Selena Gomez Featured in Time's List of 46 Women Who Are Changing the World

Hillary Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey are also part of the "FIRSTS" Project

By Zach Johnson Sep 07, 2017 3:40 PMTags
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Selena Gomez is in good company.

The 25-year-old singer and 13 Reasons Why producer star appears on one of 12 Time covers, as she is one of 46 people profiled in the magazine's "FIRSTS" project, highlighting women of various ages, ethnicities, political affiliations and sexual orientations who're changing the world.

Photographer Luisa Dörr shot Gomez's cover—and the other 11 covers—using an iPhone.

Gomez is recognized for being the first person to reach 100 million followers on Instagram.

The "Fetish" singer credits her mom, Mandy Teefey, with making her the woman she is today. "My mom is the kind of person who understands what hard work is. She was still in high school when she had me. She worked multiple jobs. But she made me feel like I was capable of doing anything I wanted, maybe because she didn't really have that opportunity," Gomez tells the magazine. "She taught me everything I know. How I'm no less but also no greater than anyone. How when people come at you with their worst, you should come at them with your best."

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Selena Gomez Style Evolution

Looking back on her career and how social media has played a big role in her life, Gomez tells Time, "I don't know if there was a moment where I actually said, 'OK, this is what I want to do.' I think it became what I loved. There is a trust I have with people my age, or a little bit younger, that I don't think I would have if I started later. I hope my fans learn who they are is beautiful [and they] can connect with people by sharing what they're feeling. It's very personal to me."

Other women profiled in Time include Madeleine Albright, Mary Barra, Patricia Bath, Elizabeth Blackburn, Ursula Burns, Candis Cayne, Hillary Clinton, Eileen Collins, Kellyanne Conway, Mo'ne Davis, Ellen DeGeneres, Gabby Douglas, Rita Dove, Ann Dunwoody, Ava DuVernay, Sylvia Earle, Aretha Franklin, Melinda Gates, Nikki Haley, Carla Hayden, Mazie Hirono, Mae Jemison, Maya Lin, Loretta Lynch, Rachel Maddow, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Ilhan Omar, Danica Patrick, Nancy Pelosi, Michelle Phan, Issa Rae, Lori Robinson, Sheryl Sandberg, Katharine Jefferts Schor, Cindy Sherman, Kathryn Smith, Kathryn Sullivan, Barbara Walters, Alice Waters, Geisha Williams, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey and Janet Yellen.

Dörr was surprised by "many" of her subjects. "You always think they are going to be difficult, and out of reach, but they are humans just like me." After she shot her final photo, she realized, "All of these women were inspiring. More than just women, I saw amazing human beings and professionals. All of them went through a lot of struggle just to slowly consolidate a place in society. This positive fighting energy—never giving up—is what has inspired me the most."

After the Time cover was revealed online, Gomez took to Instagram—naturally—to reflect on the honor. "Sometimes it's incredibly difficult to wake up every day knowing there is so much going on in the world. At times I feel selfish, I ask why, I ask how can this change? Will it actually ever change? I try to contribute my heart before anything because it can be so easy to lose the desire to have hope when sometimes all I want to be is angry. When I read about the beautiful women who wake up consciously every day to make a change, it inspires me to want to do so much more. Not really sure how I got so lucky @time but thank you for highlighting the power of what we can and will always strive to be," the pop princess told her followers. "I believe in the goodness in the land of the living. I hope this is just the beginning of more change."