2013 was a big year for women. From politics to entertainment, women, and their actions, beliefs and personalities, dominated media coverage more than ever before.  Neon Tommy's editors selected the most particurarly noteworthy women in 2013. See if you agree:

Hilary Clinton 

"Whenever the words '2016 election' come up, the name Hilary Clinton is not far behind. Despite being the most anticipated candidate in the upcoming presidential race, Mrs. Clinton has her priorities in order. 'I think we should be looking at the work that we have today. Our unemployment rate is too high. We have people getting kicked off food stamps who are in terrible economic straits. Small business is not getting credit, I could go on and on, so I think we ought to pay attention to what's happening right now,' Clinton said in an interview with Barbara Walters.

I believe that while Clinton would prefer to talk about national issues rather than whether or not she will be running for president again in the upcoming election, the former Secretary of State is giving young women across the world hope that America might elect its first female president in the near future.

-Sara Newman, News Editor

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is the crush you want your boyfriend to have because that means you have another person to share your unbridled admiration with.  Her interviews are even better than the funniest episodes of SNL, her role as Katniss in 'The Hunger Games' made her the world’s highest-grossing action heroine and her quirky humor shone through even while accepting an Oscar. But arguably Lawrence’s biggest contribution has been reimagining ideas of Hollywood beauty.

-Sara Newman, News Editor 

Plus she is not afraid to criticize Hollywood, the media and other women's harsh critiques of other women and call out the ridiculous standards of beauty and body image in our society. She refused to lose weight for some of her movie roles. I hope she will continue to stand up as a symbol for a healthy weight and body image for the rest of her career. It's pretty refreshing. And she also says anyone who says they 'love working out' is lying—amen.

-Brianna Sacks, Editor-in-Chief.

 

 

Mindy Kaling

Breaking ground for WOC (women of color) in entertainment--also, very funny!

-Lily Min, Music Editor

 

 

 

 

Malala

After surviving a gunshot wound inflicted by a Tailiban gunmen, Malala did not simply give up on her mission of calling for all women to be educated. Instead, she has given many speeches about the importance of educating women. The UN even named her 16th birthday 'Malala Day.' She has inspired a generation of women to stand up for their right to be educated.

-Hannah Madans, Deputy Editor

Lorde

She blew up the music scene at 16 years old, seemingly out of no where, and she's not going anywhere.  'Royals' is the most viral song of 2013.

-Jenny Chao, Senior Entertainment Editor

Ellen DeGeneres

 Everything. I'm personally excited about her convincing studios to revive 'Finding Nemo' sequel, 'Finding Dory'.

-Kacey Deamer, Operations Director

 

 

Kristen Bell

 In the year's most 'WTF?' twist ending, we found out that Gossip Girl (voiced by Bell) was actually Dan Humphrey, so first off, props to Bell for keeping us guessing about that one for way too many seasons. Then, this spring, a Kickstarter campaign was announced to fund a movie sequel to the cult classic TV show 'Veronica Mars,' where Bell played a totally kick-ass feminist heroine. Needless to say, fans were super excited to see more of their favorite marshmallow/detective, and chipped in $5.7 million to make the movie (which filmed this summer and will be released in March) a reality. She followed that up with a singing role in Disney's 'Frozen,' where her character helped show that sometimes, the most important love stories are about family. Hollywood can always use more feminist role models, and kudos to Bell for giving us just that.

-Katie Buenneke, Theater Editor

Wendy Davis

 

I don't care what party you're affiliated with: Davis spent 11 hours on her feet without food or water to block a bill she viewed as fundamentally threatening to women's access to healthcare. Additional props for staying on topic and keeping children's poetry out of her argument, unlike her Congressional counterparts.

-Francesca Bessey, Opinion Editor

 

Angelina Jolie

Two words: Double mastectomy.

-Kathy Zerib, Film Editor

 

Angela Merkel

 I say Merkel because she is arguably the strongest and most important/powerful/influential woman in Europe. She has been one of the masterminds behind the plans and she has been a leader in getting the European countries with failing economies up and running once again. She has also just formed a coalition government to start another term and she is not just giving in to the allegations that the U.S. spied on her cell phone.

-Max Schwartz, Senior Staff Reporter

Beyonce

Best Superbowl Halftime Show, World Tour and she's fierce…Sasha Fierce.

-Mara Hyman, AssociateEditor

 "Orange is the New Black"

'Orange is the New Black' for being one of the first shoes to have all the main characters be women, many different women, of all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. It tackled race, class and gender assumptions. In my mind, the show said "F You" to stereotypical female and beauty standards. It was not afraid to also explore women's sexuality and sexual desires, which is bascially unheard of for TV. It also tackled how screwed up our nation's prison system is and what many incarcerated women have to do just to survive in there. Of course the show leaves out stuff, and the male characters are undeveloped and surface-level. But it also stands up for women's civil rights, racial disparities and health care needs in the prison system while also being funny and totally addicting. Plus it's based on a memoir, a woman's real experience. Props to Netflix for picking that up because no other network has the balls.

 -Brianna Sacks, Editor-in-Chief

My Mom and/or Elizabeth Warren

 Because she's a consumer advocate and a thorn-in-the-side naysayer on Capitol Hill. She's a boss, she oversaw TARP and the CFPB, eats Tea Party Republicans for breakfast, and is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs. And if anyone were to give Hillary a run for her money in the primaries, it'd be this bossy lady. Ok, enough about my Mom. Now, to discuss Elizabeth Warren…

-Alex Gold, Social Media Director

Dilma Rousseff

If you don't know who Dilma Rousseff is, well then CHECK THIS YO: She's not only the first woman president of Brazil (in a machismo male-dominated society, which is an accomplishment already), but in 2013 she stood up to the United States TWICE - the first over trade disputes, and the second after news broke that the U.S. had been spying on the Brazilian government. She confronted Barack Obama at the United Nations and then cancelled an official state visit in Washington, D.C. (the only one Obama had planned in 2013). Nobody cancels state visits in D.C. NOBODY UNTIL DILMA. She's overseeing one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, while also making friends around the globe, North AND South.  She also told Edward Snowden to go kick rocks when he wanted amnesty. She went to Nelson Mandela's funeral, Obama still adores (is afraid of) her and she's dealing with protests in Sao Paulo over bus fares while also organizing the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.  If she had an official motto, it'd be "HILLARY AIN'T S**T COMPARED TO ME. She also wears pantsuits better than Hillz does.

-Colin Hale, Executive Producer

North West (Yes, I'm serious…kind of)

She's basically the American, female equivalent of Prince George. The amount of media coverage that has been dedicated to this infant who has done literally nothing more than be mothered by Kim Kardashian and fathered by Kanye West is mind-blowing. Also she is now the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words 'North West' and in that category has trumped both an ordinal direction and an Alfred Hitchcock classic. That holds weight. And screw Tonka Toys because her baby car is a LAMBORGHINI. (Lamborghini mercy...)

-Kelly Hanelt, Senior Entertainment Editor

Agree with our choices? Think we totally missed someone? Let us know in the comments below.

Reach Neon Tommy's editors here.