Role Models – Not everyone famous is someone you want your children to look up to, but we think we’ve found some role models for your child.

These are famous people you can be proud for your child to admire, they have done, or continue to do great things!

We’re constantly told what we should and shouldn’t tell, give or show our children – not everything is a bad influence on a child. We highlight a few humanitarians, sportspeople, celebrities and famous people who continue to be as down-to-earth and focused in their responsibilities despite their incredible fame, people who are great for young people to look up to for inspiration.

Enjoy our list of some of the great world role models;

Role models for your child to learn something from

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Michelle Diaz Madden is an American writer, retired actress, and model. Frequently appearing in comedies throughout her career (The Mask (1994), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), Farrelly brothers‘ hit comedy There’s Something About Mary (1998), which brought her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical all while earning critical recognition in dramatic films. Her accolades include four Golden Globe Award nominations, three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a New York Film Critics Award. In 2013, she was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood.

In late 2013 she published a health book, The Body Book: Feed, Move, Understand and Love Your Amazing Body, co-written with Sandra Bark. It was no. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list in March 2014. She then released The Longevity Book: The Science of Aging, the Biology of Strength, and the Privilege of Time in June 2016. She has since invested in health and biotech start-ups.

Known for her environmental activism, she was an early adopter of the Toyota Prius hybrid and worked to promote Gore’s Live Earth campaign, raising awareness of climate change. Diaz has been involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the first and largest non-profit organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She is also a member of the Pangea Day advisory board, an organisation dedicated to creating a worldwide network of concerned citizens who are making a difference and believe that film can change the world.

Diaz created her own foundation, Begin Today for Tomorrow (2001). The foundation has donated to charities like the Children’s Dental Health Clinic, AIDS Project Los Angeles, African Wildlife Foundation, Childrens Defense Fund, Pathways to Independence, and Roar Foundation.

Reese Witherspoon

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon an American actress, producer, and entrepreneur. The recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, she is among the highest-paid actresses in the world, as of 2019. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Witherspoon began her career as a teenager, making her screen debut in The Man in the Moon (1991). Following a leading role opposite Mark Wahlberg in Fear (1996), her breakthrough came in 1999 with a supporting role in Cruel Intentions and for her portrayal of Tracy Flick in the black comedy Election. She achieved wider recognition with her role as Elle Woods in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001) and its 2003 sequel, and for her starring role in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002). In 2005, her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the biographical musical film Walk the Line garnered critical acclaim and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Witherspoon also owns a clothing company Draper James, and she is actively involved in children’s and women’s advocacy organisations. She was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007, serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation a charitable organisation that supports women and focuses on breast cancer research and the prevention of domestic violence. Explaining her motives for joining the foundation, she said, “As a woman and a mother I care deeply about the wellbeing of other women and children throughout the world and through the years, I have always looked for opportunities to make a difference.”

She is a long-time supporter of Save the Children, an organization that helps provide children around the world with education, health care and emergency aid. She also serves on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund, a child advocacy and research group. Her proceeds from the Legally Blonde 2 Barbie go to the Children’s Defense Fund.

Ellie Simmonds OBE

Eleanor May Simmonds, OBE is a British Paralympian swimmer. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Great Britain, despite being the youngest member of the team, at the age of 13. In 2012, she was again selected for the Great Britain squad, this time swimming at a home games in London. Winning another two golds in London, including setting a World Record in the 400m freestyle, and a further gold medal at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, this time setting a world record for the 200m medley.

Simmonds is very involved with charity work, with much of her focus being on sports, young people and water. A patron of the Dwarf Sports Association UK, along with swimmer Matthew Whorwood. Simmonds says of the charity, “It’s a charity that supports people of short stature and helps them get into sport. One of the highlights of the year is the convention we have in the spring. There’s everything from power lifting to athletics.”

