Meet the Remarkable Women Who Helped Bring 'Lemonade' to Life
By now, you’ve probably watched Beyoncé's Lemonade like two, three, 10 times already. Well, it’s no secret that there’s loads of #BlackGirlMagic sprinkled all over the joint. So just who are these magical women that caught the eye of the living legend? We’ve got the scoop of the faces that helped bring Beyoncé’s project to life.
If you pick up a magazine, turn on your TV or just have a hint of any pop culture knowledge of the past year, you know this face. Zen-SLAYA, as we like to refer to her in the office, has been dominating the red carpets for some time now. She’s currently starring on her second hit show on Disney Channel, K.C. Undercover (her first was Shake It Up). She also competed on Dancing With the Stars Season 16 and constantly uses her social media as a platform to promote confidence and healthy body image. At the age of just 19, girl is woke!
Amandla Stenberg
Speaking of being woke, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the superstar tapped this young actress to participate in Lemonade. Fans of The Hunger Games know this face. And if you didn’t shed a tear for her portrayal of Rue in the first film, you have no heart — just kidding. (But seriously, it was heartbreaking!) These days Amandla has become a leading voice of Black feminism, as seen in her viral YouTube video, Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows.
Winnie Harlow
The Canadian fashion model was formerly a contestant on America’s Next Top Model Cycle 21 and is also a spokesperson and activist for the melanin-depleting condition known as vitiligo. She's since used her platform to catapult herself onto the catwalks of New York Fashion Week and has booked a major gig as Desigual’s brand ambassador, and appeared in high-profile campaigns like Diesel, all while bringing awareness and positive light to her skin condition.
Ibeyi
Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz are twin sisters who make up the musical duo Ibeyi. The French-Cuban vocalists lent their Afro-Latina beauty to Beyoncé’s Lemonade visuals, and it definitely added to the Yoruba feels. If you’re interested in listening to their eclectic sound, give their 2014 hit "River" a listen. Shout-out to Bey for reppin’ for all the Latinas in the BeyHive. So feel free to fall into formation, mujeres! The ladies are currently touring, so if you want to catch them stateside, they hit Miami Beach, Florida, on May 8.
Lil Q is all grown up! Remember, she was the youngest nominee ever up for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Hushpuppy in 2012’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. She also starred alongside Jamie Foxx in the 2014 re-boot of Annie. Well, the pint-size thespian is 12 years old now and her accolades have already earned her a spot in Queen Bey’s very own #BlackGirlMagic squad. We can’t wait to see whatever project she has coming up next!
Black Lives Matter Moms
Lemonade is unapologetically Black on all levels, and Bey paid homage to lives lost by bringing in the Black Lives Matters moms: Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr; Mike Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden; and Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton; all made tear-jerking cameos and shed light on the injustices happening today.
Chloe and Halle Bailey
As signee’s to Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, it’s only right these girls got a spot on their boss’s latest project. Their hauntingly beautiful vocals on “Drop” created lots of buzz, and now their EP, Sugar Symphony, is out. So how did these girls get on Bey’s radar? YouTube, that’s how. Chloe, 16, and Halle, 17, got the attention of Mrs. Carter with a glorious rendition of "Pretty Hurts."
If you don’t know the tennis champ by face, you’re sure to recognize her curves, which were on full display in “Sorry.” She memorably twerked alongside Beyoncé, then perched in a throne (as she should.) Only Queen Bey could call on the Grand Slam queen to play video vixen in a way we’ve never seen before — powerful and strong.
Leah Chase
The 93-year-old Creole chef of New Orlean's Dooky Chase's is the oldest member of Bey's Black girl gang in Lemonade. Here’s a fun fact: She fed every single civil rights activist to pass through NOLA in the '60s. She’ll also receive this year's James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. So if you didn’t already know, #BlackGirlMagic has long been a thing, and Leah’s BEEN on.
Michaela DePrince
What’s a Beyoncé video without dancing? But instead of doing the dancing herself, this time she pulled in the young ballerina to dance in a flouncy white dress during "Freedom." The 21-year-old Dutch National Ballet performer told The Wall Street Journal that she "thought it was a joke" when she found out Beyoncé wanted her for the feature.
Ava Clarke
Yes, it’s that gorgeous little girl who was playing with Beyoncé’s hair. She’s an 8-year-old child model with albinism who added depth to all the shades of Blackness in the hour-long feature. Ava already has a résumé most models can only dream of, so we hope to see a lot more of her in the future.
