Claudine Adamo

55 | Executive Vice President & COO, Merchandising, Costco

As head of merchandising at Costco, Claudine Adamo and her team decide what the wholesale giant’s more than 140 million cardholders put in their shopping carts. Also in her purview is deciding which products make it to shelves under the $60 billion Kirkland brand banner. She stepped into one of retail’s most powerful positions in early 2022, 30 years after she began her career there as an hourly employee at Costco’s Kirkland warehouse. In 1996, she became a buyer and steadily advanced up the leadership chain from there.

Linda G. Alvarado

74 | Founder & CEO, Alvarado Construction; Co-Owner, Colorado Rockies

Worth $230 million, Linda G. Alvarado is one of America’s wealthiest self-made women, building her fortune in an industry with few women at the top. She founded Denver-based Alvarado Construction in 1976 with $2,500 borrowed against her parents’ home and scaled it to one of the country’s fastest-growing general contractors. In 1991, she made history as the first Hispanic owner of a Major League Baseball franchise and the first woman to bid for ownership of a Major League team, the Colorado Rockies. Throughout her career, Alvarado has empowered Latinas to lead in male-dominated sectors, a commitment that has earned her recognition with the Horatio Alger Award, the Sara Lee Frontrunner Award and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Elyce Arons

62 | Cofounder & CEO, Frances Valentine

In 2016, 23 years after cofounding Kate Spade, Elyce Arons—along with her best friend Kate Spade and her spouse Andy—launched Frances Valentine. A creative continuation of their first foray into fashion, Frances Valentine debuted with a range of brightly colored, vintage-inspired handbags and shoes. After Spade died in 2018, Arons has continued to grow the brand while ensuring its expanded product line—which now includes apparel, jewelry and home goods—reflects the original vision. The collection is available online, in its nine storefronts and at Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard’s, and Nordstrom locations nationwide.

Hannah Beachler

54 | Production Designer

Hannah Beachler is an award-winning film production designer. She is best known for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther, where her groundbreaking Afrofuturist sets brought Wakanda to life and earned her the distinction of becoming the first woman of color to win an Oscar for production design. Throughout Beachler’s career, she has shaped the visual landscapes for films like Moonlight, Selma, Creed, and Sinners. She also collaborated with Beyoncé on the visual album Lemonade, the musical film Black Is King, and the visuals for the On the Run II tour. Currently, she is filming Children of Blood and Bone, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Halle Berry

58 | Founder, Respin

Halle Berry remains the only Black woman in history to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, but these days, she is laser-focused on her second act in women’s health. It’s a mission of both advocacy and entrepreneurship that began when her own perimenopause was misdiagnosed as herpes and she realized just how much more awareness both doctors and patients needed about this crucial (and, for those who live long enough, universal) life stage. Berry’s vehicle is Respin, originally a wellness and exercise website she founded in 2020 but which relaunched this February as a menopause-focused healthcare company. “This is my greatest act. And I couldn’t have imagined that this would be my greatest act because I think as women, we’ve been afraid to age,” says Berry.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Isabel Allende

82 | Author

Lori Barra

Isabel Allende is one of the most read and revered contemporary Spanish-language authors. Her 29 books have sold more than 80 million copies and have been translated into more than 40 languages. At 82, the California-based Chilean-American writer isn’t putting down her pen. In May, she released her latest book, My Name Is Emilia del Valle. Her breakthrough novel, The House Of The Spirits, was published in 1982. From 1959 to 1965, she briefly worked as a translator of romance novels in Chile, translating them from English to Spanish. She was fired for altering their endings and giving female characters smarter lines of dialogue.

Kelly Bishop

81 | Actor & Author

At age 56, Tony Award-winning actor and dancer Kelly Bishop stepped into the role that would come to define her in the eyes of Millennials and Gen-Z binge-watchers: Emily Gilmore, Gilmore Girls’ archly funny matriarch. Now in her early 80s, Bishop has continued to collect acting credits with roles in Bunheads, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Good Wife, The Watchful Eye, Étoile and more. In 2024, Bishop released her best-selling memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl, which recounts how she began her career at 18 with her first professional job with Radio City Music Hall’s corps de ballet. In 1975, she originated the role of Sheila in Broadway’s A Chorus Line.

