Monday, Apr. 04, 2011
Hung Huang
Age: 50
Occupation: Media mogul
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
Often called China's Oprah, Hung Huang is one of China's top publishers, bloggers, TV commentators and tastemakers. Her mother tried to teach English to Chairman Mao, and Hung (also spelled Hong) also dedicated herself to the socialist cause for years by working in Chinese factories (albeit as a socialist socialite who attended Vassar and was once married to director Chen Kaige). But in the late '90s, Hung took over a struggling state-owned women's magazine, turned it into a fashion bible and has been an unstoppable media mogul ever since. Last year in Beijing she opened Brand New China, which showcases only made-in-China fashion. It's the closest the city has to Barneys.