In partnership with Moms First, a nonprofit fighting for the structural changes women need and deserve, Marie Claire is proud to present our second annual Power Moms List.
Our 2026 honorees are taking a stand—for their communities, their families, and themselves. Angelica Vargas, known on TikTok as Angie the ICE Chaser, tracks ICE agents through the streets of Southern California. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham just made New Mexico the first state in the nation to provide universal child care. Jesmyn Ward writes unflinchingly about parenthood, a role she says "reveals elementally who we are as human beings." And then there's Power Mom Ashley Graham, who embraces the mess and chaos of motherhood—and whose candor about the whole experience helps banish its taboos.
They are just a few of the remarkable moms we're honoring. Read the full list, and their stories, below.
Ashley Graham
The model-turned-mogul is juggling motherhood, marriage, and a growing business empire—without pretending it’s pretty. In fact, she’d rather it wasn’t.
Angelica Vargas
How one soccer mom started tailing federal agents across Southern California—and turned a viral TikTok into a mission to protect her community.
Niecy Nash
On-screen, the actress wins Emmys for playing fierce, protective mothers. Off-screen, she and her family are partying through life.
Dr. Becky Kennedy
The clinical psychologist and millennial parenting guru opens up about her platform’s unexpected influence.
Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein
Their nonprofit Baby2Baby is known for its A-list ambassadors and West Hollywood galas. But celebrity is just a means to an end, with the group donating half a billion items to the moms and babies who need them.
Jesmyn Ward
In an exclusive excerpt from her new memoir, the author writes about her experience growing up in a multigenerational family in rural Mississippi.
Elana Meyers Taylor
The bobsledding champion, who took gold in Milan this past summer, says motherhood is like sport: "You always have to focus on what's next."
Isabella Boylston
As she prepares for her first child, the ballet star reflects on timing, ambition, and returning to the stage with a new perspective.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
How one governor played the long game to achieve free child care for New Mexico—the first U.S. state to ever provide it.
