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Inspiring Person Of The Week: Tavi Gevinson, Fashion Guru And Broadway Star…And She’s Only 18 Years Old

tavi gevinson backstage, shoot for nymag

She’s been dubbed the next Anna Wintour, and when you hear her story you’ll see why. Oak Park, Illinois native, Tavi Gevinson, is 18, full of life, and wise beyond her years.

Videos by InspireMore

She is not your typical teen in any way. Tavi started her own fashion blog at 11. Yep, at just 11 years old, Style Rookie was born. It’s a website featuring all of her bold looks, commentary on current fashion trends, and many hair color changes, through the years.

Early looks from Style Rookie

old post of tavi gevinson

Image via Style Rookie Tumblr.

tavi gevinson young

Image via Roope Vintage

tavi gevinson picstitch of top looks from style rookie

Image via Kristin Miller Books Blog

tavi gevinson's ever evolving style

Image via Secret Hipster Blog

tavi gevinson growing up on her blog style rookie

Image via Clashing Time Blog

The blog quickly gained traction, garnering over 30,000 views a day, and was being noticed by some of the biggest names in fashion. New York Times interviewed her and she was invited to New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.

Her writing style was praised and admired far and wide, resulting in guest author spots on Barneys.com and Harper’s Bazaar, and a contributing editor position for Garage Machine. 

With Editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour

tavi gevinson and anna wintour

Image via The Guardian

In Teen Vogue with musician Gwen Stefani

tavi gevinson in teen vogue with singer gwen stefani

Image via Teen Vogue

At fashion shows pictured with Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld and designer Marc Jacobs

tavi with top designers at a fashion show

Image via Caro Fashionews

One of her latest looks off Style Rookie

tavi gevinson currently

Image via The Style Rookie

Her biggest accomplishment to date? Rookie Mag, her own creation and brain child, an online magazine dedicated to teenage girls and all of the ups and downs they experience, that she’s been editing from home since she was 15. She’s the editor-in-chief to a team of 40 to 50 photographers, writers, and illustrators. How she balances that with being a normal American teenager, we have no clue.

Featuring posts written primarily by the target audience, there’s everything from posts focused on pop culture, social issues, beauty, original artwork, op-eds, and of course, fashion. Subjects of the stories range from embarrassing and funny, to tearjerking and heartfelt.

Over time, the magazine has reaaally evolved. Features like “Ask A Grown Man/Woman” allow readers to submit questions to be answered by adult celebrities like musicians Tegan and Sara, TV host Stephen Colbert, actor Seth Rogen, and actress Rashida Jones, just to name drop a few. She’s also made a few good friends from her countless interviews.

Hangin’ with singer Lorde

casual hangout between wunderkin Tavi Gevinson and Lorde

Image via Pedestrian TV

Ridin’ roller coasters with actress Hailee Steinfeld

tavi gevinson and actress hailee steinfeld

Image via Zimbio

Casually paddle boarding with pop star Taylor Swift

tavi gevinson and taylor swift paddleboarding

Image via The Doll and the Drummer

In 2012, the magazine had its first real print publication in the form of a yearbook full of highlights from the site. The Rookie staff went on a book tour to meet up with readers and fans for pajama parties, craft nights, and much more, which is pretty wonderful. The yearbook of awesomeness comes out every year in October, and the third installment, Rookie Yearbook Three, is just about ready to go!

At one of her Rookie tour stops with the first yearbook

rookie mag creator and editor in chief tavi gevinson poses with rookie yearbook one

Image via Left Field Project

Reppin’ Rookie Mag

teenager tavi gevinson

Image via La Dolce Moda

She’s been featured in multiple fashion and news publications like Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, and most recently, a career highlight: the cover of New York Magazine.

Her beautiful NYMag cover

tavi gevinson covers and is interviewed in new york magazine 2014

Image via Tavi Gevinson Twitter

Represented by the United Talent Agency, Tavi has become infatuated with acting in recent years. She voiced a character in the animated film Cadavar and co-starred with the late James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the 2012 film Enough Said.

Movie still from Enough Said with costar Julia Louis-Dreyfus

tavi gevinson acting in enough said

Image via LA Times

The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon adores her and has invited her as a guest to his late show multiple times. Like Fallon, loyal readers of Tavi’s strokes of genius feel like they’ve either grown up with her or watched her grow up, a truly incredible experience to share with someone you’ve probably never met.

Tavi’s most recent visit with Jimmy Fallon

tavi gevinson guest on tonight show with jimmy fallon august 2014

Image via NBC

She just graduated from high school in May and is taking a gap year. Tavi is taking on New York City and she just so happens to be STARRING in the Broadway play This Is Our Youth, opening on September 11th alongside Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin! She’s certainly full of surprises. If you’re in New York City any time in the next couple months, we’re sure it’ll be quite the show

Tavi, Michael Cera, and Kieran Culkin, the cast of Broadway’s This Is Our Youth

this is our youth new cast 2014

Image via Entertainment Weekly

Anyone that’s been lucky enough to meet Tavi agrees she’s incredibly smart, generous and compassionate. Tavi told Left Field Project her definition of success which is “Satisfaction with both process and product, satisfaction regardless of public attention, appreciating positive attention without depending on it, ignoring negative attention that can’t help you, understanding that you are not entitled to an audience and your audience is not entitled to you.”

Apart from all the craziness that came with her success, she’s a simple gal at heart. She loves hanging out with her friends,  working on her own crafty projects, creating sketches and doodles, and writing in her diary.

She also told Left Field Project some great advice for anyone to live by: “The world is huge and people are many and now is such a small moment in time so learn about science and let it put everything in perspective instead of making you feel insignificant. But also, be okay with feeling insignificant. And also, consider what every situation is truly about, even if it’s unpleasant. This requires a lot of energy, so sleep often and don’t waste time on dumb websites or with bad friends who make you feel lousy. Most importantly, don’t listen to me.”

Clearly she’s got a great attitude and knows how to roll with the punches. She’s accomplished so much in her life already and we can’t wait to see what she does next!

Striking a pose in NYMag

tavi gevinson in nymag

Image via New York Magazine

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