Any woman that stands tall enough to nearly touch the sky must be heaven-sent.
Studies have shown that height is associated with strength, power, and dominance. For women, it can cause others to feel intimidated by this unique trait, especially men. Imagine standing 5-foot-10 in flats and the moment you put on heels, you're 6 feet. No one wants to be inundated with thoughts of being smaller just to satisfy others insecurities.
We chatted it up with some captivating tall women who exude power by walking it like they talk it. No matter their height, these women have found solace in their gorgeous gams because it makes them extraordinary.
Tanasha
Her Story:
I am 6'4" tall and I believe I really started to own my height back in 2012, when I created prettytallstyle.com. I found myself in a fashion rut and found it a bit difficult to find affordable and stylish clothes that fit my tall frame. I was tired of wearing mainly standard size clothes and making them work. When I started my tall blog, I knew I wanted it to be a tall women's resource, to make it easier for girls who were vertically blessed like me, to find items that were made specifically for their long-limbed bodies and feet.
It forced me to step out of my comfort zone and virtually break out of my shy shell and put myself out there. It's like before where I would shy away from people staring at me and try to shrink myself, with my style blog, it was the opposite, like "Hey everyone, I'm really tall. Look at me and this maxi dress that sweeps the floor, jeans that cover my ankles, jacket with sleeves that cover my wrists, or check out these bright yellow size 13 shoes I'm wearing." (Laughs)
It forced me in a good way to own my height, long legs, arms, feet, and all.
At 15, I hated being tall because I didn't know anyone else like me, and thought very negatively about it because it was so hard to [find] cute clothes like my friends that fit right and I was taller than all the boys. But once I was older and went to college, things changed, the boys were taller, there were more tall size clothing retailers. I started to gain my confidence then.
And now at 42, I'm still blogging and surrounded by a virtual community of tall, inspiring, supportive women who help to reinforce that confidence in me that tall is beautiful, plus I have a wonderful tall husband who thinks so too.
Hannah
Her Story:
I've been over six feet [tall] since 6th grade. For a very long time, into my twenties even, I was very uneasy with my height. I seldom wore heels and was always shrinking myself by scrunching up my shoulders. But, I was so tired of wasting time with this insecurity. I started to write honestly about being tall and had an article published in Bitch Magazine. In 2014, I won Miss Tall International and co-hosted a tall girl flash mob with Bree Wijnaar in Grand Central Station.
For me, embracing my height has been a journey of body positivity, one where I have sought to like all of me no matter how they are received by someone else.
I still have my awkward moments, but I can honestly say that today, I really enjoy being a tall woman.
Jessica
Her Story:
I thought it was a curse! It all started in high school. I was mocked often because I was taller than most of my classmates. On those occasions, when we had to be on a queue, I was made to stand last on the queue. I felt bad always, I wanted a reduced height, I wanted to be friends with the 5'5''--foot girls. Most of the time, I cried because I was called a walking tree. It was terrible. They made fun of me and I thought I was abnormal. I lost confidence and I hid from the cruel world.
Then finally, I went to college to study law. The game changed. I became aware of how beautiful my height is. I guess I listened to a lot of inspirational messages because I was in search of closure. My confidence grew and it was a major comeback. I wore sky-high heels and knew the only boundary I had is myself. "Oh! She is a model." No, honey. I am not a model. I don't have to be a model to be proud and confident about my height. High school made me feel like being 6-foot [tall] was a curse.
I channeled all that newly acquired confidence. Who wouldn't want to watch a 6-foot lady confidently arguing in court on a lawyer's rope? That is a great sight, you know. I found myself. Sometimes you must chill and avoid mounting pressure on yourself and never forget to show those never-ending legs.
Tall is confidence.
Ebony
Her Story:
Growing up tall was probably one of the hardest things I had to go through. You get called names, you can never find pants long enough, you're taller than all the boys, and the mere thought of wearing heels was definitely out of the question! It's like being forced into the spotlight everywhere you go. Not to mention, growing up in a small town, just made it 10x worse because you feel like you're the only one going through this. I get it, I've been there.
It wasn't until I reached my mid-teen years that I realized being tall had taken a huge toll on my self-esteem and I had to do something about it. [From there] I learned how to use my height as an advantage! I never was an athlete, so I had to find another approach: modeling.
Modeling was something that I always wanted to do since I was probably old enough to walk but being that my self-esteem was so low growing up, I didn't want any extra attention. Once I reached the age of 17, I had my first photoshoot and all I could think to myself was, "This is it! This is what I want to do!" So I started researching everything fashion/modeling-related. When I found out that the modeling industry is mostly made up of tall girls, you couldn't beat me to a casting call! I'm telling you, I was on it!
Now that I'm 22 years old and 6', I look back on what I've been through. I wouldn't change anything because that molded me into the strong individual I am today! I wish I could go back and tell my younger self, "It'll all come together in the end. The people that make fun of you now will be begging to be your friend and telling people how they know you in the future. Your height is a blessing, not a curse."
