Phoebe Waller-Bridge And Michaela Coel Named On TIME 100’s List Of Influential Icons

There's very little we like more than watching talented British women receive their deserved recognition on the global stage. So we are thrilled to see that two of the most lauded women in television have places on this year's TIME 100. Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge and I May Destroy You's Michaela Coel have had amazing years - Michaela, in particular, is responsible for one of lockdown's most thought-provoking and urgent TV series - and have now been praised in the iconic annual run-down of influential, game-changing talent.

As if that wasn't enough, they are both paid tribute to by other successful, talented women. Phoebe, who created and starred in Fleabag, wrote the first series of Killing Eve and is on the writing team for the forthcoming Bond film No Time To Die. She has earned legions of international fans, including Taylor Swift, who pens the TIME testimony and uses the now iconic image of the actor and writer smoking a cigarette surrounded by her Emmys.

'Sometimes all the puzzle pieces fall into place at the perfect time', Taylor writes. 'A combination of razor-sharp instincts, killer wit and genuine care for the people she works with proved to be a winning hand. Phoebe has a habit of creating complex female anti­heroes in a way that seemed previously reserved for male characters. It’s magical to see that all the rehearsals, baby steps, false starts and dead ends can lead to an extremely driven and unfathomably talented woman unwinding in a lounge chair surrounded by her winnings. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and all that she has achieved is, indeed, a big mood.'

Michaela, meanwhile, is applauded by Lena Waithe, the award-winning producer and writer. 'Michaela makes work that forces the audience to grapple with themselves while also taking herself to task', writes Lena. 'Usually, with Black women protagonists, everyone’s mission is to make you like or root for them. But Michaela shows us that sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. She reminds me that the only person who can destroy me is myself. She’s showing us a piece of ourselves that is rarely captured onscreen.'

Phoebe, Michaela: we salute you. We're sure we'll see them on this list again as the years go by and they solidify their impact on the world.

READ MORE: The Secret Behind Phoebe Waller Bridge’s New Risk- Taking Looks

READ MORE: Go Behind The Scenes On Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You