In the years since marie claire Australia launched its first Women of the Year awards, the world has been turned on its head.
We’ve seen a global pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, increasing climate change catastrophes, devastating wars and problematic political landscapes.
But through it all, there have been glimmers of hope, shining lights in the form of game-changing women who have risen or are currently rising to the tops of their fields, offering solutions, driving change and calling out world leaders in the demand for action.
We’ve also seen women dominate in the sporting area, uniting Australia and flashing glimpses of gold from the Paris Olympics podium; we’ve seen others give the patriarchy a taste of its own medicine (all while wearing a red lip and heels); while more still are working quietly but effectively behind the scenes to bring about medical advancements, or change the justice system.
To acknowledge and celebrate the women who’ve been doing us proud this year, we’re thrilled to be able to honour them at a glittering awards evening, presented by Swarovski and supported by Volvo, Max Mara, Revlon, Dr Lewinns and G.H. Mumm, on Wednesday November 13. Follow along on Instagram and TikTok from 6:30pm to see the highlights from the night as they happen.
Now, without further ado, the 2024 nominees for the marie claire Women of the Year Awards, presented by Swarovski, are:
The Powerhouse
An inspiring trailblazer who has paved the way for other women
SAM MOSTYN
In July, Sam Mostyn was sworn in as Australia’s second female Governor-General. Since then, she has visited every state and territory on a mission to connect with as many people as possible. She also cheered on our Paralympians in Paris. She is determined to bring a refreshing, thoughtful approach to the role over the next five years.
PROFESSOR GEORGINA LONG
Recognised as co-Australian of the Year for 2024, Professor Georgina Long AO is a renowned researcher and academic whose research into melanoma – one of Australia’s most common cancers – has saved thousands of lives. A decade ago, an advanced melanoma diagnosis was fatal, but Long and her team have made advances in immunotherapy that have made the cancer curable. She’s a passionate sun safety advocate.
NICKY AND SIMONE ZIMMERMANN
The sisters behind one of Australia’s most successful brands turned Zimmermann into the country’s first billion-dollar fashion label in 2023, after a majority acquisition by Advent International. It’s only the second Australian brand to reach an eight-figure valuation, after L’Oréal. The brand also opened a European head office on Paris’ famed designer strip Rue Saint Honoré.
JENNIFER ROBINSON
The country’s eyes were on WikiLeak’s founder Julian Assange in June when he stepped off a flight and onto the tarmac in Canberra to greet his wife after 12 years spent in exile and prison. Look closer, and you’ll see his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, standing proudly behind him. Robinson has also dedicated her career to advising on issues of gendered violence – including to actors Rose McGowan and Amber Heard – as well as being a passionate advocate for Australia’s public education system.
The Champion
Celebrating a woman who’s reached new heights this year in sport
ALEXA LEARY
Alexa Leary’s journey from a devastating cycling accident to Paralympic glory is nothing short of miraculous. The young Queenslander, once told she’d never walk or talk again, defied all odds to claim gold in the women’s 100-metre freestyle (S9) at the Paris Paralympics, setting a world-record time.
JESSICA FOX
Jessica Fox solidified herself as one of Australia’s greatest athletes after a stellar performance at the Paris Olympics. The canoeist won gold in both the women’s C1 and K1 canoe slalom events, meaning she not only defended her Olympic title but also became the most decorated athlete in the sport’s history, with six Olympic medals to her name.
SAYA SAKAKIBARA
The BMX racer was poised for Olympic success at the 2021 Tokyo Games, but a crash in the semi-finals dashed her hopes for a medal. Back on the global stage in Paris this year, Saya Sakakibara struck gold and brought the nation to tears when she fell into her brother Kai’s arms after the medal ceremony. Also a BMX racer, Kai suffered a severe brain injury in an accident in 2020.
