September 2017

Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty with a foundation range spanning 40 shades, immediately setting a new industry standard for inclusive cosmetics. The brand earned $100 million in sales within 40 days and forced major beauty companies to expand their own shade ranges. Fenty Beauty became one of the fastest-growing cosmetics brands in history.

Sloane Stephens won the US Open women's singles title in 2017 just four months after returning from a foot injury that required surgery and caused her ranking to fall below 900. Stephens defeated Madison Keys—making it an all-Black American women's final—in one of the most celebrated moments in recent tennis history.

Sloane Stephens won the US Open women's singles title in 2017 just four months after returning from a foot injury that required surgery and caused her ranking to fall below 900. Stephens defeated Madison Keys — making it an all-Black American women's final — in one of the most celebrated moments in recent tennis history.

Cardi B's single Bodak Yellow reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female rapper to top the chart with a solo song since Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing) in 1998. Cardi's rise from social media celebrity to Grammy-winning superstar became one of the defining popular culture stories of the decade.