1. Greta Thunberg, 17
The Swedish activist became the leader of the climate activism movement when she launched School Strike for Climate. She has been nominated for a Nobel peace prize, was named Time’s Person of the Year for 2019 and has written three books.
2. Billie Eilish, 18
Green-haired pop phenomenon and queen of grunge fashion. Her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, has 15 billion combined streams worldwide, and made her the youngest person to win all four main Grammy categories – new artist, album, record and song of the year. She performs the new Bond song, No Time to Die.
3. Gully Guy Leo, 17
This ginger teenager from Warwickshire has become one of the most influential names in streetwear. He started out posting stylish outfits on Facebook, went viral on Instagram and has since become a catwalk model and star of campaigns for brands from Fendi to Converse.
4. Coco Gauff, 16
She knocked Venus Williams out of last year’s Wimbledon in the first round in 80 minutes. From Florida, Gauff is the youngest tennis player ranked in the top 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association.
5. Kaia Gerber, 18
The daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford might be the hottest runway star in the world right now. She is the darling of fashion titans including Burberry, Prada and Chanel and was Karl Lagerfield’s muse.
6. Kylian Mbappé, 21
Already considered one of the world’s best strikers, the French footballer was signed by Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for £166 million, making him the most expensive teenager in the game’s history. And his stock has only risen – he is now the most valuable player in the world.
7. Millie Bobby Brown, 16
Finn Wolfhard, 17
Gaten Matarazzo, 17
Noah Schnapp, 15
and Caleb McLaughlin, 18
The cast of Netflix’s retro sci-fi blockbuster Stranger Things are now some of the richest teens in the world. They were reported to be earning around $250,000 an episode for series three, with Millie Bobby Brown collecting even more.
8. Yara Shahidi, 20
The star of hit American series Black-ish counts Michelle Obama as a friend. Her activism and lobbying for Gen Z to vote in the US presidential elections led to Oprah Winfrey tipping her for a future presidency.
9. Dave, 21
The South London rapper’s debut album, Psychodrama, had the biggest first week of streams for a British rap LP and won Album of the Year at the Brits. Last year’s Glastonbury set went viral after he invited teenager Alex Mann on stage to rap a verse. He also co-stars in Netflix’s gang series Top Boy.
10. Kylie Jenner, 22
With 169 million followers on Instagram, the reality star turned businesswoman is the most popular Gen Z-er on the platform. After starring in Keeping Up with the Kardashians from the age of 10, at 21 her cosmetics line made her the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
11. Marsai Martin, 15
The American actress and producer found fame in the comedy series Black-ish. At 13 she starred in the film Little and was also its executive producer, making her the youngest producer in Hollywood history.
12. Sky Brown, 11
She would almost certainly have been Britain’s youngest Olympian in July, but now Brown will have to wait until next year for the accolade. The teeny-weeny Anglo-Japanese skateboarder won bronze at the World Championship in 2019 and is Instagram catnip.
13. Sophia Grace Brownlee, 16, and Rosie McClelland, 13
They were just 8 and 5 when their YouTube video of them covering a Nicki Minaj track skyrocketed them to fame and made the Essex girls regular guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the US. Now they are pop stars in their own right.
14. Jorja Smith, 22
Smith, a pop and R&B singer from the West Midlands, was 19 when she released her debut EP, Project 11. She has since collaborated with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Stormzy, won two Brit awards – critics’ choice and best female artist – and received a Grammy nomination.
15. J Hus, 23
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Real name Momodou Jallow, the rapper from Stratford’s second album, Big Conspiracy, hit No 1 in January. He was 18 when he caught people’s attention with the song Dem Boy Paigon, but spent four months in prison in 2018/19 after being caught carrying a knife. After his release, he was invited by Drake to be a guest at the latter’s London show.
16. Sonny Hall, 21
Hall was 16 when he was model-scouted at a gig in north London. He struggled with drink and drug addiction in his early teens until getting clean at 18. In rehab, he started writing poetry and thus Instagram’s most lusted-after poet was born. Also played Rita Ora’s love interest in the video for her single Let You Love Me.
17. Lil Nas X, 21
Last year, the gay rapper/country singer turned up to the Grammys in a rhinestone-encrusted hot pink Versace cowboy outfit. He was nominated for six awards and walked away with two (both for the worldwide hit Old Town Road). Born Montero Hill, he is the first openly gay artist to win a Country Music Association award.
18. Max and Harvey Mills, 17
The identical twins from Berkshire are TikTok sensations. Their videos have amassed more than 730 million likes. They started with lip-syncing before becoming fully fledged pop stars. Their popularity led to a CBBC documentary, a BBC DVD and a book deal.
19. Tfue, 22
Turner Telley, known online as Tfue, is an e-sports star and the most famous Fortnite player in the world, last year winning the Fortnite Champion Series. There may be better players, but Tenney is also a handsome provocateur, with millions of followers across Instagram and YouTube. He has won more than $600,000 in competition money.
20. Aitch, 20
The Mancunian rapper’s YouTube freestyles gained 17 million views and caught the attention of Stormzy. He has had seven UK Top 40 singles in one year.
21. Storm Reid, 16
Arguably Hollywood’s biggest child star. When she was nine, Reid acted alongside Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave. She has since starred with Oprah Winfrey in A Wrinkle in Time and Elisabeth Moss in this year’s The Invisible Man, and is among the cast of HBO’s provocative teen drama Euphoria.
22. Hunter Schafer, 21
The transgender actress from North Carolina made her debut playing a transgender woman in Euphoria. She is a campaigner for LGBT rights and the model du jour for hipster fashion houses.
23. Blondey McCoy, 22
McCoy dropped out of school in London at 15 and became a pro skater for Adidas and Palace before launching Thames, his own successful skatewear line. In 2018, Kate Moss made him the poster boy of her talent agency.
24. Luka Sabbat, 22
According to New York Magazine, Sabbat is Gen Z’s “It boy”. His public life started on Instagram and led to him modelling in Kanye West’s Yeezy shows and acting in sitcom Grown-ish. A mainstay of any supercool guest list.
25. Zendaya, 23
Her 67 million Instagram followers have seen the actress mature from Disney Channel angel to acting out drug binges in Euphoria and co-starring in the Spider-Man franchise. Her singing career includes a duet with Zac Efron in The Greatest Showman.