Actor Taylor Russell is quickly becoming one to watch. Born in Vancouver, the 25-year-old had a huge year in 2019, with roles in the acclaimed family drama Waves, horror film Escape Room and the Netflix sci-fi show Lost in Space. Her portrayal of sensitive and complicated Emily in Waves was especially noteworthy; Russell told ELLE U.S. that she was immediately drawn to the role. “I know her, I know this girl,” she said. “From that point, I fought really hard to get it – I wanted it so badly.”

After graduating from the College of Sports Media in Toronto, Kayla Grey quickly climbed the ranks of the sports news world; she’s reported everywhere from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert and now you can catch her on TSN. She covered the Raptors’ historic NBA championship win last year and has incredible style. Safe to say, she’s a force. 

Last year, Toronto-born actor Vinessa Antoine made television history as the first Black Canadian woman to star in an hour-long Canadian series. While that title is long overdue, Antoine continues to lead the CBC series into its second season, premiering March 4. “It feels great to be the first, but it also gives me pause and question a lot of things,” Antoine told us in 2019. “Growing up, I didn’t see a lot of me reflected on TV; I didn’t see the world I lived in. It’s about time. Hopefully this is the beginning of a bigger change.”

Claudette McGowan gives the stereotypical bank executive in a suit a run for their money (pun intended). As the Chief Information Officer at the Bank of Montreal, McGowan is a powerful leader in information technology. Her CV is just as impressive as you might think: Before starting at BMO in 2000 she worked at Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services and North York General Hospital. She is the recipient of many accolades, such as WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award and has interviewed Michelle Obama. And she writes children’s books in her spare time.

Shay Lia’s music is as eclectic as her upbringing. The Montreal-based singer-songwriter fuses her French and East African (she moved to Djibouti from France when she was four, departing for Canada at 18, according to an interview with Wonderland) influences to make fresh and modern R&B tracks. Her breakthrough was the hit 2014 track “Leave Me Alone,” a collab with fellow Montrealer Kaytranada. She released her debut EP, Dangerous, last year, and with a recent European tour under her belt, the gospel according to Shay Lia is sure to be spreading.

You’ve probably heard of (or simply heard) CBC’s Amanda Parris before. She writes a weekly column for CBC Arts, hosts three (!!) TV series on CBC (CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, The Filmmakers and From the Vaults) and hosts the radio program Marvin’s Room. On top of the many hats she wears, she’s also a play- and screenwriter at night. Impressed yet? There’s more: Her most recent play, Other Side of the Game, received the 2019 Governor General’s Award for drama. 

Montreal-born Françoise Abanda is a tennis superstar. She started playing when she was just seven years old and has quickly climbed the professional ranks, achieving a career-high junior rank of fourth in 2013. She told Global News in 2018 that she has faced racism in the tennis world in the past, but she maintained a positive and hopeful outlook that things can change. “Beyond tennis, we’re all human and we should all treat each other with respect, first of all, before even playing tennis.”

When it comes to the history of Black beauty in Canada, Cheryl Thompson is an expert. The Ryerson University professor turned her academic dissertation into a book called Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture. The book focuses on Black women’s hair and how it intersects with Canadian immigration, politics and society. Thompson explained her reasoning behind her important research to NOW Magazine: “In Canada, [we] don’t tend to think of Black communities as being proactive. There tends to be a narrative that things just happen to us. The reality is all of those African-Americans selling products wouldn’t have been able to come to Canada if the infrastructure didn’t exist.”

“This time, we’ll leave no woman behind,” activist and former politician Zanana Akande said at the 2018 Toronto Women’s March. Akande has dedicated her life to social issues. She was the first black woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1990. After leaving politics in 1994, she stayed committed to working with many community-based groups, like the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. As seen at the Women’s March, Akande can still be found using her voice for activism; she’s currently working as the chair of the non-profit Black Legal Action Centre.

For years, Traci Melchor has been bringing her vibrant personality and intelligent reporting to our TV screens. Born in Pickering, Ont., the Etalk correspondent got her start as the host of MuchMusic’s RapCity. Throughout her career, Melchor has covered countless red carpets and conducted insightful interviews with hundreds of stars, including Beyoncé, Oprah and Mariah Carey. Melchor helped launch The Social as a co-host, but left the show in 2016 to take care of her mental health. Today, aside from her duties at Etalk, she inspires by supporting a number of charities and talking openly about the importance of self-care.

