Influential Black Women in Creative Industries

By Sarah Dougherty & Kaitlyn Bullentini

As Black History Month comes to a close and Women's History Month begins, here's a look into some of the many influential Black women who are pioneering creative industries. These exceptional women include screenwriters, signers, painters, advertising executives, authors, and makeup artists. Keep reading to learn more about their incredible careers!

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty, now worth $1.4 billion, needs no introduction. She is a tried and true renaissance who has excelled at being a singer, actress, businesswoman, and mother.

Rihanna is also the second-best-selling female music artist of all time with over 250 million records sold worldwide, nine Grammy awards, and eight studio albums. Originally from Barbados, she has always celebrated her roots and cultural identity.

In her own words, "I’m a black woman. I come from a black woman, who came from a black woman, who came from a black woman and I’m gonna give birth to a black woman. And so, it doesn’t even…it’s a no-brainer. That’s who I am, it’s the core of who I am in spirit and in DNA. And, I’d always stand up for what I believe in and who I love and who I know, who I respect.”

Jackie Aina

Famous for her beauty tutorials on YouTube, Jackie Aina is a Nigerian-American beauty influencer who has used her platform to bring “light to issues surrounding Black beauty consumers such as inclusion and equality.”

Not only does she have 3.5 million YouTube subscribers, but also a People's Choice Award for Favorite Beauty Influencer and an NAACP Image Award, where she was the first beauty influencer to do so in that category. She has consistently and tirelessly advocated for diversity and the visibility of people of color in the cosmetic industry.

Quinta Brunson

Quinta Brunson is a writer, producer, comedian, and actress who originally got her start at BuzzFeed. She later wrote and produced the ABC series Abbott Elementary, which led her to be the first Black woman to be nominated for three comedy Emmys. Her entertainment industry achievements earned her The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2022, the Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy 2023, and a spot on TIME100: The Most Influential People of 2022.

Mariya Russell

Although you may not know her name yet, Mariya Russell is an American chef and restaurateur that is making waves in the restaurant industry. She is most famous for her work as a chef at Kumiko and Kikkō, where she became the first Black woman to earn a Michelin star in September 2019. She was also a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award in 2020. Her style of cooking is “omakase," translating to “I’ll leave it to you” in Japanese, which leads to a unique dining experience. Although Mariya Russell is shocked by how it has taken this long for a Black woman to break these barriers, she is proud to have paved the way for the future of black female chefs. She told Essence in December 2020 "I’m just about encouraging people to follow their dreams and focus on the fact that you’re more human than the titles that you’re given, no matter what your gender, your race… it doesn’t matter. If you have a dream, you can totally achieve it.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Finally getting recognition for her creation of the extraordinary book 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, Nikole Hannah-Jones is an investigative journalist that covers civil rights in the U.S. She has been a staff writer for The New York Times and a recipient of both the MacArthur Fellowship in 2017 and the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020. According to ESSENCE, The 1619 Project “forced a nation in deep denial to turn its searing gaze inward, to recognize the extent and continuation of its injustice and brutality.”

Pat McGrath

Pat McGrath is a globally celebrated runway and editorial makeup artist from Northampton, England. She rose to fame in the 90s but has remained her outstanding professional reputation through her continuous work for beauty brands, including her own, Pat McGrath Labs. Her artistry "made history as the first Black woman and makeup artist to receive a Founder’s Awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for her influential work," says ESSENCE. She even became a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Amy Sherald

Amy Sherald is a painter from Columbus, Georgia, who has become a renowned portraitist of the contemporary African American experience. She became popularized in the media when she became the painter of former First Lady Michelle Obama's official portrait. Through this commission, she and Barack Obama's artist, Kehinde Wiley, became the first African Americans to paint the official Presidential and First Lady portraits for the National Portrait Gallery.

Jordan Casteel

An American figurative painter from Denver, Colorado, Jordan Casteel has become known for her artwork depicting friends and family in Harlem, New York. You may have seen her painting, God Bless the Child, featured on TIME’s Cover: "Visions of Equity." In a 2017 article by Art21, Jordan Casteel paints "vibrant large-scale portraits, making visible the often unrepresented humanity of Black men." Although most of her subjects are men, she says that she still feels present in the work she creates, and that explores the perspective of her brother, who experienced racism growing up in a vastly different way than she did.

Keesha Jean-Baptiste

Currently a Senior Vice President and Chief Talent Officer at Hearst Magazines, Keesha Jean-Baptiste was featured in Adweek's article "11 Inspiring Women Who Have Broken Down Advertising’s Most Persistent Barriers" in March 2019. Before her current position, she held top marketing and HR roles at Digitas and Wieden + Kennedy, along with being

senior vice president of talent, engagement and inclusion at the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies).

Keesha has used her platform to mentor aspiring advertising professionals and support women of color in all regards. According to Adweek, "she hopes to dispel the myth that a lack of diversity stems from a lack of interest while helping the entire industry develop a greater sense of empathy."

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Influential Black Women in Creative Industries

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