Cindy
Her Story:
I love being tall and have embraced my height for a long time. Yes, when I was younger and in school, it bothered me being called names, such as "giraffe". But being tall is considered beautiful! I love my height because it literally makes me stand out. I don't let my tall frame make me insecure if pieces don't fit me just right, like with pants or long sleeves tops. If they fall a little short, I rock them anyway with confidence! How do you think the trend crop pants and ¾ sleeves trend got started? Us tall GLAMAZONS are the reason! I never viewed it as a #tallgirlproblem but just a simple #tallgirlsituation that I have learned to adapt to. I do try to find pants with longer inseam but if I don't, and it is cute, I will buy them anyway.
Being 5'11" has also never stopped me from wearing high heels either, even when it makes me just as tall or slightly taller than my husband who is 6'3''. I usually wear between 3 to 4.5 inch heels. Being tall is who I am and I want to show that I love my height because I know there are tall girls and women out there who are still insecure about their height. So, if they ever see me on the street in heels and pants that may be a little short, perhaps it would give them the little boost of encouragement that they can embrace their height too.
Cheyenne
Her Story:
The older I get, I recognize that God gives us gifts, some of which we cannot comprehend. Height is one of those gifts. I am currently 22 years old and I am 6'2''! Although I am aware of how tall I am, I have always for the most part felt "average", being tall is my normal. That is also because my whole family, from immediate to extended, are tall, so I never felt out of place or awkward. It was not until I got to high school that I started to feel out of place and different compared to my peers.
I never fit into anything, so my clothes never really fit correctly and I did not think I was pretty, so I hung my head low. I hated when people would stop me in the store and ask me questions or make jokes. I felt that I was being put on the spot and I feel because I was a tall young girl that is what made heads turn. My brothers were also tall and never received half the looks or questions I did. I started to take God's gift and let the world make me feel it was a curse. It was not until I was a sophomore in college that I really started accepting and embracing my height within this world.
The one thing I always hear people say is "you are too tall for heels", and that is so far from the truth. One day, I was at the mall and I saw these size 11 sparkly gold heels on the clearance rack. I fell in love and I knew these were meant to be my shoes. The first time I wore them, friends and even other random people, kept questioning why I would wear these 4-inch heels if I was already so tall.
I realized that God did not make me tall to be quiet and scared to be present. I am tall because when I walk into a room, God needed my presence to be known he needed my voice to be heard.
Not many people know but with height comes authority and power and that is not something God just hands out. God needed everyone who gazed upon me to know I, Cheyenne Tyler Jacobs, had purpose. So I no longer hide.
I started loving who I am and not giving a thought to those who joked about my height. I get stopped often by people asking questions about my height and I think it is amazing. I found stores (mostly online) that I could buy clothes that fit and are stylish. I started hanging with people who lifted me up, who did not bring me down. I started to dig up that young girl with that vibrant spirit and I made her a woman. I realized tall was not only my normal but it was my blessing and I am proud to be 6"2. If there is any advice, I could give to any young girl or woman who is struggling with height is keep your head high.
Your height is a gift and you are beautiful, even if society and those around you cannot see it. Just know you are not alone. There is a community of tall beautiful tall women waiting to welcome you with open arms. Be blessed and stay beautifully tall.
RELATED
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
Despite launching media careers from different pathways, the two New York-based women have forged a friendship where they can discuss their ambitions and challenges.
Both women are part of xoNecole’s It Girl 100 Class of 2025, recognized in the Viral Voices category for the impact they’ve made through storytelling, creativity, and authenticity. Together, they represent what it means to build an "It Girl" brand with integrity and depth. In the spirit of SheaMoisture’s "Yes, And" ethos, Les and Kayla embody the freedom to be multi-layered as women evolving boldly into every version of themselves.
This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity
On Forging Their Own Paths
Les Alfred: Being a Jane of all trades is incredibly challenging. And one of the challenges I've faced is that the scope of what podcasters now need to do has increased so much. When I first interviewed you in 2019, I was still very new at it, but I remember being on a Skype call with you from my bedroom in Seattle. That was how I ran the show. And that was good enough. That is absolutely not good enough these days. The scope and the quality keeps increasing, but the resources that you have don't necessarily increase in order to remain competitive.
I get asked so many questions from people who want to get into podcasts and they want to get started. Most of the time, I'm just like, 'I don't have tips for you.' Because, one, I don't know what it's like to start in this current environment. Two, I know what it takes to contend and be consistent in this environment. The barrier of entry is a lot higher in terms of having something of quality than it was before.
On Balancing Ambition and Rest
Kayla Greaves: I've had to make a very clear effort to slow down and just not take on as much. Yes, you're running a business, but you're also living your life. I had one of those days yesterday. I just laid down and listened to white noise for hours because I just needed my brain to just be clear. I called a friend. I cried.
I'm starting over again today. The sun is out. It's a new day. And that's just sometimes what you have to do. You can't show up for your audience or for other people, if you can't show for yourself. I think that creativity comes from a place of living your life and having genuine experiences, and then sharing those experiences through your art.