Not many people can say they’ve given a TEDx talk, been name-checked in a Drake song and appeared in a Beyoncé video, but not many people are Winnie Harlow. The 25-year-old was discovered by Tyra Banks on Instagram and made her international modelling debut on America’s Next Top Model in 2014. While the GTA-born model didn’t win the cycle, she began appearing in campaigns, fashion weeks and magazines (including gracing the cover of our September 2019 issue).

In 1992, Lana Ogilvie became the first black model to sign a contract with CoverGirl. After being scouted at her high-school fashion show in Toronto, she moved to New York and signed with Ford Modeling Agency, walking in shows for high-profile designers like Azzedine Alaïa, Sonia Rykiel and Karl Lagerfeld. In the ’90s, Ogilvie became an advocate for more inclusive representation within the fashion industry.

Brampton-born producer WondaGurl (née Ebony Oshunrinde) got her big break at the ripe old age of 16 when a track sent to Travis Scott, an American rapper, ended up in the hands of rap legend Jay-Z. “It was weird,” she said in an interview for our March 2016 cover. “It didn’t feel like my beat anymore because you never imagine Jay-Z using your stuff—especially at 16.” She went on to produce two songs for Drake’s 2015 album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and worked with Rihanna and Big Sean. The now 23-year-old is still producing and working toward the ultimate goal: working with Kanye West.

Since the ’90s, Gersha Phillips has worked as a costume designer for both film and television. Although she studied fashion and costume design in school, it wasn’t until she saw the opening credits of the film Beaches that she decided to pursue costume design as a career. The Toronto-based costume designer has worked on the sets of several films, like Walking Tall, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, for which she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design. Recently, Phillips worked on the set of Star Trek: Discovery and was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Sci-fi/Fantasy TV.

Mary Ann Shadd was born in 1823 in the slave state of Delaware to “free” parents, whose home was a safehouse on the Underground Railroad. The eldest of 13 kids, Shadd eventually moved to Windsor and opened a racially integrated school. By 1853, she’d founded and edited the Provincial Freeman, a weekly newspaper that was anti-slavery and publicized the successes of Black people in Canada, making her the first woman to publish a newspaper in the country. Before her death in Washington, D.C., in 1893, she became one of the first Black women to earn a law degree. In 1994, she was honoured as a person of national historic significance in Canada.

“By being an example, you have the ability to encourage other women to take risks, show initiative, and take on leadership roles,” Ontario MPP and Mitzie Hunter told us. And Hunter, who immigrated to Canada with her family from Jamaica when she was just four years old, definitely leads by example. Before becoming a politician, the U of T grad was the CEO of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance, where she dedicated herself to social, economic and environmental issues. First elected to the Liberal government in 2013 (then re-elected in 2014 and 2018), Hunter also worked as the minister of advanced education and skills development, where she focused on issues like providing free post-secondary-school tuition to students in need.

Jean Augustine is the reason Canadians celebrate Black History Month every February. Born in St. George’s, Grenada, Augustine immigrated to Canada in 1960 and went on to be the first black female member of Parliament. In 1995, August made a motion to recognize February as Black History Month, which passed unanimously, 305-0. As a result of her hard work and dedication to education and politics, she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and was appointed to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2014. Augustine retired from politics in 2006 but continues to work as an advocate and community builder at the Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment.

We’ve been making space on our bookshelves for Esi Edugyan’s writing since her debut novel, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, was published in 2004. Born in Calgary to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Edugyan’s work explores diaspora, black histories, and ideas about belonging. In 2011, she won the Giller Prize for her second novel, Half-Blood Blues, which CBC included on their list of 150 books to read for Canada 150. Edugyan has also won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Her most recent work, 2014’s Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home, was her first non-fiction book. She won the Giller Prize again in 2018 for her third novel, Washington Black.

Carrie Best, an active civil rights advocate, is recognized as the first Black woman to publish and own a newspaper in Nova Scotia. She founded The Clarion in 1946, which circulated until 1956 when it was renamed The Negro Citizen. As a journalist and publisher, Best used her media platform to advocate for the rights of black Canadians and notably supported Viola Desmond’s case against the Roseland Theatre. (Best and her son had been arrested at Roseland a few years prior, also for sitting in the “whites-only” section.) Her work spread across several mediums including her own radio program, The Quiet Corner, and a column on human rights for the Pictou Advocate. She was awarded an honorary doctor of laws from St. Francis Xavier University and University of King’s College and, after her death in 2001, was posthumously awarded the Order of Nova Scotia in 2002.

