21 people of Asian descent among Time’s 100 Most Influential of 2023

Time magazine has released its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023, 21 of which are of Asian descent.

Released on Thursday, the list consists of six categories: Artists, Icons, Pioneers, Leaders, Titans and Innovators.

“We are thrilled to recognize this year’s list of the world’s most influential people,” Time Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said in a press release.

“We look forward to convening the TIME100 community – one of the largest leadership communities in the world – to spotlight and hear from individuals who are wielding their influence to drive positive action toward a better world at the TIME100 Summit Featuring TIME CO2 and Gala this month in New York City.”

The magazine also released four worldwide covers featuring four Time100 honorees: Jennifer Coolidge, Michael B. Jordan, recording artist Doja Cat and Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Artists

Ali Wong – Nominated by fellow actor and comedian Randall Park, Wong, 40, is known for her stand-up comedies, movies and TV shows, such as “Always Be My Maybe,” which also stars Park in the lead role, and Netflix’s “Beef.”

Salma Hayek Pinault – Hayek is a Mexican American actor who is also of Lebanese descent from her father’s side. She is known for her roles in the 2002 film “Frida” and the 2021 Marvel movie “Eternals.”

Icons

Ke Huy Quan – Quan, 51, won his first Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in the best picture winner “Everything Everywhere All At Once” on March 13.

Sarah Mardini and Yusra Mardini – Sarah, 28, and Yusra Mardini, 25, are two sisters who fled their home country of Syria during the Syrian Civil War in 2015. Sarah is a former competitive swimmer, while her sister is an Olympic swimmer who competed under the Olympic flag in Rio 2016.

Shah Rukh Khan – Also known by his initials SRK, Khan is one of the world’s most decorated Indian actors, with nearly 300 accolades under his name. He has appeared in over 90 films since his debut in 1992.

Salman Rushdie – Rushdie, a renown Indian-born British American author, survived a targeted stabbing attack that occurred as he was delivering a lecture in New York City in August 2022. The author had been the target of several failed assassinations over the years for his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses,” which some Islamic extremists have considered blasphemous and cited as motivations for terroristic attacks.

Peng Lifa – Dubbed online as the “Bridge Man,” Lifa made headlines in late 2022 for unfurling protest banners on a bridge in Beijing, opposing the Chinese government’s zero-COVID policy and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to his Time100 letter, Lifa is among the many protesters who are still missing from public view following the widespread protest.

Pioneers

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi – Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi are Iranian journalists who were arrested after publicizing the story of Mahsa Amini, the woman murdered while under police custody, out to the public. Hamedi broke the story of Amini’s death, while Mohammadi covered the woman’s funeral. The two journalists are still behind bars in Evin Prison.

S.S. Rajamouli – Rajamouli, whose full name is Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli, is the Indian director behind the international hit movie “RRR.” The Indian Telugu-language film won the best original song at the 95th Academy Awards on March 13.

Robin Zeng – Zeng, known in China as Zeng Yuqun, is one of the people leading the effort for global decarbonization by supplying international electric vehicle batteries through his company, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). Some of the manufacturers CATL has been supplying include Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen.

Bella Hadid – Hadid, a 26-year-old Palestinian American fashion model, has been modeling since she was 16 years old. Voted model of the year in 2016, Hadid continues to influence fashion on and off the runway.

Leaders

Sherry Rehman – Rehman, a member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015, is known for her vocal stance to address the climate crisis affecting her country through endless flooding that has not fully receded since November 2022.

Fumio Kishida – Japan’s recent prime minister, Kishida, has reportedly strengthened the country’s defenses by boosting its budget by 50% as Japan continues to face rising aggression against China, Russia and North Korea. He has also soothed the tension between his country and South Korea and tightened Japan’s security alliances with the United States.

Min Aung Hlaing – Min Aung Hlaing has been ruling Myanmar with an iron fist ever since the country’s military held a coup d’etat in February 2021 and violently quashed the bloody protest that took place soon after. Even before seizing power, the United Nations had accused him of genocide for the massacre of Rohingya Muslims, an accusation the country denied less than a month before the U.N. published the report.

Titans

Padma Lakshmi – Lakshmi started her career as a model before becoming one of the longest hosts of the cooking competition “Top Chef,” which she took over when the show was still in its second season run in 2006.

Shou Zi Chew – TikTok CEO Chew is currently under a microscope as the U.S. government continues to threaten the social media platform with a potential ban over suspected security concerns and the company’s alleged connection with the Chinese government.

Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin – Türeci and Şahin are German scientists of Turkish descent who invented one of the vaccines against COVID-19 through their company, BioNTech, in partnership with Pfizer.

Innovators

Hidetaka Miyazaki – Miyazaki is the director and creator behind the critically-acclaimed game “Elden Ring,” developed by FromSoftware, and was the recipient of the highly-coveted The Game Awards’ 2022 game of the year award and was voted Steam Awards’ game of the year and “best game you suck at” in early 2023.

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