100 men and women transforming the world

The People Who Shape Our World

Here's our list of the cexample is transforming the world.

• Artists & Entertainers
• By James Poniewozik
   

  In the first scene of 30 Rock, NBC sketch-comedy producer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) buys a hot-dog vendor's entire stock, to spite a jerk who tries to cut in line. She sashays through Manhattan, handing out franks to passersby while a That Girl—like tune plays. A homeless man chucks one at the back of Liz's head.

  Fey, 36, has a few things in common with Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas, whose liberated-gal-in-the-city sitcoms the scene spoofs. It's not just that she's a funny, good-looking brunet or that 30 Rock may be on the way to becoming a TV classic. Fey is also a rising player in what has been a man's game. In the '90s, she became the first female head writer for Saturday Night Live, revitalizing the Weekend Update segment by delivering demurely cutting barbs, then wrote the 2004 movie Mean Girls, a sharply observed comedy about the teen pecking order.

  With 30 Rock, which she also writes and produces, Fey combines an insider's send-up of TV with subtle, self-effacing feminism, as Liz wrangles difficult stars and leads a mostly male writers' room. Liz is funny but flawed, successful but insecure, political but not infallible—a woman we see a lot in our offices but too little in our pop culture. The show has won over critics, and though it hasn't yet become a monster hit, NBC was impressed enough to pick it up for next season. Looks like she's gonna make it after all.

• Youssou N'Dour

  By Peter Gabriel

   

  It was dark in that tent in Paris and so hot that condensation dripped from the canvas. Then, cutting through everything, came a voice of liquid gold.

  I had gone to see if Youssou N'Dour would be a good artist for WOMAD, the festival of world music, arts and dance we were launching. Back then, in the early '80s, Youssou's music was really known only to fellow Senegalese. I was totally blown away. I loved the grooves, the emotion and the melodies—but most of all, that voice, a passionate instrument.

  Soon afterward I traveled to Senegal to see Youssou perform at his old club next to the fish market. This was the beginning of a long musical relationship and a close friendship. I offered him the support slot on two tours, and every time he went out on the stage, it was like the sun breaking through the clouds.

  I've watched Youssou, 47, grow effortlessly, as more and more demands are made on him, into a major African leader, pioneering campaigns to improve the spread of technology, working to combat malaria and being involved, too, with Unicef. He is a source of inspiration to me not just as a musician but as a person.

  Gabriel, a singer and activist, has won four Grammy Awards

• Anna Netrebko

  By Christopher Porterfield

   

  Opera, that gorgeous folly, has outlived the rarefied culture that once sustained it. It can't offer the high-voltage stars and sexy mass appeal that today's entertainment scene demands. Or so say its detractors. Then along comes Russian soprano Anna Netrebko—knockout good looks, bewitching charm and a mesmerizing hold on the media, which tirelessly chronicle her penchant for partying and haute couture.

  Behind the celebrity persona, Netrebko, 35, is the real deal, nurtured at Russia's Kirov Opera and now in demand from Salzburg to Tokyo. From her delicate frame comes a voice of astonishing richness and power. She's also a riveting actress; just watch her ignite the stage as the doomed Violetta in La Traviata. Netrebko's blend of vocal splendor and dramatic intensity has evoked comparisons with Maria Callas. Flattering, Netrebko says, but she wants to get to the point where she's celebrated for being herself. She's already there.

• Justin Timberlake

  By Timbaland

   

  It is difficult to explain what Justin Timberlake means to music. He is an entertainer, a writer, a producer, an actor, a businessman. His talent encourages me to challenge myself creatively. When we made FutureSex/LoveSounds together, we had a chemistry like no other. He has this ability to come into the studio and—boom!—the song is created. He doesn't write anything down, and he gets it right the first time. It's as if Justin had been born 26 years ago to deliver music to the world. There are those who follow and those who lead. Justin is a leader, setting the bar for what's expected of others.

  Timbaland has just released a solo CD, Shock Value