some fold from a 60-inch waist into a 30-inch – those accommodate bottoms and hips.”Mathilde AgiusPhotographerMatthew SchneierWriterMattias KarlssonStylistMattie KahnWriterMax FaragoPhotographerMax PearmainStylistMeena PathakEntrepreneur“Of course, chefs never actually admit to using our products, but if you got friendly and went to the back kitchen you’d see our jars everywhere.”Mel OttenbergStylistMica LeviComposer“I started playing the viola because nobody expects anything from a viola. It’s not the cello.”Michael PhilouzeStylistMilan ZrnicPhotographerNancy RohdeStylistNatasha KhanPop star“I’ve taken this crazy journey through four or five albums. Now I’m craving to be part of something less terrifying. Because I’ve been warrior woman for ages.”Nicola SturgeonFirst Minister of Scotland“Every time a woman politician goes in front of a camera, there are 100 things she has to worry about that a man will never have cross his mind.”Nigel ShafranPhotographerOliver Hadlee PearchPhotographerOlivia WilliamsActor“I’ve been onstage not knowing what the fuck I’m doing often enough to know that inevitably you get through.”Olivier RizzoStylistPam HoggFashion designer“As a child, I can remember seeing Diana Rigg in a patent black PVC catsuit in The Avengers, and it blew my mind.”Pamela AndersonActor, activist“People have a very fixed image of what I can do, but I’d rather do more creative projects that just pop out another TV show.“Pashon MurrayEntrepreneur“It’s not as hard as people make it out to be. I’m simply redirecting the destruction and turning it into something productive.”Pat ClevelandModel, poet“When you’re out on the runway, it’s perfect. The people who see the clothes and the people who made them; we’re all one people.”Paul FlynnWriterPaul SinclairePaul WetherellPhotographerPenny MartinEditor of The GentlewomanPhoebe PhiloFashion designer“The clothes are well made and the fabrics are beautiful. They’re not something just to be thrown away.”Princess JuliaNightlife doyenne“Well, everything’s a look, isn’t it? It’s all drag.”Princess Mabel van OranjeActivist“I have opinions on lots of things. You might have noticed.”Priscilla ColemanIllustratorRachel SymeWriterRachel WhitereadArtist”I’m just like a bull. If I want to do something, I’ll keep going until it’s done. Pure bloody-mindedness.”Raine, Countess SpencerAristocrat“I always do my own nails. When I was a girl mummy had a manicurist who taught me.”Raquel FrancoStylistRichard O’MahonySenior editor, The GentlewomanRobbie LawrencePhotographerRobynSinger-songwriter“I feel like supporting stereotypes is just extremely boring – whether it’s the pop star or the pleasing, adaptable woman.”RodarteDesigners, filmmakers“We’re a tiny, independent company. I want what we make to have meaning, so the work has to come directly from us.”Roe EthridgePhotograperSamantha LoganStylistSaoirse RonanActor“Producers wouldn’t think of casting someone they only know from films when she was 15. I’m just showing everyone, look, I’m not 12 anymore.”Sarah LerfelRetailer“We don’t do budgets. It’s all spontaneous. We just cross our fingers.”Sarah MowerWriterSeb EminaWriterSheryl GarrattWriterShirin NeshatArtist“Everything I have ever done has generated a lot of debate, and not all of it has been praise.”Simone BilesGymnast“We look mean a lot of the time because we’re concentrating so hard. If you don’t, you get hurt.”Sinéad O'ConnorSinger-songwriter“The singers we love are the people who, from the first syllable you know who they are, because they’re 100 per cent themselves.”Sofia CoppolaFilmmaker“Sometimes someone outside of your family sees something in you. My parents were encouraging, but that’s just what parents do.”Sofie GråbølActor“I complicate things. I worry. I think a lot. I’m never happy. But I’m happy with not being happy.”Sophie ElmhirstWriterSophie HastingsWriterSt. VincentSinger-songwriter“People sometimes feel I’m being manipulative with my music, lulling them into a safe place and then slamming them over the head.”Susan MillerAstrologer“My job is like having eight plates, plus the sun and the moon, on sticks, spinning.”Susan SarandonActor, political activist“I always say the difference between theatre and film is the difference between making love and masturbation.”Susie RushtonWriterSusie WolffFormula One driver“Once I’m in the car, it’s me alone. I’m not here to be the best female. I’m here to be the best.”Tamara RothsteinStylistTamsin BlanchardWriterTauba AuerbachArtist“I’ve been moving in a straight line and I just want to be able to move diagonally.”Tavi GevinsonWriter, editor, actor“Being a purist is for people who can live off their parents.”Terry RichardsonPhotographerTilda SwintonActor“I love actresses who’ve only been in one film. Every film I make, I want it to be my last.”Tim BlanksWriterTodd ColePhotographerVal McDermidCrime novelist“Would you go to tea in Cabot Cove? I don’t think so!”Vanessa GrigoriadisWriter“I’m a workaholic psycho-researcher psycho-perfectionist; I annoy everybody, rewriting passages that I think should be better.”Veronica DittingCreative DirectorViviane SassenPhotographerVivienne WestwoodFashion designer, environmental activist“If you can’t afford something, don’t get something that is half the price that you don’t like. Don’t do that.”Whitney CummingsComedian“My plan was to become a journalist, or at least a muckraking documentary maker, until I realised I had way too many opinions.”Willy VanderperrePhotographerWolfgang TillmansPhotographerYoko OnoArtist, musician, activist“I really think that if you’re killed or die, your thoughts and energy have a way of being active in the world.”Yvonne VenegasPhotographerZadie SmithWriter“That’s the condition of novel writing, being no one at all. When you stop, you confront this fear you’re not really anybody.”Zoë GhertnerPhotographer