Introducing Vogue’s third annual line-up of the visionary women leading Britain with prescience, power and poise, from the September 2020 issue, with Audemars Piguet. Photographs by Scott Trindle. Styling by Julia Brenard.

How often is it that a single event determines the future of the entire world? In 2020, there is no escaping the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has altered – in many ways permanently – life as we knew it. It has seeped into every facet of our lives, recalibrating the way we work, socialise, travel, shop. In a few short months, as priorities shifted so did the spotlight. Scientists such as Prof Sarah Gilbert, and medical professionals such as Dr Jenny Harries, once operating largely away from public view, now have a new, explicit form of power and influence – not just in Britain, but globally. For some, such as the Queen, Covid-19 has deepened their relevance, while for others, such as Daisy Edgar-Jones, star of the lockdown must-watch Normal People, it has accelerated their rise to fame.

If coronavirus is the event, racial injustice is the issue that will define this year – and the years to come. The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has propelled certain women – whether working in the arts, politics or activism – to the fore, and their words and work are finally starting to have real, tangible impact. While so much is unknown, there is one thing we know for sure: we are living in a new world, and these are the women defining what it looks like.

Daisy Edgar-Jones, Actor
When Normal People, the television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s publishing phenomenon, landed on BBC Three this April, it catapulted Daisy Edgar-Jones (and co-star Paul Mescal) to stardom. As Marianne, the 22-year-old captivated audiences – 28 million and counting requests have been made to watch the series, a record for the channel. But the marker of a true new TV icon? A much-imitated hairstyle. Marianne’s fringe is the Rachel cut of 2020.

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