25 Under 25
Issue #39
From Adele to Zoe, meet the 25 badass ladies who made the cut
By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 10:04am
From scaling Mt. Everest to topping the charts, the women on Venus Zine’s first ever “25 Under 25” list have each packed a lifetime’s worth of achievements into a handful of years.
After starting her career acting as a troubled teenager in Thirteen, and going on to play Mickey Rourke’s estranged daughter in Oscar-nominated The Wrestler, Evan Rachel Wood is now set to star in Woody Allen’s upcoming comedy, Whatever Works.
How many 19-year-olds can say they’ve worked with George Clooney, Spike Jonze, William H. Macy, and starred in one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time? Only one. Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat has done all that and more, also starring in Sundance standout Amreeka and Drew Barrymore upcoming Whip It!.
The daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet is finding her own path to fame by taking on roles in films like the upcoming The Greatest. Keep your ears open for her yet-unnamed “pop-punk-rock hippie” band, too.
The self-proclaimed “biggest midget in the game” is back sans cornrows and side ponytail. Her new album is coming out in April on her very own label, Midget Records, and though she still raps plenty, she’s added singing to her list of skills. There’s even a love song on the album!
Baltimore’s Ryeisha Berrain, better known as Rye Rye, is a talent hand-picked by Grammy sensation (and Venus Zine cover lady) M.I.A. The 18-year-old MC is bound to get some big-ups in March when her album, featuring collaborations with alternative hip-hop heavyweights M.I.A., Diplo, and Million Dollar Mano, drops.
Norwegian by birth, Ida Maria is now making her chart-topping pop-punk music in the United States. Lauded by Rolling Stone and The New Yorker as the next big thing, she prides herself on putting on a great live show.
Already a huge hit in Australia, Gabriella Cilmi will undoubtedly be a smash in the States very soon with her March release Lessons Be Learned. The youngest Australian ever to reach number one, she can also claim a record-busting six Australian Recording Industry Awards to her name.
Being a member of Saudi Arabia’s very first all-girl rock band certainly sounds like a huge responsibility, but also a step in the right direction for the incredibly conservative country. They’re not allowed to pose for photographs or perform live just yet, but there’s no doubt they’ll break that wall down soon.
Adele’s career and she’s already gathering Grammy awards. The Brit songstress has also won numerous other praises, including a BRIT Awards Critic’s Choice prize and the satisfaction of having a number one album in the UK — all at the tender age of 20.
Alessi Laurent-Marke, better known as Alessi’s Ark, almost had to abandon the idea of a career in music altogether, but her hard work paid off and EMI signed her the day before her 17th birthday — giving her the chance to make sweet music on her full-length album Notes From a Treehouse with Omaha’s finest.
These former high-school outcasts are now the toast of the Brooklyn scene. Their aggressive sound makes them a standout from other all-girl bands and has helped earn them a worldwide following and critical acclaim.
Just by looking at her, you wouldn’t think Crystal Castles’ Alice Glass could ignite the sort of live show frenzies she has. Music blogs near and far showed serious love toward this 8-bit electro group when their first single appeared on MySpace and it’s been non-stop mayhem ever since.
The Splinters
The Splinters’ “hang-out session” aesthetic makes for a fresh spin on the comforting notion of rocknroll. They’re also charmingly DIY — not interested in buying album covers for their 100-copy limited run EP, the girls hand-made each one.
Coming from a family full of creative people, Samantha Crain naturally chose a similar road. That this Oklahoma native can spin a yarn is evident on her debut EP, and there are more tall tales to come on her full-length Songs in the Night, due April 28.
She may not be as big as Tina Fey, yet, but Abby Elliott is the youngest woman to roll out the laughs as part of the Saturday Night Live cast. Impersonating Jamie Lynn Spears and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, this former improv star only has great things ahead of her.
Funny lady Charlyne Yi’s name may not sound familiar, but you have seen her in movies and TV shows like Knocked Up and Miss Guided, and now in Paper Heart, a half-documentary, half-narrative starring Yi’s real-life love interest Michael Cera about the meaning of love. Aww.
Winner of the L’Oréal Young Talent Award for 2008, Alithia Spuri-Zampetti’s jaw-dropping headdresses and fitted frocks have proven that she has the design chops to be the next big thing in fashion.
If you think knitting is only for grandmas, you’ve obviously never seen Ria Thomas’s knitted pieces. Intricate and form-fitting, avant-garde but still wearable, her designs earned her the Pringle of Scotland Visionary Knitwear Award.
Paige Fern
Founder of the student-led nonprofit Education Without Boundaries, which helps provide educational access to at-risk youth in developing countries, Paige Fern believes all students should be able to choose their own scholastic path without discrimination.
Marina Gatto
Marina Gatto started on a mission for same-sex equal rights at the tender age of eight. By becoming a public voice in the LGBT and Latino communities, the now 20-year-old Gatto hopes to bring attention to underrepresented communities.
Salmah Y. Rizvi
When Salmah Y. Rizvi says she works for the government, she means it. A language analyst for the Department of Defense, this activist also founded Vision XChange, an apolitical student humanitarian organization at John Hopkins University.
Helen Oyeyemi wrote her first novel The Icarus Girl, which received prizes and phenomenal reviews, before her 19th birthday. Guess after that feat, writing two more novels and two plays was no sweat.
Along with her brother, Catherine Cook is the Founder of myYearbook.com, the third largest social networking site in the United States. A feature called “Causes” even lets users donate money to their favorite charities.
Who says girls aren’t tough? Samantha Larson is the youngest non-Nepalese woman to ever climb Mt. Everest, not to mention the youngest to conquer the seven highest peaks in the world.
It’s a huge honor to play on a baseball team in Japan, so being the country’s first female professional baseball player is no small feat. Figure in the fact that Eri Yoshida is only 16 years old and you know she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Read more about these awesome gals in our Spring '09 issue, on newsstands March 1!
Comments
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