Photo Credit: politico.com

Cindy McCain Makes TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023

TIME Magazine has published their annual list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023, which fall into categories of artists, icons, pioneers, leaders, innovators, and titans.

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

Please note that TIME has listed only 96 names, not 100. There is speculation the magazine will save the final four for their annual TIME Summit, which takes place on 25 April or the TIME 100 Gala on 26 April. The gala will be hosted by Jennifer Coolidge, and feature performances by Doja Cat and Lea Michele, as well as honorary tributes from members of this year’s list.


Arizona’s very own Cindy McCain has been recognized in this prestigious honor.

Cindy McCain was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a daughter of beer distributor Jim Hensley.  After receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, she became a special education teacher.

In 1980, Cindy married John McCain and in 1981 the couple moved to Arizona in 1981, where John was elected to serve Arizona in Congress.

Cindy McCain has had a passion for working to support vulnerable people worldwide for decades. From 1988 to 1995, she founded and operated a nonprofit organization, the American Voluntary Medical Team, which organized trips by medical personnel to disaster-stricken or war-torn third-world areas. Cindy also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2021 to 2023 and has led efforts against human trafficking.

McCain’s new focus has been leading one of the globe’s largest humanitarian organizations, the U.N. World Food Programme. Records show that in 2022, WFP reached over 150 million people with food and nutritional support. McCain’s broad knowledge will be utilized as she offers strong leadership, advocacy, fundraising, diplomacy, and creativity in her new role.

Below is the list of TIME’s most influential people of 2023:

ARTISTS

  • Michael B. Jordan
  • Drew Barrymore
  • Ali Wong
  • Austin Butler
  • Aubrey Plaza
  • Rian Johnson
  • Salma Hayek Pinault
  • Zoe Saldaña
  • Judy Blume
  • Colin Farrell
  • Lea Michele
  • Simone Leigh
  • Wolfgang Tillmans
  • Suzan-Lori Parks
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Shervin Hajipour
  • El Anatsui
  • Colleen Hoover
  • Steve Lacy

ICONS

  • Jennifer Coolidge
  • Ke Huy Quan
  • Sara Mardini and Yusra Mardini
  • Shah Rukh Khan
  • Pedro Pascal
  • Brittney Griner
  • King Charles
  • Salman Rushdie
  • RowVaughn Wells
  • Tracie D. Hall
  • Peng Lifa
  • Shannon Watts
  • Haluk Levent
  • Imara Jones
  • Yvon Chouinard

PIONEERS

  • Doja Cat
  • Mikaela Shiffrin
  • Bella Hadid
  • Sam Altman
  • Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi
  • Thom Browne
  • S.S. Rajamouli
  • MrBeast
  • Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
  • Britney Schmidt and Peter Davis
  • Sam Rivera
  • Robin Zeng
  • Edward Reynolds
  • Margaret Mitchell

LEADERS

  • Olena Zelenska
  • Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
  • Hakeem Jeffries
  • Evan Gershkovich
  • Janet Yellen
  • Sherry Rehman
  • Mitch McConnell
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Margrethe Vestager
  • Joe Biden
  • Samuel Alito
  • Gustavo Petro
  • Gina Raimondo
  • Oleksandra Matviichuk
  • Fumio Kishida
  • Cindy McCain
  • María Herrera Magdaleno
  • Olaf Scholz
  • Bola Ahmed Tinubu
  • Min Aung Hlaing

TITANS

  • Angela Bassett
  • Laurene Powell Jobs
  • Lionel Messi
  • Padma Lakshmi
  • Johan Rockstrom
  • Beyoncé
  • Patrick Mahomes II
  • Elon Musk
  • Gina Prince-Bythewood
  • Karen Lynch
  • Shou Zi Chew
  • Ozlem Tureci and Ugur Sahin
  • Deborah Lipstadt

INNOVATORS

  • Bob Iger
  • Sarah Kate Ellis
  • Kylian Mbappé
  • Natasha Lyonne
  • Monica Simpson
  • Nathan Fielder
  • Wanjira Mathai
  • Hidetaka Miyazaki
  • Jerrod Carmichael
  • Catherine Coleman Flowers
  • Sean Sherman
  • Iga Swiatek
  • Kate Orff
  • Dimie Ogoina
  • Andrea Kritcher