Sandra Campos

58 | President & CEO, PetMed Express

In April 2024, PetMeds announced that Sandra Campos would be taking the reins of the $281 million company as CEO. It was a major pivot for Campos, who’d previously cofounded a celebrity brand management company and led major fashion brands like Diane von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan. For Campos, though, the granddaughter of a Mexican rancher who had recently purchased a horse farm in the Hudson Valley herself, pivoting to pets was a natural fit. Since stepping in to lead the pet pharmacy, Campus has led efforts to expand its veterinary telehealth and pet insurance offerings.

Jo Cato

60 | Founder & CEO, Periwinkle Group

Jo Cato came to the U.S. from rural Jamaica in 1994 with $20 in her pocket. Today, she runs multiple businesses and in 2024, received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Woman-Owned Business Of The Year Award for Nevada. The award recognized her communications firm, Periwinkle Group, which she founded in 2004 and now generates some $6.2 million in annual revenue. Cato’s other business ventures include Cruzin Vegas, Nevada’s only Black woman-owned mobile digital billboard company, and Grab and Go Vending, an airport concession and retail business.

Josie Cruz Natori

78 | Founder & CEO, The Natori Company

Forty-eight years after founding her namesake fashion house, Filipino-American designer Josie Cruz Natori remains at the helm—and her creative and professional momentum has grown decade after decade. In her 50s, she received the Order of Lakandula, the Philippines’ highest honor, and the Ellis Island Foundation’s Peopling of America Award, which recognizes immigrant contributions to the U.S. In her 60s, Natori opened her first brick-and-mortar store and launched a limited-edition collection with Target. In her 70s, Natori has been featured on Philippine postage stamps, elected chair of the Asian Cultural Council board, and most recently, met with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.

Jamie Cygielman

60 | President, American Girl

Since 2019, veteran marketing executive Jamie Cygielman has been guiding American Girl through a turnaround strategy. In line with parent company Mattel’s Barbie playbook, the beloved doll brand is leveraging its IP to expand to new mediums with a new podcast network and a movie currently in development with Mattel Films, Paramount Pictures, and Temple Hill Entertainment. Now that its original fans are becoming parents, American Girl is meeting them on social media and tapping into nostalgia with doll collaborations inspired by Clueless and Harry Potter.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Julie Andrews

89 | Actor & Singer

Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images

Julie Andrews is one of the entertainment industry’s most enduring treasures. With a career that spans stage, screen and voice, she has garnered accolades that include an Oscar, a BAFTA, two Emmys, three Grammys, seven Golden Globes, and three Tony Award nominations. Nearly eight decades after beginning her career as a child performer on the stages of London’s West End, Andrews remains active in her craft. In 2017, she brought her talents to Netflix with Julie’s Greenroom, a children’s program she co-created and hosted, and since 2020, she has been the voice behind Lady Whistledown in the hit series Bridgerton.

Katherine E. Fleming

59 | CEO & President, J. Paul Getty Trust

Long considered an influential force in the art world—the former NYU provost was hailed as a “visionary” when she was appointed to run the Getty Trust in 2022—Katherine Fleming was thrust into one of the greatest challenges of her career when the Palisades wildfire broke out in Los Angeles in early 2025. As flames reached the grounds of the Getty Villa, they claimed 1,400 trees but spared museum buildings thanks to Fleming’s careful preparation and quick fire mitigation. During the worst of the crisis, she and several colleagues slept at the Getty Center to monitor the situation. Afterwards, she announced a $12 million relief fund for artists and cultural workers affected by the fires and oversaw repairs for the Getty Villa, which reopened in June.

Dany Garcia

56 | Founder & CEO, The Garcia Companies

The cofounder of Seven Bucks Productions (the company behind blockbusters like the Jumanji reboots, Black Adam and Jungle Cruise), Dany Garcia pivoted from a career in finance in 2008 to manage her ex-husband Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s career in Hollywood. Her suite of portfolio companies, under the umbrella of The Garcia Companies, which she founded the same year, covers a range of industries—from entertainment and food to sports and fintech. In 2020, at 50, she and Johnson led a group of investors to buy the professional football minor league XFL out of bankruptcy from founder Vince McMahon, which merged with the UFL, making her the first woman to own a U.S. sports league.

