THE BRIGHTEST

On this list, you'll find the people, products, and ideas that light up our world, show us the way, and change the game.

- Lisa Freedman , Bethany Heitman ,

We've got folks sharing their emotions, women making menopause cool, a certain actor/activist/ Instagrammer with a cause, and more.

THE BUSY ACTOR DOING HER BEST

 In her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little, Busy Philipps proudly asserts one of her more singular qualities. "I'm sparkly," she says, explaining how she got into college. (She delivered her application by hand.) We agree there's something fizzy and lovely and dazzling about her. The multihyphenate landed her first major role on the cult-classic comedy-drama TV series Freaks and Geeks and joined the cast of Dawson's Creek during its fifth season.

You may have seen her on Cougar Town, in movies like White Chicks and I Feel Pretty, and memorably as the "cool mom" in this year's movie-musical reboot of Mean Girls. She deftly embodies Summer, one quarter of an aggressively clueless quartet in the sitcom Girls5eva.

Except she's anything but clueless. She is whip-smart and really shines on Instagram, where her 2.4 million followers hang on to every soul baring post-whether about her latest haircut, her ADHD, her kids, a garage sale with her ex-husband ("who we love," she says), or rights for LGBTQ+ youth or reproductive freedom.

When it was time for our interview, we were led to a windowless conference room at the studio where the photo shoot would later take place. Philipps found us a spot outside instead. "I love bright light," she says.

"It just has to be superbright wherever I am." In keeping with this issue's theme, we went outside to sit in the sun, chat, and sparkle.