Age: 68
Occupation: Film critic, social commentator
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
Years after losing the ability to speak, Roger Ebert has found his voice. A prolific and highly regarded film critic, Ebert suffered postsurgical complications following his diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2002, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the wisest social commentators we have. On his blog and Twitter feed, Ebert talks honestly and eloquently about his illness, film, writing, politics and social issues, discussing everything from his struggles with his own appearance (much of his jaw was amputated in 2006 following an infection) to the exorcising of the N word from the literary classic Huckleberry Finn.