Michelle Gass

57 | President & CEO, Levi Strauss

Michelle Gass spent four years at the helm of Kohl’s before jumping to Levi Strauss & Co in 2023. She joined the beloved jean maker as president and in early 2024 took over as CEO. Under her leadership, the $8 billion (market cap) retailer has refocused its efforts on women’s wear; Gass says that about 30% of Levi’s shoppers are female, a percentage she would like to see closer to 50%. Gass took advantage of a name-check from Beyoncé’s “LEVII’S JEANS” song on 2024’s Cowboy Carter album, tapping the star for a series of brand campaigns. The strategy is working: Quarterly sales increased 9% year-over-year in June.

Bertha González Nieves

55 | Cofounder & CEO, Casa Dragones

Bertha González Nieves is responsible for creating one of the world’s leading tequila brands: Casa Dragones. The small-batch sipping tequila is crafted in Jalisco, Mexico, and is popular throughout Mexico and the U.S. González was born in Mexico City, and today she splits her time between New York and Mexico. As Mexico’s first certified female Maestra Tequilera, she’s commonly regarded as the country’s “First Lady of Tequila.” Before launching Casa Dragones in 2008, González Nieves worked for more than a decade in the tequila industry, most recently as Jose Cuervo’s commercial director of North America.

Kim Gravel

54 | CEO, Belle by Kim Gravel

From writing her own book (Collecting Confidence), to starring in the weekly docuseries (Kim of Queens), to building her own apparel line (Belle by Kim Gravel) and beauty brand (Belle Beauty), Kim Gravel does it all. The former Miss Georgia turned TV personality started her career in a salon. Not only did she wash hair, but she also developed deep relationships while perfecting her speaking skills. This has come in handy: These days, she sells her brand’s wares on QVC and at 53, became “the first brand in their history to surpass $250 million in sales in a single year,” she says.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Mary Lee Bendolph

89 | Artist

Stephen Pitkin/Souls Grown Deep

The 280-resident town of Boykin, Alabama, is home to the legendary Gee’s Bend quilters, who have been strip quilting—for money and for an artistic way to advance civil rights—for six generations. Mary Lee Bendolph, the group’s matriarch, learned quilting from her mother, a founder of the Freedom Quilting Bee. Bendolph herself marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and participated in voting rights demonstrations while continuing to quilt. It took until the mid-1990s for her quilts to gain recognition beyond her community, and another several years before being exhibited in a museum. Today, her vibrant work is in major museums nationwide and has been featured on U.S. postage stamps. The artistry and growing profile of the Gee’s Bend quilters have recently led to collaborations with prominent brands, including Target and Chloé.

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Kim Hehir

53 | Cofounder & President, Brutus Broth

Kim Hehir and her sister, Sue Delegan, launched Brutus Broth in 2018 to bring their family’s bone broth recipe—credited with prolonging the life of Delegan’s rescue dog Brutus—to dogs everywhere. Neither sister had experience founding or running a pet food company, but Hehir, a Cornell Hotel School graduate and former vice president of strategic planning for The Leading Hotels of the World, had a strong business background. Her expertise helped the self-funded brand land on shelves in 15,000 stores, including retail giants such as Target, Petco, Walmart and CVS.

Stephanie L. Herdrich

56 | Curator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1884, painter John Singer Sargent’s infamous “Madame X” portrait was the talk of the town when it debuted in Paris. Over a century later, it retook center stage in an exhibition that has the art world abuzz once more—thanks to Stephanie L. Herdrich. She’s a curator in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing and the mastermind behind the “Sargent and Paris” exhibition, a comprehensive show with more than 90 works from Sargent’s seminal decade in Paris (the one that ended with the once scandalous “Madame X”). The much-anticipated retrospective opened at the Met in April and will travel to Paris’ Musée d’Orsay in September.

Lauren Hobart

56 | CEO, Dick’s Sporting Goods

In May of this year, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that it would be acquiring Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, positioning the brand for a new competitive edge in the world of sports retailing. Behind the deal—Dick’s largest to date—is Lauren Hobart, who became the company’s first female CEO in 2021. Hobart first joined Dick’s in 2011 as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. She began her career at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo before spending 14 years at PepsiCo.

