For its annual 50 Most Powerful Mothers list, Working Mother featured Queen Beyoncé atop a list of other powerful mothers in various industries. Coming on the heels of Tina Knowles Lawson’s essay about raising four daughters and how their personal traits have added to her strength, Working Mother recognized Beyoncé for her talent, societal influence, work ethic and her PDAs for her own family.
In their write-up, Working Mother noted Beyoncé’s impact on feminism. “To celebrate the one-year anniversary of her Beyoncé album in December, she released a surprise black-and-white video tribute, ‘Yours and Mine,’ extolling her feminism, as well as the joy she’s found in motherhood and marriage.”
Another major mom who made headlines this year and is featured in Working Mom is Angelina Jolie. In March, she penned a New York Times op-ed on removing her breasts and ovaries in order to remain cancer free after finding that she was genetically predisposed to the disease, which had killed a number of members of her family. In her piece, Jolie revealed:
“I got a call from my doctor with blood-test results. “Your CA-125 is normal,” he said. I breathed a sigh of relief. That test measures the amount of the protein CA-125 in the blood, and is used to monitor ovarian cancer. I have it every year because of my family history. But that wasn’t all. He went on. “There are a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer.” I took a pause. “CA-125 has a 50 to 75 percent chance of missing ovarian cancer at early stages,” he said. He wanted me to see the surgeon immediately to check my ovaries. I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt. I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren. I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours. The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful.
Touching.
Other notable mothers on the Working Mother are Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Lopez, Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington and Victoria Beckham. As we reported last year, Working Mother does not the rank its selectees.
