We live in a society where females are constantly under the social microscope, especially celebrities. We have all seen what happens when the pressure becomes too much (you know, Britney Spears circa 2007; Miley Cyrus, 2015). These young women who live in spotlight sometimes cannot handle the pressure and end up exploding. Or they use their fame for all the wrong reasons.

Many female celebrities are looked down upon and seen as bad influences for other adolescent girls who look up to famous women to gauge anything from fashion to lifestyle choices. Many famous celebrities send out the wrong message about beauty, self-love and other important aspects of life.

While there are thousands of females who do good for the world and are not famous, and probably never will, it’s important that those who are good people and famous are looked up to for their actions. Luckily, there are many influential females who girls from middle school to their late twenties can look up to.

Here is a list of awesome females that have changed the game of fame in no specific order.

Zendaya Coleman

Not only is Zendaya a powerful singer, amazing dancer and beautiful girl, she is extremely positive and a very grateful for what she has. Zendaya has been under a lot of scrutiny. She has been called ugly, made fun of for her hair choices and picked on by people who claim to be fans. As women of color, Zendaya has been extremely influential to other girls of color who feel insecure about themselves. She even has a Barbie doll made after with her beautiful cornrows she wore to the Oscars in 2015. She is very down to earth and handles her fame very well for a young girl

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Emma Watson

Actresses typically get typecasted for life, especially when your breakthrough role was Hermione Granger in the world famous novel and movie series Harry Potter. Luckily, Emma has been successful in breaking this stereotype and has been able to successfully play other roles in smaller productions that are not witch roles. Emma is extremely influential because she has put her fame to good use and became a women’s rights activist after tired of being sexualized since a being a young teen on set. In 2014, she was promoted the UN’s Women Goodwill Ambassador. She has made multiple trips to Uruguay to speak about women’s involvement in politics as well as promoting education for girls in Bangladesh and Zambia. Emma declared herself a feminist in a speech she made where she stated that women and men should have equal rights all over the world. She was highly criticized and called a “man-hater” for that statement and responded well to criticism where she calmly explained that hating men for being men is an unacceptable action. After her speech, Malala Yousafzai declared herself a feminist as well.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala’s actions are highly underrated. No, she’s not a model, and actress, a singer, an Instagram star or internet personality, she’s a young activist. This girl should be receiving a lot more publicity than she does. In 2012, Malala was shot in the face three times by a gunman who specifically targeted her for speaking out on women’s rights in Pakistan under the Taliban. She miraculously recovered and lived to tell her story. Since then, she has written a book called I am Malala documenting her story. She is also the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. July 12th is National Malala Day in the UK, where they celebrate her work and efforts to help women become educated (it’s also her birthday). Malala is the perfect example of a young girl that others can look up to, and deserves all the praise she receives.

Kendall Jenner

The Jenner/Kardashian family is constantly being ridiculed for being an insane family. They truly are famous just for being famous, and are indeed, difficult to keep up with. Personally, I don’t always agree with their beauty standards as well as how they achieve them. The reason Kendall Jenner deserves to make this list is because she a very down to earth model who is naturally beautiful and does not constantly boast about attempting to reach insane beauty standards. With her sister Kylie constantly in the spotlight for doing something crazy or for being called out on many plastic surgeries, Kendall is naturally beautiful and does not brag about it. It’s important for young girls to look up to models who do not alter their bodies constantly because it teaches them that beauty is natural and should be celebrated that way. Of course, there is nothing wrong with cosmetic surgery, but there is no need to constantly lie about it.

Cara Delevigne

Cara is mostly known for her acting role as Margo Roth Spiegelman in the film Paper Towns. Aside from acting, Cara is a powerful singer and amazing model. She has modeled for many large companies such as Burberry and is Victoria’s Secret Angel. She is very quirky and funny and likes to joke around a lot to show her true personality. Cara Delevingne recently opened up about struggled with depression and anxiety as a teen that has followed her into adulthood. Many girls who look up to models assume they have a perfect life and get everything they want. Cara is the definition of a real woman. I think it is great that she is open about her struggles because it teaches young girls that they are not alone and that it is normal to feel that way growing up. It reassures them that asking for help is OK and that even celebrities have real human struggles.

Jazz Jennings

You may have heard of the TLC series “I Am Jazz” and might have assumed it was just another reality show about a random family's dysfunction. In case you are unfamiliar with this young reality star, Jazz is a transgendered girl who lives in Florida. Jazz is extremely influential because she faces her life head on and with a smile. She is one of the happiest and most accepting girls out there. The TV show follows her life from school to important doctors appointments that discuss the struggles that a young transgendered girl goes through. Jazz is extremely influential to young girls all over the world because she is very open about being transgendered and can hopefully give confidence to girls all over the world to be themselves, transgendered or not. Girls are girls no matter their physical sex, and Jazz openly talks about the different processes of being transgendered. Her show bravely educated its viewers on what a transgender person has to face every day. Jazz is beautiful and loving and truly a major influence to growing girls.

Ariel Winter
Commonly known as Alex Dunphy from hit show Modern Family, Ariel Winter has suffered a lot of internet bullies and criticism for her body. Practically spending all of her tween and teen years in the spotlight, Ariel was constantly picked on her breast size and was called fat and ugly multiple times. Ariel made the brave decision to have breast reduction surgery and is very open about her decision to do so. She is not afraid to discuss why it makes her feel more confident in her own skin and that receiving the surgery was strictly for her own happiness. Young girls and teens can look up to Ariel knowing that being comfortable in their own in extremely important. Ariel is a brave girl for undergoing so much criticism and hate for body and even more brave for owning up her insecurities and openly admitting to making a change to her body to help her own confidence. Not only do large breasts make it difficult to find clothes, but it can also cause back pain that can only be solved by surgery. While other girls may be perfectly fine and happy having larger breasts, it’s great to see a young celebrity feeling confident enough to take matters into her own hands.

Amandla Stenberg

Her spotlight making role as Rue in the Hunger Games gave Amandla Stenberg some well deserved fame. The young actress is extremely influential to girls of color all over the world. She started the “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” video that spread around to explain cultural appropriation and how it affects black females' self-esteem. Amandla openly speaks about black power and is not afraid to show off her eccentric fashion sense which gives confidence to other girls to try new fashion trends and styles. She also plays in the violin in a band with friends and uses her fame to help other black teens feel like they are important and loved, and to take back beauty trends that belong to the black community.