"I had to give myself permission to let myself grow publicly in ways that I'd already done personally."
Courtesy
On Evolving Through Growth and Rebranding
Les: I didn't create Balanced Black Girl until 2018, but I started blogging and creating content and doing things under the Balanced brand in 2014. I was 24 years old at the time. Now, I'm 36. The things that were important to me, the perspective that I had and the stories I wanted to tell were entirely different. I think I had to give myself permission to let myself grow publicly in ways that I'd already done personally. The show isn't really about wellness anymore. And that shift started happening a couple of years ago.
When we started expanding into more lifestyle topics, more self-help topics [and] talking about entrepreneurship, the audience responded really well. That was when the show really started to grow and take off. And that was what got so much more engagement than the episodes back in 2020 when I was doing hour-long deep dives on gut health.
Rebranding the show was something I've been thinking about for a long time. When I was finally like, 'Oh, I need to do this,' honestly, was the 2024 presidential election. I was like, these people are about to be in here acting crazy. I do not feel safe with my business name being what it is. I don't want to be targeted for any BS. We saw what they did to the Fearless Fund.
"You have to balance your integrity with your income."
Courtesy
On Integrity Over Income
Kayla: I have many other interests aside from beauty. I'm growing and I'm changing as a person. I'm not the same person I was when I started at InStyle in 2019 before the pandemic rocked everybody's world. I don't think reviewing every single lipstick that comes out is exciting or interesting, because everybody does it now, and everybody feels like they're qualified to speak on things that they're not qualified to speak on. I'm currently in that pain point of growth.
I don't think I have always been in environments where I've been encouraged to branch out on my own ideas. I finished Ina Garten’s memoir maybe a month ago. She kept repeating this quote in her book. She said, ‘What goes in early, goes in deep.’ Now that I'm on my own and I don't have the resources of a traditional media company, which is what I have become accustomed to, sometimes it's difficult for me to be like, 'Okay, just go ahead with the thing.'
I think, Les, just the other day, you reposted somebody saying that they let go of a five-figure deal and then got double the next day because it just didn't feel aligned for them. Those are the things that happen. I have to find a balance of, 'Okay, how do I keep myself afloat?' And that may mean I may not be balling out of control just yet, but I'm okay for now. I can buy myself nice things every once in a while, but you have to balance your integrity with your income.
Les: There are just certain lines that I'm not willing to cross. Especially when I created more wellness content, one of those lines was I will not promote any sort of weight loss product. All of these GLP-1s all want to advertise on my podcast. I actually have nothing against those types of products, but I don't ever want someone to look at what I'm putting into the world and think that I'm saying that they need to feel a certain way about their bodies.
Even if the money is great, that's not for me to say, and that's not the type of message that I want to put out here. Or, I had another kind of brand deal come through that would have required me to divulge things about my personal life that I just don't really want my audience knowing about me, and bringing them along on journeys that I just find personal and I want to keep offline. I don’t want to be known for dragging my mess all over the internet for a buck.
I don't want to be known for being an influencer. I would love to be 1,000% in on my podcast, scale it, have it grow to be a media empire where I'm producing and putting out other bodies of work. For now, until that other side of the business really picks up and gets to the point where I want it to be, I kind of need to play the influencer game a little bit to live in this expensive city. But I'm gonna do it on my terms. It's a constant compromise that I'm coming to with myself.
"You can never make a big vision come to fruition if you're sitting and you're waiting for somebody else to tell you exactly what to do."
Courtesy
On Mutual Admiration and Friendship
Les: Something that I really admire about you in having known you for the past couple of years is you don't wait for a roadmap. You jump in, you roll up your sleeves, and you do it. You can never make a big vision come to fruition if you're sitting and you're waiting for somebody else to tell you exactly what to do.
Kayla: Well, first of all, I want to say thank you for saying that, because that means so much to me, and it's very affirming. That's exactly how I feel about you. I remember, even at your first live show, you're like, ‘Oh my god, I'm so stressed. I don't know what I'm doing.’ And, the shit sold out. And, you know, and now, like, you see the growth of the podcast. And you have nearly 61,000 subscribers on YouTube. I just checked recently.
I talk a lot about people that really just need to not say anything on the internet, because it's so frustrating as somebody who grew up as a traditional journalist. You want people to fact check and ask thoughtful questions and have good conversations. I've never said that about you. I've always loved your podcast. And I've sent a lot of your episodes to friends when they're going through specific things that you're talking about.
This season has been a little bit slower to me, so you've been a constant source of inspiration, and it's just been such a pleasure to see your podcast grow despite the challenges you've had. I know it's not easy, but you continue to grow and continue to push through, and I really admire that as somebody who sat and cried yesterday and listened to white noise.
And this is why I tell you all the time, you really do inspire me. I love you a lot.
Les: Oh my gosh, I love you a lot. I'm so glad that the podcast brought us together.
Tap into the full It Girl 100 Class of 2025 and meet all the women changing game this year and beyond. See the full list here.
Featured image courtesy