Glamour Names First Lady Michelle Obama, Stella McCartney and Rihanna Among 2009 Women of the Year

Glamour Names First Lady Michelle Obama, Stella McCartney and Rihanna Among
2009 Women of the Year
Dr. Maya Angelou Honored for Lifetime Achievement

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Glamour magazine announces its annual Women
of the Year tribute with 11 extraordinary and inspirational winners and one
special-recognition honoree. Glamour's honorees have made unprecedented
contributions to the worlds of entertainment, business, sports, fashion,
science and politics. L'Oreal Paris is the title sponsor of the celebration at
Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The 2009 Women of the Year are profiled in the December issue of Glamour, on
newsstands November 10, with a stunning photo portfolio by renowned
photographers, including Brigitte Lacombe and Matthias Vriens-McGrath. This
evening's awards ceremony will be held at Carnegie Hall, with a star-studded
list of presenters and a special musical performance by Estelle. This year,
the Glamour Women of the Year Fund initiative has worked with the Jenzabar
Foundation and its cofounder Ling Chai, a 1990 Women of the Year honoree, to
create a scholarship that will allow Iranian women to study at universities in
the United States. Glamour's Women of the Year advisory board, made up of past
honorees ranging from Jennifer Lopez to Nora Ephron to Katie Couric, helped
nominate:

-- Dr. Maya Angelou - A memoirist, poet, educator and civil rights
activist, Dr. Angelou holds more than 30 honorary degrees for her many
published works, including her latest, Letter to My Daughter, a
collection of wisdom she has gathered throughout her life.
-- Dr. Jane Aronson - This pediatrician is credited with bringing the
plight of orphans to the world's attention. Her Worldwide Orphans
Foundation has provided life-altering support to more than 20,000
orphans around the globe; in her private practice, Dr. Aronson works
with adoptive parents--including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt--to care
for their children and reassure them that their new families can work.
-- Laura Ling & Euna Lee - These journalists made headlines earlier this
year when they were arrested and imprisoned while reporting on the
plight of North Korean women who cross into China to escape
starvation.
-- Marissa Mayer - She helped make Google the number-one search engine,
overseeing popular innovations like Gmail, Google Maps and Google
Earth.
Among her current goals as vice president for search and user
experience
is bringing more women into the high-tech field and moving them up the
ladder.
-- Stella McCartney - She has become one of the world's most influential
designers, thanks to her innate sense of what makes a woman look cool.
A
lifelong vegetarian and animal rights activist, she refuses to work in
leather or fur, instead using man-made materials to create sexy
stilettos and jackets that are coveted by the world's most fashionable
women.
-- One Million Signatures Campaign - Started in 2006 by a group of
Iranian
women, the campaign calls for an end to gender inequality in Iran. The
organizers risk their lives asking women and men to sign a petition
demanding changes in the laws that make women second-class citizens.
Their courage has emboldened women across Iran to speak out with a
newfound voice, one that was heard loud and clear during last summer's
post-election demonstrations.
-- Amy Poehler - A fearless comedian, she is currently the star and
producer of NBC's Parks and Recreation. She inspires young girls with
projects like The Mighty B!, her Nickelodeon cartoon series about a
feisty Honeybee Scout, and Smart Girls at the Party, her Web-based
preteen talk show.
-- Susan Rice - The first female African American U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations, she is putting women's needs at the forefront of the
American agenda at the U.N.
-- Rihanna - At just 21, this pop star boasts sales that have wowed even
music industry veterans--and an incredible self-invented style. She
started the Believe Foundation, a fund that provides educational and
medical supplies to needy children; for the first time, she speaks out
in Glamour about what she calls the "big secret" of domestic violence.
-- Maria Shriver - California's First Lady has redefined the role into a
platform for change and leadership with her annual Women's Conference,
multiple books, Emmy-award winning documentary on Alzheimer's and her
groundbreaking study on "A Woman's Nation," which ignited a national
conversation on the female role at work and at home.
-- Serena Williams - The tennis powerhouse has won more career prize
money
than any female athlete in history. Her Serena Williams Foundation
gives
grants to U.S. college students, and she recently opened a secondary
school in rural Kenya.

-- Special Recognition: Michelle Obama - America's First Lady has brought
the importance of mentoring to the national forefront. She has
demonstrated a commitment to helping the next generation of girls
expand
their horizons by providing them with the information and inspiration
to
envision themselves as the leaders of tomorrow.

Glamour's Women of the Year event has had an impact on politics and society
that literally saves lives. Glamour continues its Women of the Year Fund
initiative, which translates the message of the event into action. The
magazine's 12 million readers can contribute to charities supported by the
Women of the Year Fund at glamour.com/woty and watch their contributions make
a difference in the pages of Glamour, which will follow the progress of the
recipients. The 2009 winners, Iran's One Million Signatures Campaign, cannot
accept donations, so this year's fund is dedicated to a scholarship program
helping Iranian women attend universities in the United States.

SOURCE Glamour

Media, Samantha Rosenthal, +1-212-286-6861, for Glamour