The 2015 Daring List

Freehold Costars

"I'm emotionall fearless but not physically," Julianne Moore says of her boldest recent feat: diving into a pool. Moore, who has given some of Hollywood's most dauntless performances, stars in Freeheld, based on the true story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree, a same-sex couple whose case to have Hester's pension benefits transferred to Andree when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer blazed a trail for gay rights nationwide. "It was intense, her first role as an out woman," says Moore of costar Ellen Page, who came out publicly in 2014. Page was introduced to Hester and Andree's story through the 2007 documentary that inspired the film—and which Page counts as a catalyst behind her own coming out. "When I was 21, I was shown the documentary trailer and asked to be involved. In tears, I said yes. It was a tough time; I was closeted, publicly but also personally." Now, Page hopes to see more gay narratives on-screen. "If every part I played was gay from now on, I'd be fine with it," she says, laughing. Who else is daring? "Lily Tomlin!" Moore exclaims. As for dressing to dare, "lately that means Givenchy. Riccardo Tisci makes you feel cutting-edge and beautiful."

Academy Award-Winning Actress; Activist; Star of CBS's Cyber

As an actress, did you have a defining moment of learning to be brave? Yes, and I'll tell you the story, because it's also the story of how I became an actor. When I was seventeen, I knew I wanted to be either an actor or a midwife. And I was really really afraid of acting—afraid of failing, afraid of not being able to make a living, afraid of other people's judgement, afraid of being bad at it. I had seen my dad really struggle to make a living in the business. But more than I wanted to be an actor or a midwife, I wanted to be a brave person. So I decided to do a social experiment: every day for a year, I would do something towards acting—study a performance, take an acting class,take pictures, go around to auditions. And I told myself that every time I got negative feedback, I would see it as a win, because if I persevered it meant I was brave. And if the year finished and I didn't get work, then I would go be a midwife instead. But what happened was that I got an acting job—which was terrifying in itself. I was stumbling and struggling on the set, and it was hard for my ego to have trouble with my lines and hit the right marks. I did not feel great at it, but I think a lot of times, the ego gets in the way of bravery. That year was a test: am I brave enough to be brave? Wow. What was that movie? It was called Pretty Smart. It was great—I graduated high school while it was filming, so I was really young—but it was also total insanity. The producer got in a fight with his girlfriend and she punched another producer in the face and somehow put her fake nail through her cheek and had to go to the hospital. A lot of people were on drugs. I was a vegetarian and when they brought in lunch and it had meat with fur on it and maggots in the bread. But I still was really grateful! I mean, look, you have to start somewhere, and it's really important to have that ability to persevere even when you're thrown off your game, when things are hard and your ego hurts. Have you ever turned down a role for ethical reasons? Yes, mostly because of payment structure. I'm trying to make a living, trying to see my family, and sometimes I've had to make a tough decision and walk away from certain projects. I've turned down some films where they weren't willing to give me the same kind of payment as the male in the movie, even when I had equal participation. And I once turned down a movie because I had just had my son, and they wouldn't tell me what they wanted in the movie's love scene, even though I was breastfeeding and it was a vulnerable time. I just needed to know what they wanted to see, but they wouldn't be specific. It was difficult to turn it down, because financially I really needed the role, but ultimately I didn't feel like there was that artistic respect, mutual respect. Along with millions of women, I was really inspired by your call to arms for wage equality at the Oscars this year. What prompted you to do that? My friend Kamala Lopez is just finishing up this documentary called Equal Means Equal, which is about women in America and all the underlying things that we don't talk about or think about or realize, and a big part is the economics that affect women across the board. So I'd been talking to her, and also thinking about the choices my character in Boyhood might have made if she'd been able to make her full dollar. She maybe wouldn't have ended up with one of her husbands because she needed stability. She may have been able to provide for herself for her family. But when a woman is economically disadvantaged, especially women of color—it's astounding that we allow this to continue happening.

Social Activist

Who is daring? People who speak their truth and fight injustice. (Also, my next boyfriend!) What helped you confront the public eye when you did? After living in the shadows for more than a decade, it was a confluence of events. One was my experience around the tragic suicide of college freshman Tyler Clementi, who had been outed and publicly ridiculed online. Seeing my mom relive the fear she experienced in 1998 that I would be humiliated to death opened my eyes to how the world had changed with the advent of social media. No longer was public humiliation just for public figures. Simultaneously it became clear to me that it was time to take back my narrative. The TED Talk I gave in March was an opportunity to expand on some themes I touched on in my Vanity Fair essay and my Forbes speech. I worked harder on it than my master's thesis! That it has resonated with people and has been shown in some classrooms made facing every fear I had about it worthwhile. What's a time that you took the daring path? January 16, 1998: I faced a choice between a guarantee of not going to jail versus doing the right thing. I was 24. In an FBI sting related to Ken Starr's investigation of the Clinton administration, I was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for cooperation, which meant wearing a wire in face-to-face meetings and making monitored phone calls, both targeting President Clinton, his best friend, and his secretary. I refused.