Marian Ilitch

92 | Cofounder & Owner, Little Caesars; Owner, Detroit Red Wings

As of June 2025, Marian Ilitch is the third-richest self-made woman in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion. The 92-year-old’s path to prosperity began in 1959 when Ilitch and her late husband, Mike, cofounded Little Caesars Pizza. She continues to own the chain, which brings in $5 billion in annual sales, to this day. Ilitch has also built her fortune through various investments and business holdings in Detroit. She owns both the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL and the MotorCity Casino Hotel. An Ilitch family trust owns the Detroit Tigers MLB team.

Annie Jackson

53 | Cofounder & CEO, Credo Beauty

Annie Jackson cut her teeth in the beauty industry at Estée Lauder and as an early employee at Sephora. In 2014, Jackson and her cofounder Shashi Batra launched Credo Beauty, a “clean” ingredient beauty retailer with a mission to make its packaging—and that of its brands—sustainable. But two years into building the business, Batra was diagnosed with cancer and died, leaving Jackson reeling and in need of a CEO for the startup. After cycling through two outside CEOs, Jackson became her own company’s head in 2023, at the age of 51. “What I wished I realized when Shashi had passed: it should have always been me,” Jackson tells Forbes. “I don’t have an MBA. I don’t have a polished business school background. But leading this company, shaping its future—it feels as natural to me as breathing.” Under Jackson’s guidance, Credo has expanded to 15 brick-and-mortar locations and attained profitability.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Brigette Romanek

53 | Founder & CEO, Romanek Design Studio

West of Fairfax

Interior designer Brigette Romanek has carved out a niche among Hollywood’s elite, with a clientele that spans A-listers like Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Kelly Rowland and Christian Bale. In February of this year, she launched a 54-piece collection with Crate & Barrel, and in 2024, she collaborated with Loloi on a rug and pillow line. She founded the LA-based Romanek Design Studio in 2018. Before dipping her toe into interior design, she designed handbags that were carried by high-end retailers like Barney’s and Harvey Nichols.

Colleen Keating

56 | CEO, Planet Fitness

In June 2024, hospitality and real estate veteran Colleen Keating took the helm of Planet Fitness as CEO after its board ousted Chris Rondeau. The $1.2 billion fitness empire is the largest gym chain in the world by member count, with 20 million members across 2,741 locations in the U.S. and abroad. Under Keating’s leadership, the company has dialed in on a growing demand for strength training, rolling out new machines and reconfiguring gyms to minimize lobby space and extend workout areas. It also expanded to Europe for the first time, with more than 10 locations in Spain and plans for 300. Keating’s work seems to be paying off; in the first quarter of 2025, the company added 900,000 members.

Dawn Lafreeda

64 | Founder & CEO, Den-Tex Central

When Dawn Lafreeda was 16, she took a job as a hostess at Denny’s. At age 23, with the help of tips and credit cards, she purchased her first Denny’s diner. Today, she owns more than 62 locations across six states and is one of the largest Denny’s franchisees in the country. Business four decades in is going well—Lafreeda’s company, Den-Tex Central, has an annual revenue of $98 million. In 2023, she executive produced and appeared in the documentary Show Her The Money, which spotlights the underfunding of women in the venture capital world.

Cary Leitzes

53 | Founder & CEO, Leitzes & Co.

Since 2006, Cary Leitzes has carved a niche in the creative agency world by orchestrating high-profile collaborations between artists and brands. She’s paired Target with designers like Missoni, Marimekko and Kate Spade, Barneys with Lady Gaga, Reserve Properties with Pharrell and MAC Cosmetics with Cindy Sherman, to name a few. Her full client roster, which spans a wide range of industries, reads as a Who’s Who of the world’s largest companies: just this year, she recruited Netflix, Tinder and Away. Leitzes sharpened her creative instincts in the editorial world and spent seven years as Harper’s Bazaar’s director of photography before founding Leitzes & Co.

Ginny MacColl

73 | American Ninja Warrior

Inspired by her daughter Jessie Graff—who went farther than any other woman on American Ninja Warrior—Ginny MacColl did her first pull-up at 63. From there, MacColl set her sights on following in Graff’s footsteps and began training on a neighbor’s homemade obstacle course. Her work paid off: MacColl has now appeared on American Ninja Warrior four times and last year landed a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest woman to compete on the show. Graceful from a young age, MacColl began her career as a professional dancer and performed in the Broadway production of Pippin in 1974.

