Editors' Confessions: My Big-Time Girl Crush

Gwen Stefani

Because she proves that you can be feminine and tough.

Because she proves that you can take chances and still maintain your identity.

Because she can run rings around the boys in her band, drop and do 20 push-ups in the middle of a show and still be sexy as hell.

—Andie Huber, living editor

Sofia Coppola

Because her beauty is unconventional and a little bit innocent.

Because she can be eloquent and equally secretive.

Because her films are breathtakingly beautiful and highlight such specific moments in life.

Because she (seriously) thought Bill Murray would not show up to film Lost in Translation.

—Keila Lopez, photo researcher

Miranda July

Because she makes me realize our daily routines and interactions with others are all performance.

Because she can be beautiful, sad, vulnerable, nutty and crude all at the same time.

Because her art/films introduced me to a part of life I never realized I loved.

Because she makes me want to be a braver girl.

—Keila L.

Nadine Labaki

Because as a Lebanese director and actress, she challenges the status quo through her work.

Because she has the talent to produce, direct, and act in her own films.

Because she uses humor to tackle sensitive topics.

Because she inspires me to have an active role in society and be outspoken through art and film.

—Maece Seirafi, visual designer

Lorraine Wild

Because she's outspoken and provocative about design with a purpose.

Because she's a mother, designer, educator, writer, art historian, and a catalyst for change.

Because she inspires me to be brave, confident, and assertive.

—Maece S.

Diane Kruger

Because she makes being 36 look good.

Because she does her best to keep her private life private.

Because she chose Pacey.

—Shannan Rouss, executive editor

Solange Knowles

Because she finally found herself. It takes a while, for most of us.

Because she is an independent solo artist, a DJ and a fashion icon.

Because she has the courage to be TRUE.

—Brithny Zhang, site producer

Sheryl Sandberg

Because as the Facebook COO, she can be counted among the mere 17 percent of Davos delegates who are women.

Because her new book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, gives me hope that we'll someday figure out the work-life balance equation for working women.

—Anne Weintraub, editor in chief

Nancy Myers

Because she has a knack for telling heartwarming stories that you want to watch and re-watch on a rainy day.

And because I want to inhabit the world she creates in her films, like the Hamptons beach house in Something's Gotta Give, or the light-filled open kitchen in It's Complicated.

—Natasha Lee, photo director