In January 2019, Simmonds was appointed to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee board. Simmonds is a WaterAid ambassador, an international non-governmental organisation, focused on water, sanitation and hygiene. It was set up in 1981 as a response to the UN International Drinking Water decade (1981–90). It operates in 34 countries as of 2018

She is an ambassador for The Scout Association and also a Girlguiding leader in Manchester, where her nickname is Aqua Owl. And was awarded the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American lawyer and author who was the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 17 a huge American and on our list of world role models.

Married to the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama she was the first African American First Lady of the United States.

In her early legal career, she worked at a law firm where she met her future husband President Barack Obama. Michelle married Barack in 1992, they have two daughters.

Obama campaigned for her husband’s presidential bid throughout 2007 and 08, delivering a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She returned to speak for him at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

As first lady, Obama served as a role model for women and worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating. She supported American designers and was considered a fashion icon.

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.

On her first foreign trip as America’s First Lady, Michelle Obama visited a girls’ school in London to speak about the importance of education and the future role of women.

Emma Watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is a British actress, model and activist. Born in Paris, France and raised in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School (not a Harry Potter pun!) and trained as an actor at Stagecoach Theatre Arts. Incredibly her first professional acting role was as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, having acted only in school plays previously.

She went on to star as Belle in the hit musical film Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Meg in the coming-of-age film Little Women (2019), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Other film roles starring Watson include Regression, Colonia, and The Circle.

Her modelling work has included working for Burberry and Lancôme. She was honoured by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2014, winning British Artist of the Year. That same year, she was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which encourages all genders to work towards gender equality.

Watch her powerful speech to the UN here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk

Judi Dench

As far as role models go shakesperean actor, Dench is a BAFTA winner and seven-time Oscar-nominee Dame Judith Dench is top of the list.

Dench a British actress, artist and author. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years, she performed in several of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. Most of her work at this time on the theatre stage, branching into film she won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. She acquired rave reviews for her lead role in Cabaret the musical in 1968.

The next two decades Dench established herself as one of the leading British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She received critical acclaim for work on television, A Fine Romance (1981–84) and the iconic As Time Goes By (1992–2005). Her film appearances were infrequent, and included supporting roles in major films, such as A Room with a View (1986), before she rose to international fame as M in GoldenEye (1995), a role she continued to play in James Bond films until Skyfall (2012).

A seven-time Academy Award nominee, Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998); her other Oscar-nominated roles were in Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006) and Philomena (2013). She has also received many other accolades for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her other competitive awards include six British Academy Film Awards, four BAFTA TV Awards, seven Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She has also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2001, and the Special Olivier Award in 2004. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI). Dench is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Space scientist and one of the BBC’s brightest new stars, who wants to get more inner-city pupils interested in the subject. She is an honorary research associate in University College London’s department of physics and astronomy. Since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott. Dr Aderin-Pocock is committed to inspiring new generations of astronauts, engineers, and scientists and she has spoken to over 25,000 children, many of them at inner-city schools, telling them how and why she became a scientist, busting myths about careers, class, and gender.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai, also known as Malala, is an activist for female education. She is also the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She has inspired countless young people, including celebrities, with even the likes of Reese Witherspoon having called her a role model. Her bravery and determination to fight for what is right, against the odds and against persecution, encourages kids to step up and do what they know is right.

JoJo Siwa

Nickelodeon superstar ‘JoJo Siwa’ born Joelle Joanie Siwa, is a YouTube phenomenon, pop star, dancer, entrepreneur, social media influencer and The New York Times bestselling author. She rose to fame at the age of nine on the popular American reality show “Dance Moms” and has since become somewhat of a pop culture and LGBTQ+ icon, now at 18.

Siwa is known for her bubbly, excitable personality, colourful clothing and for encouraging young fans to be themselves and express their personality through music and style. Siwa has an entire repertoire of music, all based around self-love, reaching your goals and chasing your dreams.

Since coming out online in 2021, she has been a huge advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, even taking part in the hit TV show ‘Dancing With The Stars’ as part of the first same-sex pair on the show. As a young celebrity, Siwa has taken on the responsibility to influence and validate her many young fans, demonstrating the importance of representation.

Role Models

We hope you have enjoyed our feature n some of the world’s great Role Models.

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