ARISA TREW
Fourteen-year-old Arisa Trew became Australia’s youngest-ever gold medallist at this year’s Paris Games when she came back from bronze to win gold at the Women’s Park skateboarding event. Trew makes a habit of breaking records, also smashing several at multiple international X Games events this year and taking home the 2024 Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year.
NINA KENNEDY
The pole vaulter became the first-ever Australian woman to win an Olympic field event at the Paris Games in August, and is the number one ranked women’s pole vaulter in the world. She’s a case study in what you can achieve when you believe in yourself, having shared a 2023 gold medal with another athlete after doubting whether she could take out the jump-off. This year, the gold belongs to Nina alone.
ARIARNE TITMUS
One of Australia’s swimming greats, freestyle champion Ariarne Titmus, continued her winning streak by securing two golds and two silvers at the Paris Olympics Games. She’s the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 400-metre freestyle, and the world record holder in the long course 200-metre freestyle and 400-metre freestyle events.
The Creative
A female creative who has pushed the boundaries of her chosen medium
LAURA JONES
Laura Jones is only the 12th woman to win the Archibald Prize, the country’s most prestigious art portraiture accolade. She became the most recent recipient this year with her portrait of the author and environmental activist Tim Winton. Jones is also a co-founder of Incognito Art Show, which raises money for Studio A and We Are Studios, both organisations that support artists with intellectual disability.
KIRSHA KAECHELE
This year, Kirsha Kaechele took the patriarchy to court – and won. The American expat artist and curator, who is married to David Walsh who owns Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art, defended her installation The Ladies Lounge at the state’s Supreme Court. The Ladies Lounge prohibited entry to any non-female-identifying guest, and was taken to court by a man, where Kaechele was eventually permitted to keep it open – to women only.
HARRIET DYER
Harriet Dyer had never written a script before she sat down to write the soon-to-be hit series Collin From Accounts. When it was released on Binge in 2022, it became the streaming platform’s most-watched series of all time. In 2023, it went global, attracting fans like Lena Dunham and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. This year, she and her co-writer, co-producer co-star and husband, Patrick Brammall, broke the sophomore curse to release season two, which became an immediate hit.
ANGOURIE RICE
Australian actor Angourie Rice has managed to strike the perfect balance between working with Hollywood heavyweights and being a Melbourne bookworm. When Tina Fey was writing Mean Girls the musical, she reached out to Rice directly for the iconic role of Cady Heron, made famous in 2004 by Lindsay Lohan. Rice also recently worked with Rebel Wilson and Jennifer Garner, and hosts a book podcast called The Community Library. This year, she also co-authored a book with her mum, Stuck Up & Stupid, a retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
The Advocate
A grassroots organiser who is actively advocating for disadvantaged communities
JUNE OSCAR
June Oscar AO has been serving as Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner since 2017, and as her term nears its end, she’s set to chair a new institute at the Australian National University to continue the work of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) Project that Oscar has led for the past seven years at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
SARAH WILLIAMS
Sarah Williams created the Indigenous-led non-profit organisation What Were You Wearing to confront and raise awareness of sexual violence in Australia. As founder and CEO, Williams was responsible for organising marches throughout the country protesting against family, sexual and domestic violence. Her main mission was to have the prime minister declare domestic violence a national emergency, which he did in August.
MICHEL MARGALIT
Michel Margalit is a distinguished lawyer and the managing principal of Margalit Injury Lawyers. She has gained national attention for her role in high-profile cases, including litigation against Crown Casino and, most recently, leading a landmark class action against Monash IVF. It resulted in a $56 million settlement and involved more than 700 patients who alleged the company had destroyed potentially viable embryos due to faulty genetic screening technology.
MACKENZIE ARNOLD
Mackenzie “Macca” Arnold is not only one of Australia’s most celebrated sportswomen for her work in the net as the Matildas goalkeeper (remember that World Cup penalty shoot-out against France?), but she’s also an advocate for hearing loss awareness. In 2020, Arnold realised that her family’s history of hearing loss was, in fact, affecting her and she posted a video to Instagram of the day she got hearing aids. It blew up online, and now she regularly has young girls telling her how important it was for them to see a female athlete with hearing aids.
