Throughout the years Latinas have been leaving their marks on different parts of history. No era in history has seen so many successful Latinas as we have today!

From CEOs to Make Up Gurus, we present to you ten of the most influential and successful Latinas and Afro Latinas.

Martha De La Torre 

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Meet our very own CEO, Martha De La Torre who has built Quinceanera.com’s parent brands: El Clasificado and EC Hispanic Media. El Clasificado was founded in 1988, starting off as a directory of classified ads targeted at Latino immigrants. What began as a start-up now has a massive, global web presence that has received 24 million views since 1996. Today, her company is the largest Spanish language daily publication in the United States!

Maria Contreras-Sweet 

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Maria Contreras-Sweet was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. She launched ProAmerica, California’s first commercial bank, and Contreras-Sweet Enterprises as a marketing and research solutions company. Some of her clients include the Walt Disney estate and Coca-Cola.

Rea Ann Silva

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Rea Ann Silva is a makeup artist and inventor of the iconic Beautyblender. The Beautyblender is a product used by celebrities like Kim Kardashian West, Hiedi Klum, and many more. In 2018, Silva was able to launch her own foundation line, Bounce, which comes in 40 shades.

Geisha Williams

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Geisha Williams is CEO and President of PG&E leads, one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. PG&E delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. Williams is the first Latina to ever lead a Fortune 500 company.

Miriam Jiménez Román

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 Miriam Jiménez Román was an activist and professor who made an enormous contribution to the theoretical discussion surrounding Latinidad in the United States. In early August 2020, this strong Black Puerto Rican woman passed away. She believed in the importance of continuing to theorize about race since it continues to determine the global hierarchies that impact our daily lives. Rest in Power, Miriam.

Elizabeth Acevedo

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Elizabeth Acevedo is a New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, With the Fire on High, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. She is a renowned author Her literature has made an impact on the Latinx community. She earned a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. 

 Amara La Negra 

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Amara La Negra got her start on “Love & Hip Hop: Miami.” where the topic of Afro-Latinidad became public discourse after Young Hollywood criticized her afro during a business meeting. Solely looking at the Dominicana’s stage name that she’s fiercely Afro-Latina. She has forced the Latino community to have conversations about accepting Black identity. 

 Soledad O’Brien

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Soledad O’Brien, of Afro-Cubana and Australian descent, has become one of the top names in journalism with a remarkable list of awards and her own show to prove it. Her parents got married during the ban on interracial marriage in Washington D.C. and we are very happy they did!

Rita Moreno

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Rita Moreno was born Rosa Alverio in 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico. She became a household name ever since she captivated audiences with her fierce portrayal of Anita in 1961’s West Side Story. Moreno would go on and make history by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role, becoming the first-ever Hispanic American woman to win an Academy Award. In 2019, she received a Peabody Award, one of only three performers to accomplish this feat.

Maritza Correia McClendon

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Maritza Correia is most famous for being the first Puerto Rican of African descent to compete on the USA Olympic Swimming Team. Being diagnosed with scoliosis at a young age pushed Correia to find a new love in swimming. After the Olympics, she went on to become the American record holder in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. Currently, Correia works as the senior marketing manager for Nike Swim and serves as the ambassador for USA Swimming’s Swim 1922 Program.

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