For the past 25 years, marie claire has championed women in all their glory. Whether itโs the hometown heros making a difference in their local community or the Hollywood heavyweights fighting for better representation on and behind the camera, weโve shared their stories of bravery, boldness and brilliance.
While birthdays are often a time to reminisce about the past, weโre also using this opportunity to look to the future. To celebrate, weโve singled out the 25 trailblazers and future-shapers set to make their mark on the next quarter century. Theyโre champions of courage, change and creativity โ the fearless females who are shaking things up in the world of art, business, sport, entertainment and advocacy.
Here, five of them answer the question: Do you have any words of wisdom or inspirational quotes that you live by?
Without further adoโฆ

Grace Tame, Activist
โThe pursuit of progressโall of life itself, in factโis a marathon effort, only possible when approached one step at a time, with patience and trust in the value of keeping a consistent, measured pace. By taking one step at a time, we stay grounded in the present moment and retain a sense of perspective and proportion. Extremism and excess are unhelpful and unsustainable. Plan and strategise, but leave room for spontaneity. Control the controllable, whilst resisting the overwhelm of the bigger picture that hasnโt even fully formed yetโand wonโt really ever, because itโs always evolving in accordance with the unstoppable force of time. Indeed, nothing is fixed. Nothing is incapable of redefinition, whether that be an individual, a culture or an institution.
In my albeit limited experience, there is nothing more powerful in this universe; no greater purpose in this life than love and connection.โ

Madison de Rozario, Athlete
โFemale athletes have the capacity to not only move women in sport forward but to also bring every other minority group with us while we do that.โ

Jessie Tu, Writer
โEverything that one thinks one understands has to be understood over and over again, in its different aspects, each time with the same new shock of discoveryโ โ Marion Milner. Itโs basically the best quote that means โWeโre humans, and weโre all really, really flawed.โโ

Melanie Perkins, Founder of Canva
โIf you are determined and want it, you can just go for it.โ

Gabrielle Penfold, Artist
โI can honestly say hard work pays off. I feel extremely privileged to be an artist and enjoy what I do. I never take it for granted.โ
For the full Next 25 list, pick up a copy of the September issue of marie claire Australia, out now.