The Eco Warrior
A woman who’s paying it forward and making a difference in the environmental space
GINA CHICK
As the winner of the inaugural reality survival series Alone Australia, Gina Chick has a reputation of being Mother Nature personified. This year, she took part in the forest economics congress at Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), which set out to find common ground between developers and loggers, and First Nations communities and environmentalists, who have been fighting in Tasmania’s “forest wars” for generations. She also released her memoir, We Are the Stars, which details her extraordinary life, from childhood to now.
PROFESSOR EMMA JOHNSTON
The world-renowned marine biologist has had a massive year, which was topped off in September when Professor Emma Johnston AO was named the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne. This year, she also contributed to Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment and led research on the fifth mass bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef.
SARAH MUNRO
Sarah Munro is the co-founder and creative director of jewellery label Sarah & Sebastian. She has long taken inspiration from the ocean for her designs, and has now pledged to donate more than $1 million to ocean conservation efforts in the next decade through the brand’s new philanthropic initiative, The Xanthe Project. In 2023-24, they raised more than $260,000 – putting them more than a quarter of the way there already.
TANYA EGERTON
Tanya Egerton’s sustainable, ethical and culturally focused Indigenous enterprise, The Remote OpShop Project, is a strong of second-hand shops set up in remote communities that simultaneously provide residents – primarily women – with employment opportunities, the skills necessary for running a small business and access to quality clothing.
The Changemaker
A driving force who has tirelessly advocated for change and been successful in their pursuits
ANNA COUTTS-TROTTER
After escaping a physically and emotionally abusive relationship in her teens, Anna Coutts-Trotter realised there was a need for a peer support group for fellow survivors. She founded The Survivor Hub in 2021, which hosts MeetUps to connect people with shared lived experiences. These MeetUps have expanded across the country, and Coutts-Trotter also speaks with young survivors to help them reclaim their lives.
VANESSA TURNBULL-ROBERTS
When Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts was 10, she was forcibly removed from her family. Her story speaks to the devastating effects of family policing on Aboriginal families. Now, Turnbull-Roberts is a mother, a practising lawyer and the inaugural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner for the ACT. She works to expose the injustices First Nations children continue to face in Australia.
MECHELLE TURVEY
When Mechelle Turvey’s 15-year-old son, Cassius, was killed in 2022 while walking home from school, his senseless death sparked national outrage and conversations about racism, violence and the safety of First Nations youth. Since then, his mother has been calling for justice. Since 2023 she has worked closely with WA police and her Take 5 training program has helped improve community engagement.
CARLA RAYNES
As a fierce advocate for solving homelessness with innovation and compassion, Carla Raynes created the Cocoon Project in Melbourne to support young women who have aged out of out-of-home care or are experiencing homelessness. The project provides holistic support with access to mentoring and employment pathways.
The Designer
A fashion designer who represents the new guard of style and innovation
LIANDRA
Founded by Liandra Gaykamangu in 2018, Liandra the fashion label quickly established itself as a unique voice in the fashion industry, seamlessly blending Indigenous Australian storytelling with contemporary resortwear design. At the 2023 Australian Fashion Week, Liandra took home the Next Gen award, and in 2024 made its solo runway debut and expanded to include ready-to-wear pieces.
ALÉMAIS
Alémais is a contemporary Australian fashion brand founded by designer Lesleigh Jermanus. At the core of the brand’s identity is a strong commitment to artisanal craftsmanship, sustainability and ethical practices, expressed through hand-embroidered natural textiles. The brand is dedicated to responsible fashion and social responsibility.
CAMILLA AND MARC
Founded by siblings Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman, Camilla and Marc has been advocating for awareness, research and funding for ovarian cancer, inspired by their mother’s death. In 2024, their Ovaries, Talk About Them campaign collaborated with UNSW on early-detection technology that could be available as soon as 2026. The brand is dedicated to fusing style with substance and social impact.