Fran Maier

63 | Cofounder & CEO, BabyQuip

Fran Maier’s lightbulb moment for BabyQuip came from a lived experience many parents know well: traveling with babies and young children requires a lot of gear. The cofounder of Match.com saw a gig economy opportunity to remove the hassle of hauling cribs, strollers, car seats and more while enabling flexible income for parents to rent out their equipment and furniture. Maier met Kerri Couillard, the owner of a Santa Fe baby equipment rental company, and took the lead to build a national—now international—company. Nine years in, Babyquip has facilitated over 300,000 reservations and is available in more than 2,000 locations in 20-plus countries.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon

57 | Chef & Owner, Kalaya

Michael Persico

Chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon supercharged the Philadelphia Thai food scene in 2019, when she opened Kalaya at age 50. The restaurant, which means “beautiful lady” in Thai, was named after her mother and served as a tribute to Suntaranon’s culture, with traditional dishes like blue shaw muang dumplings and crab curry as staples. Her cooking earned her the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award in 2023, and last year, Suntaranon published her first cookbook, Kalaya’s Southern Thai Kitchen.

Joy Mangano

69 | Cofounder & CEO, CleanBoss

In 1990, Joy Mangano created the self-wringing Miracle Mop, the first of many product inventions that made her a familiar face on televisions across America. Her one-of-a-kind success story from inventor to self-made entrepreneur and at-home shopping channel icon inspired the 2015 movie Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence. In 2020, after a three-decade run with HSN and QVC, she launched a brand of her own with Armando Christian Pérez, known to most by his stage name Pitbull. CleanBoss, the nontoxic cleaning brand, has sold over 3 million bottles of disinfectant and is now stocked in 3,600 stores and online nationwide.

Rue Mapp

53 | Founder & CEO, Outdoor Afro

Rue Mapp, the daughter of a Black cowboy from Texas, founded Outdoor Afro in 2009 as a personal blog to chronicle her own experiences in nature. After finding that her stories resonated with others who enjoyed the outdoors—but rarely saw others who looked like them out in the wild—her blog sparked a movement. Today, Outdoor Afro is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to connect Black communities to the outdoors and shift the public perception of who belongs in nature. Across the U.S., over 100 volunteer leaders help connect 60,000 people a year to outdoor experiences.

Audra McDonald

55 | Actor & Singer

In May, Broadway star Audra McDonald received her 11th Tony nomination for her role in Gypsy, making her the most nominated performer of all time. With six wins, McDonald holds the record for the most Tonys and is the only performer to have won all four acting categories. She additionally holds two Grammys and an Emmy, and in 2015, was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama “for lighting up Broadway as one of its brightest stars.” In 2020, alongside a coalition of industry performers, McDonald cofounded Black Theatre United, a nonprofit that seeks to empower and provide opportunities for Black theater professionals.

Julie Mehretu

54 | Artist

Artist Julie Mehretu is known for her dynamic, large-scale abstract paintings. Her multi-layered, gestural works examine sociopolitical influences on urban communities, drawing on her own experiences living in Ethiopia, Senegal, Germany and the U.S. Throughout her career, she has mounted exhibitions in many of the world’s largest art institutions and at auction has seen considerable success. In 2023, one of her paintings sold for $10.7 million at Sotheby’s, placing her among just two women in the top 10 highest-selling contemporary artists (at auction). Mehretu is the recipient of both the MacArthur Award and the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts.

Jenny Ming

70 | CEO, Rothy’s

At the start of last year, Jenny Ming took the helm of footwear brand Rothy’s. At year’s end, the flats maker recorded its best year on record, growing sales 17% to $211 million. The company credits its success to Ming and her all-female leadership team’s decision to expand wholesale partnerships and lean into in-store sales with launches in Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Anthropologie. Ming is a veteran apparel industry leader who skyrocketed to the top echelon of the sector after cofounding Old Navy in 1993.

