Zendaya, Bethany Mota, & More Latinos Among Time's 30 Most Influential Teens for 2015! See the Complete List Here
Zendaya and Bethany Mota are included in Time's annual 30 Most Influential Teens list for 2015.
The two young Latinas were considered for their "accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news," Time wrote.
Zendaya (full name: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman) made headlines earlier this year when she responded gracefully towards Giuliana Rancic's offensive remarks about her deadlocks. The 19-year-old former Disney darling also slammed magazines for airbrushing her photos and shared unretouched versions of her magazine photoshoots on her Instagram page.
In addition, Mattel unveiled a custom Barbie modeled after Zendaya's look at this year's Academy Awards. The limited edition doll encourages girls to "raise their voices," Entertainment Weekly wrote.
In January, YouTube star Bethany Mota was a part of a group of social media celebrities who interviewed President Barack Obama after the State of the Union address, Time wrote. The 19-year-old, who is of Mexican and Portuguese descent, has millions of followers on social media platforms: 9.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.69 million followers on Twitter, and 5.2 million followers on Instagram.
The fashion and beauty blogger currently works on new music, on a line of clothing and home décor for Aéropostale, and in charitable efforts with UNICEF, the news outlet further reported. In August, she won the Choice Web Star: Female for FOX's Teen Choice awards, garnering 25 million votes from fans.
Mota has been vocal about her struggles with cyber bullying, admitting that because of it, she had depression that lasted for half a year and that she felt "very trapped" and "sick of everything," E! News reported.
It was through vlogging that the "Dancing With the Stars" alumna overcame her depression and learned to embrace self-confidence. She said that it is important to have self-love and having a "predetermine version" of oneself, according to Latina.
Now, the "Dancing With the Stars" alumna prefers to fail "trying really hard than not trying at all," Just Jared Jr. noted. Mota explained that bullying will constantly happen, even in a working environment where people don't realize that they are being a tormentor, E! News added. However, Mota's love for herself makes it easier for her to persevere through it all.
Listed below are the other teenagers who made it in Time's list, which was ordered from youngest to oldest:
1. Moziah Bridges, 13
2. Maddie Ziegler, 13
3. Rowan Blanchard, 14
4. Ashima Shiraishi, 14
5. Ahmed Mohamed, 14
6. Jazz Jennings, 15
7. Chloe Kim, 15
8. Flynn McGarry, 16
9. Martin Odegaard, 16
10. Amandla Stenberg, 17
11. Shawn Mendes, 17
12. Jaden Smith, 17
13. Malia Obama, 17
14. Ariel Winter, 17
15. William Turton, 17
16. Silentó, 17
17. Bindi Irwin, 17
18. Olivia Hallisey, 17
19. Malala Yousafzai, 18
20. Kylie Jenner, 18
21. Tiffany Zhong, 18
22. Maisie Williams, 18
23. Lydia Ko, 18
24. Katie Ledecky, 18
25. Joshua Wong, 19
26. Kendall Jenner, 19
27. Kim Kataguiri, 19
28. Lele Pons, 19