The Icon
A woman whose illustrious career and talents have immortalised her name for generations to come
RONNI KHAN
In 2004, Ronni Khan founded OzHarvest, a food rescue organisation that collects surplus food from restaurants, supermarkets and events and redistributes it to people in need. It has grown into the country’s leading food charity, having delivered more than 240 million meals to vulnerable communities while diverting thousands of tonnes of food from landfill.
EMMA MCKEON
Emma McKeon is Australia’s most decorated Olympian, although the swimmer didn’t know it until journalists pointed out the fact after the Paris Games this year. She retired from the Games with a record haul of 14 medals – six gold, three silver and five bronze – but will continue her swimming career in other competitions.
NICOLE KIDMAN
In a lifetime of extraordinary achievements, 2024 was an extraordinary year for Nicole Kidman. In April, she became the first Australian to win the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, thought of as the highest honour in American cinema. She’s also only the 11th woman to win the award.
The Voice Of Now
A woman whose message captures the spirit and the tone of our time
LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY
Lucia Osborne-Crowley is a multi-hyphenate lawyer, journalist and author who approaches her work through a trauma-informed lens. Her latest work is The Lasting Harm, which documents the lives of the witnesses in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial. Osborne-Crowley was one of only four journalists in the courtroom, and her resulting book is an important piece of work that pushes for greater understanding and change in how society and the legal system treats survivors of sexual assault.
WINNIE DUNN
Winnie Dunn is the first Tongan-Australian to publish a novel in Australia – her debut, Dirt Poor Islanders, came out this year – as well as the general manager of the Sweatshop Literacy Movement, which plays a crucial role in nurturing diverse voices in Australian literature.
HANNAH FERGUSON
As the co-founder of Cheek Media Co, an independent news platform, Hannah Ferguson is working to revolutionise how young Australians engage with current affairs and social issues. Through Cheek Media, she is passionate about creating spaces for young people to engage with complex issues in accessible, often humorous ways, while never shying away from the gravity of the topics at hand.
CHLOE FISHER
Chloe Fisher is an entrepreneur and co-hose of the Darling, Shine podcast, known for her candid discussions about her fertility journey. She has become a prominent voice for those struggling with infertility and pregnancy loss, and this year joined the board of the Pink Elephants Support Network, which provides resources, information and peer-support for anyone impacted by early pregnancy loss.
The Entertainer
A woman who has captivated and inspired audiences in the entertainment field
MISSY HIGGINS
For more than 20 years, Missy Higgins has had a huge influence on the Australian music scene. The singer-songwriter launched to fame with her 2004 hit “Scar”, and has never looked. She’s had a huge moment this year, returning with a new album, The Second Act, a deeply personal project in which she reflects on the major shifts in her life, including the end of her marriage.
PHOEBE TONKIN
A multi-hyphenate actor and model, Phoebe Tonkin was a standout in this year’s Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel Boy Swallows Universe. In it, she played the loving and drug-addicted mother to two boys, Frances Bell, with raw and powerful emotion. She was also recently named a national ambassador for Plan International Australia, where she will work to end violence against girls.
CELESTE BARBER
It’s been a massive year for the comedian turned Instagram star turned actor turned beauty mogul. Celeste Barber launched her age-positive beauty brand Booie this year, but didn’t quite leave her acting roots behind. She also starred in the Australian film Runt and took her stand-up comedy show, Backup Dancer, on tour.
ASHER KEDDIE
The Australian TV mainstay is showing no signs of slowing down, having appeared in two hit series this year. July saw her star as Birdie in the screen adaptation of Stephanie Wood’s memoir, Fake, about being in a relationship with a conman. Then, in October, the series Plum, she played Renee, whose footy playing ex-husband is suffering the effects of compound concussions.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