When she was just a young girl, Michaëlle Jean and her family fled their home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to escape the totalitarian regime of François Duvalier. They settled in Quebec, where Jean eventually attended the Université de Montréal. While a student, she was also an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and worked at women’s shelters. In the late ‘80s, Jean became a journalist for Radio Canada, making her the first Black person in Canada to be seen on French TV news. By 2004, she was well-known by French Canadians and was hosting her own current affairs show. In 2005, Jean became Canada’s 27th Governor General of Canada; she was also the first Black person and third woman to fill the role. She was also the secretary general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, becoming the first woman and Canadian to hold the post.

Montreal-born painter, illustrator, animator and director Martine Chartrand is truly a master of her craft. Four years after completing her BFA in visual arts at Concordia University and certificate in art education from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Chartrand directed her first animated film, T.V. Tango, for the National Film Board of Canada. Her second NFB film, Black Soul, won 23 awards, followed by her third, MacPherson, which won the Best Short Film Award and the Public Award for the Best Canadian Short Film at the Montreal World Film Festival 2012. Chartrand studied under famed paint-on-glass animator, Alexander Petrov, and helped with the preparation and production of his animated film The Old Man and the Sea. Today, Chartrand continues travel to around the world to hold lectures and workshops for paint-on-glass animation.

Eugenia Duodu is a Toronto-based academic, mentor and CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning, a STEM-based organization that runs educational programs for low-income youth in the GTA. Her love of science and volunteer work came together after volunteering for Visions of Science at a science fair during the studies at University of Toronto. By the time she finished her PhD in Chemistry, Duodu went from being running the organization part-time, to handling all aspects of the organization full-time as CEO. As recently as 2017, Duodu spoke at the annual TEDxYouth Conference in Toronto about her pursuit of science as a black woman in STEM. She continues to work in Toronto with various community partners to engage and encourage youth to explore opportunities in STEM.

Aurora James is the cool Toronto girl we all want to become. Her eye for style began in childhood from travelling the world with her mother, whose closet was filled with a collection of traditional yet stylish pieces from just about everywhere. She attended classes at Ryerson University for Journalism but left before graduating. She worked with legendary Canadian fashion journalist, Jeanne Beker, at Fashion Television and later moved to L.A. to work as a freelance creative consultant. It wasn’t until a trip to Morocco in 2011 that James started exploring the world of design. Inspired by the local shoemakers she met and later collaborated with, James founded Brother Vellies in 2013 as an environmentally sustainable footwear brand. Her work quickly gained popularity, most notably for her collection of ‘vellies’ or desert boots, and James expanded her business to work with artisans in Kenya and Morocco. James is currently based in Brooklyn but visits Africa every couple of months to continue working with craftspeople in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco.

As an Olympian, Phylicia George has represented Canada all over the world. The Scarborough-born athlete first started running hurdles when she was 15 years old after falling in love with running and competing while racing her dad in parking lots. She first represented Canadians on an international stage at the 2012 Olympics in London, where she finished sixth in the hurdles event and achieved a personal best time. Although she had to battle through injuries, George continued to compete, appearing at both the Pan Am Games in Toronto and the 2016 Rio Olympics. But an Olympic medal eluded her—until PyeongChang. In 2018, George became the first Black Canadian woman to compete in both the summer and winter games when she teamed up with champion bobsledder Kaillie Humphries. The duo won bronze at the women’s bobsleigh final at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Canada’s (and Humphries’) third consecutive Olympic medal at the event.

We’ve had Edmonton-born singer Ruth B’s (full name Ruth Berhe) voice stuck in our head for years. The 22-year-old got her start on Vine, where she would regular post snippets of her covering songs. In 2014, she shared six seconds of chords and vocals she wrote inspired by the TV show Once Upon a Time that quickly reached 84,000 views—a lot for her at the time. The reaction inspired the singer/songwriter to complete the song that went on to become her hit “Lost Boy.” The song grew more and more popular online and by 2015 the Canadian had been signed to a record label. By 2017, she was a superstar on the Canadian music scene, winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards.

Brand’s contributions to Canadian literature span decades and genres. Best known as a poet, Brand has also written short stories, essays and several non-fiction books often addressing the intersections of race and gender in Canada. Before she moved to Toronto from Trinidad, Brand submitted poems to various newspapers under the pseudonym Xavier Simone—a nod to legendary singer Nina Simone. In 1970, Brand attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a BA in English and Philosophy and MA in the Philosophy of Education. In 1997, she won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry and Trillium Book Award for her book of poetry, Land to Light On. In 2009, she was named Toronto’s third poet laureate and in 2017 was appointed to the Order of Canada.