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Sheryl Palmer

63 | Chair & CEO, Taylor Morrison Homes

As chair and CEO of Taylor Morrison, Sheryl Palmer is the only female executive of a publicly traded homebuilder. She stepped into the role in 2007, just ahead of the housing market crisis. Palmer navigated the company through the downturn and fueled its growth on the other side, leading six acquisitions and growing the company from $1.9 billion at the time of its 2013 IPO to a revenue of $8.2 billion. Leveraging her company’s growth and position of power, Palmer has increased the number of women in construction roles at Taylor Morrison by 900%.

Patsy Phillips

66 | Director, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

Patsy Phillips is the director of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), the only museum in the nation that showcases the most progressive work of contemporary Native artists. She is soon to complete her 17th year at the helm. Phillips serves on the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) board of directors and is also on the International Council of Museums United States of America Board of Directors (ICOM-US). She is the only Native American person to sit on both boards. Before she joined MoCNA, she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Gigi Pritzker

63 | Founder & CEO, Madison Wells

In 2015, at age 52, Gigi Pritzker launched Madison Wells, a production company that prioritizes “stories for, by, and about badass women.” In the 10 years since, her company has racked up 2 Oscars, 19 Tonys, 4 Emmys and 1 BAFTA. In July 2025, they netted another Emmy nomination for Nonnas, which premiered on Netflix in April. Pritzker is one of 13 billionaire heirs to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, and through the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, she donates to the arts, education and community-oriented nonprofits.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Clara Wu Tsai

58 | Co-owner, Brooklyn Nets & New York Liberty

Manny Carabel Stringer/Getty Images

Clara Wu Tsai and her husband, billionaire Joseph Tsai, cofounder of Alibaba Group, bought the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and WNBA’s New York Liberty in 2019, vowing to give the latter team facilities equal to their male counterparts. Tsai kept her promise, moving the team to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and boosting business opportunities and support staff. The investment paid off: The Liberty won its first WNBA championship title in 2024, and Tsai has vowed that the team will be the first women’s sports team valued at $1 billion by the mid-2030s.

Karen Robinovitz

52 | Cofounder & Co-CEO, Sloomoo Institute

In 2018, media veteran Karen Robinovitz, cofounder of Digital Brand Architects, teamed up with longtime friend Sarah Schiller for an unexpected second act. Robinovitz, grieving her husband’s suicide and her cousin’s death in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, found a rare glimmer of joy in playing with slime (with a friend’s child). Robinovitz told Schiller, who was dealing with her own stress, and together they saw a business idea. Within a year, they opened the 12,000-square-foot Sloomoo Institute in Manhattan, an interactive experience centered on slime. Within the first month, 30,000 visitors came, and today, the $40 million business has locations in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

Carla Rockmore

58 | Founder & Influencer, Carla Rockmore

Carla Rockmore never thought she would go viral after turning 50. A designer by trade, she started her career selling children’s snowsuits in Montreal and has dabbled in everything from bridal couture to costume jewelry. After gaining popularity on TikTok in 2020 for her fashion advice videos and colorful closet, Rockmore started her eponymous clothing line and partnered with QVC. Dubbed the “real-life Carrie Bradshaw,” she now has more than two million followers across social media platforms.

Kim Sanchez Rael

59 | Cofounder & CEO, Azuca

Kim Sanchez Rael, a tech industry veteran who spent two decades in venture capital and previously managed a $200 million capital budget at Intel, found herself in an unlikely industry after turning 50: cannabis. A staunch “Just Say No” mom before her pivot, Sanchez Rael’s desire for a challenge, combined with her passion for wellness, led her to team up with cofounder and chef Ron Silver to create fast-acting, low-dose edibles. The company has since sold more than 500 million servings of its cannabis infusions for edibles like gummies, drinks and more.

Sara Schiller

55 | Cofounder & Co-CEO, Sloomoo Institute

In 2018, Sara Schiller, cofounder of Meet, a platform designed to connect professionals for collaborations, teamed up with longtime friend Karen Robinovitz for an entirely new collaboration. At the time, Schiller was caring for two children, one with severe disabilities, and her husband, nonverbal and disabled following bilateral strokes. Robinovitz, grieving the deaths of two family members, suggested Schiller try playing with slime for stress relief, and the pair saw a business idea. Within a year, they opened the 12,000-square-foot Sloomoo Institute in Manhattan, an interactive experience centered on slime for all ages. Within the first month, 30,000 visitors came, and today, the $40 million business has locations in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

Annabelle Selldorf

65 | Architect & Founder, Selldorf Architects

The architect behind massive art institution renovations such as the Frick Collection in New York City, the National Gallery in London, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s galleries, Annabelle Selldorf is known for her quiet confidence. Despite the extravagant price tag on the Frick Collection’s $330 million renovation and expansion, Selldorf’s often understated and minimalist choices are reflected in the museum’s new look and its unassuming galleries.

