The Time 100 Most Influential People 2014 list has been released and, as no surprise to us, Beyoncé sits at the top. The singer’s profile has been written by none other than Sheryl Sandberg, the Facebook COO and author of Lean In. In it, Sandberg details how Beyoncé encourages women to be independent while championing hard work, honesty and authenticity to get there.

In the longer story in Time magazine, it was announced that Queen Bey has launched ‘What is pretty?’, to accompany her next single, Pretty Hurts. The campaign (whatispretty.com) asks people to tag their Instagram photos with #whatispretty to ‘join the conversation’ about ‘what the word means to you’. This follows her open essay in January entitled Gender Equality is a Myth, where she said ‘we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible’. We totally agree, Beyoncé.

Other notable names on the Time 100 list include:

’s Phoebe Philo, by

Pharrell Williams, by Justin Timberlake

Benedict Cumberbatch, by Colin Firth

Amy Adams, by Emily Blunt

Miley Cyrus, by Dolly Parton

Steve McQueen, by Lupita Nyong’o

Donna Tartt, by Ann Patchett

See Beyoncé's style through the ages

Who would be on your most influential list? Tweet us @ELLEUK