The Profile: America’s anti-Barbie & the internet’s Queen of Meme

This edition of The Profile

Good morning, friends!

You have no idea how much of my life I’ve spent avoiding solo speaking opportunities. So when the kind folks at the Supernode conference asked me to give the keynote speech, I felt a shiver shoot down my spine.

I tried to have them change it from a keynote speech to a keynote fireside chat. I tried to ask for a podium. I asked if I could have a piece of paper with my notes up there. I asked for anything that would divert the attention away from me standing awkwardly alone on stage.

And then finally, I thought, “You have an entire chapter on mental toughness in your book. Get it together.”

So I agreed to do the damn speech. The topic was: “How to Take Risks In Times of Uncertainty.” I shared seven stories with practical frameworks people could apply in their own lives.

Although there is a lot of room for improvement, the important things are that a) I survived, b) people learned, and c) I really understood the meaning of “competence builds confidence.” Go do the scary thing you’ve been avoiding.

You can watch the full speech below:

THE PROFILE IN TIMES SQUARE: Yesterday, I got to see a billboard in Times freaking Square of The Profile! How did this happen? It was a really cool unexpected opportunity that came my way that I am very thankful for. Serendipity is always lurking. See The Profile billboard here.

THE PROFILE DOSSIER: On Wednesday, premium members received The Profile Dossier, a comprehensive deep-dive on a prominent individual. It featured Brian Grazer, the producer leading a curious life. Read it below.

The Profile Dossier: Brian Grazer, the Producer Leading a Curious Life

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PROFILES.

— The media mogul starting her next chapter [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— America’s (anti-) Barbie
— The internet’s Queen of Meme
— The overnight sensation aiming for lasting success
— The soccer champion fighting for equality

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The media mogul starting her next chapter: At 47, Reese Witherspoon has amassed upwards of 60 acting credits over the past three-plus decades. She has also racked up more than three dozen producing credits, most of them under the banner of Hello Sunshine, the sprawling media and production company she cofounded in 2016. She runs an influential book club, with 61 picks becoming New York Times bestsellers, plus a Southern-inflected lifestyle brand, Draper James, which includes clothing and home lines. She is also a mother of three. But now, in the midst of divorce after 11 years of marriage, she’s deciding to slow down. (Harper’s Bazaar)

"Worrying about other people's opinions of you is a waste of your precious time."

America’s (anti-) Barbie: In the new ‘Barbie’ film, America Ferrera plays Gloria: mom to a moody teen daughter, assistant to Mattel’s CEO, and lifetime Barbie lover who must help save Barbie Land from the patriarchy. The Barbie movie might seem like a strange project for Ferrera, whose work — her starring role in the 2002 film Real Women Have Curves, her part as the “beautiful on the inside” Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty — has for decades questioned and critiqued beauty standards. But, she says, “After reading the script, I felt like I was on a mushroom trip. I was like, Barbie is everything.”

The internet’s Queen of Meme: In this longform Q&A, the writer explores why actress Keke Palmer is so loved on the internet. It’s likely because online, Palmer is generally unafraid to discuss potentially taboo topics, like acne and breast milk, while also finding ways to inject humor into whatever she’s speaking about. “When people see themselves in me enough to repost a meme or use a GIF, it really humanizes me in a way that I think sometimes feels lost in my life,” she says. “So I really do feel appreciative of being a meme.” (New York Magazine)

“I do feel like America’s little sister, little cousin. I feel very much so related to everybody.”

The overnight sensation aiming for lasting success: Olivia Rodrigo was 16 years old when COVID hit, and she was living at home with her parents, finishing her senior-year schoolwork when her life changed. “Everything flipped on its head,” she says, with the release of her song Drivers License, which was streamed 80 million times in a week. Rodrigo became a global celebrity, with the minutiae of her private life suddenly a matter of rabid public interest; when she released her debut album, Sour, that May, she became the first artist in history to get her first three singles in the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100. Can her second album outdo her first? (Vogue)

“Olivia can’t be anything other than herself.”

The soccer champion fighting for equality: Soccer sensation Megan Rapinoe is one of the most talked-about American athletes of our time. More than a decade ago, she came out as gay, giving many other female sports figures permission to be more open about their sexuality. Rapinoe has also knelt in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and led a protracted but ultimately successful battle against her own soccer federation to ensure equal pay for female players. Now, Rapinoe is entering her fourth and final World Cup. What is her next chapter? (TIME)

“She hasn’t given a rat’s ass what people think.”

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