50 OVER 50 HIGHLIGHT

Jen Zeszut

53 | Cofounder & CEO, Goodles

courtesy Jen Zeszut

In 2022, a new boxed mac and cheese option strutted into the boxed pasta aisle: Goodles, marketed as a better-for-you option (its protein and fiber content are higher than the average boxed mac-n-cheese) with bright branding and playful flavor names designed to catch the eye of kids and grown-ups alike (“Shella Good,” “Twist My Parm,” etc). It worked. Today, Goodles boxes are stocked at Whole Foods, Target, Walmart and Kroger. The breakout brand—which now sells 1.7 boxes per second—is the brainchild of CEO Jen Zeszut, who cofounded Goodles with Paul Earle and actress Gal Gadot. Zeszut is a serial entrepreneur and is no stranger to success; she sold her first startup, a social media company, to Lithium Technologies for $22.5 million in 2010.

Kecia Steelman

54 | CEO & President, Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, the $11.3 billion beauty behemoth, kicked off the new year with a new CEO overseeing its 1,484 stores. Kecia Steelman, who has been with the company since 2014, previously served as president and chief operating officer. Her first quarter at the helm finished strong with a net sales increase of 4.5% to $2.8 billion. Under Steelman’s leadership, Ulta will be going international for the first time with plans to launch storefronts in Mexico City, Kuwait City and Dubai before the year ends.

Laura Taylor

54 | Founder & CEO, Mingle Mocktails

Mingle Mocktails was born from founder Laura Taylor’s frustration with the limited choices for non-alcoholic beverages after quitting drinking 10 years ago. After working for two decades in sales, marketing, strategy and operations departments for others, Taylor decided to launch the booze-free brand in 2017. In the years since, she has been scaling the company as sobriety has gained steam (early this year, nearly half of all consumers reported wanting to consume less alcohol). Today, shoppers can pick up the ready-to-drink sparkling mocktails in Target, Walmart, Total Wine and Whole Foods. This month, Whole Foods recognized Taylor’s company as the #1 non-alcoholic brand in their set, claiming seven of the top 10 SKUs and driving 50% of total category sales.

Twyla Tharp

84 | Dancer, Choreographer & Founder, Twyla Tharp Dance

In the dance community, Twyla Tharp is a name that stands apart. Throughout her career, Tharp has choreographed 129 dances, 12 television specials, six movies and four Broadway shows. Her list of accolades includes a Tony Award, two Emmys and the National Medal of the Arts. In 1965, she founded Twyla Tharp Dance, which became part of the American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She reestablished the company in 1991. This year, Tharp is commemorating her company’s founding with a special 60th anniversary tour. The coast-to-coast “Diamond Jubilee” commenced in January and is scheduled to visit 21 cities for 38 performances.

Kimberlee Vaccarella

55 | Founder & CEO, Bogg Bag

Kim Vaccarella was “scared to death” when she took a leap of faith and quit her job to focus on her company, Bogg Bag, full-time in her late 40s—she had only gone once without a paycheck since the age of 15. The gamble paid off: Her company is now on track to hit its $170 million revenue goal this year thanks to its colorful Crocs-like tote bags, which can be found in more than 1,900 locations, including major retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target.

Vanna White

68 | Co-host, Wheel of Fortune

TV personality Vanna White has co-hosted more than 8,000 episodes of Wheel of Fortune since making her debut in 1982. In 2024, Pat Sajak’s final episode aired, but Wheel fans breathed a sigh of relief when White extended her contract to remain on the show alongside new co-host Ryan Seacrest throughout the 2025-2026 season. With that contract extension, she secured a significant pay raise–her first in nearly two decades–that increased her annual salary from $3 million to a reported $10 million. White’s 43rd season with the game show will premiere in September.