Comedienne, Saturday Night Live cast member, and star of next year's Ghostbusters adaption

Daring moment: I'd like to think I'm daring in some of the things I'm willing to do onstage, but the most daring thing I've done in real life is consent to a scalp biopsy.Also, I once took a bike ride in the middle of a heavy heavy rainstorm on the side of a highway in Aruba. Did I cry the entire time? Sure. Fear factor: When I am scared I take to Web MD and really go to town. I have memorized the major symptoms of most human diseases. Nerves of steel: I get horribly nervous backstage, so I convince myself that what I'm about to do will be the worst human performance ever captured and will bring great shame and eternal humiliation to myself and my loved ones. Then if it's even slightly better than that, I'm thrilled.

South Carolina Governor

After the devastating shooting in Charleston, you called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House grounds. Why then? We were in survival mode, and I needed to protect the people of my state. The flag is personal for a lot of people, and it's not that they're racists; to them, the flag is a sign of pride, bravery, and their ancestors' sacrifices. But to others it's a sign of pain. The biggest concern was how to communicate the issue in a way that got people to step into someone else's shoes. South Carolina deserves a lot of credit for realizing why it was part of our past but didn't need to be part of our future. What makes for a daring politician? Being bold enough to have a vision and follow through. For an elected official, that means not just making decisions but the ability to communicate why. You've marked a lot of firsts in politics as the first woman in your position, the youngest current governor, and the daughter of immigrants. Who inspires you? My mom, who was one of the first female judges in India. She always said that can't is not an option.

Author of "Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl," founding member of punk rock band Sleater-Kinney, and creator of the comedy series Portlandia

Who are today's most fearless musicians? Run the Jewels, Joanna Newsom, Rihanna, Lizzo, and Patti Smith. What does "daring" mean? To eschew likability in terms of popular opinion, to go against tradition and convention, to innovate, to not worry about what other people think of you, to go beyond motion into the realm of action, to be a participant instead of passive, to speak out and stand up, to practice kindness and forgiveness both towards yourself and others. Are you daring? Occasionally. When I can release myself from the grips of self-consciousness then I can be quite bold. What scared you about the decision to break up Sleater-Kinney and, ten years later, to get the band back together? I didn't have fears when we put Slater-Kinney on hold, only relief. My biggest fear in getting the band back together was that people would only view us through the lens of nostalgia.What's the most daring thing you've ever done? Writing my book is at the top of my list. A good friend said to me, "this is basically you coming out as a human being."

The broads of Broad City

"Daring means being afraid of something and doing it anyway," says Abbi Jacobson, which is what she and Ilana Glazer did by launching Broad City, now a Comedy Central hit, in quite the D.I.Y. fashion. Their inspirations? "Susie Essman, whom we work with; Joy Behar; and Whoopi Goldberg. They did stand-up 30 years ago and were a big part of second-wave feminism," Glazer says. Adds Jacobson, "I read about this amazing woman, Madelyn Pugh, I Love Lucy's only female writer. Any acts Lucy was nervous about, [Pugh] would try first. She was always down, and you've never heard of her. That's daring."

Stylist and muse to Karl Lagerfeld

"I dare by venturing forward, which is the Old English derivation of 'to dare.' The spirit of fashion is change; forward momentum with a sense of what's gone before and is to be. Still, I'm not a daredevil. As kids we dare each other to do crazy things. One summer I found what looked like a trampoline in a garden. I took a runningjump and fell through a rotten tarpaulin, tumbling down a disused well. These days jumping my horse can make me nervous."

Painter and Girls actress

Who is daring? Any woman who doesn't let society tell her how to think, what to think, what to look like, how to parent, how to behave, how to fuck, how to love, how to talk, how to succeed. Truth or dare? I always pick truth. I find it much more daring.

Actress and co-author of Impossible Wardrobes

"The strange thing about daring is that it most ordinarily lies in the eye of the beholder. In each of our lives, there are brave deals made with the self that are deeply private and not for sharing, let alone for public consumption. But, on the whole, one woman's perceived bravery is often a simple matter of her following her instinct. I suppose what people callbravery in others corresponds pretty closelyto what they find difficult themselves."

Impossible Wardrobes, co-written by Olivier Saillard, will be published by Rizzoli in November

Actress, DJ, and filmmaker

Your short film, "Break Free," started an international conversation about sexual fluidity. What was that like? What I found most interesting is how timing comes into play. I am not doing anything now that I wasn't doing 10 years ago, but the world was ready for a conversation about gender when I made the film. It's taken years of people being themselves and fighting for their rights to get to this discussion; I'm lucky that I was here at the right time to ignite it. What do you say to people who get hung up on your gender? I don't say anything. My gender is none of their business and how they view me isn't really any of my business. It has taken me a long time to be so comfortable in my own skin. I don't see the point in going backwards; freedom feels too good.

Journalist, food personality, and author of the new cookbook "Simply Nigella"

Most daring dish I've ever made: The first time I made a pie, it felt like an act of dizzy-making daring, but making it took the fear away. And eating my first oyster, as a child, felt the same way, and ditto! Fearless heroes: Lena Dunham and Jeanette Winterson. Neither lets the forcefulness of her vision allow them to forget or conceal their vulnerability. Favorite restaurant: The River Cafe in London. I eat anything they put in front of me: the menu changes, so I can't plan ahead, but I've never eaten anything less than exquisite. Daring mantra: Do it now.