PEOPLE magazine revealed country icon Dolly Parton, Olympian Simone Biles, actor Sandra Oh, and America’s teachers as the “2021 People of the Year”.
The magazine said, “This year has been a transformative one, pushing us all to create something new and hopefully better for our lives. This issue reflects that spirit: Our People of the Year cover stars have all led the way in their fields to help make the world a little bit better.”
In this week's issue, PEOPLE introduces its 2021 People of the Year — Dolly Parton, Sandra Oh, Simone Biles and our nation's teachers — who have all led the way in their respective fields, helping make the world a little bit better every step of the way. https://t.co/gKz0fTjncf pic.twitter.com/cAFSgxVavZ
— People (@people) December 1, 2021
The magazine said Dolly Parton was chosen, in part, for her donation early in the pandemic to support COVID-19 research that led to the Moderna vaccine.
Actor Sandra Oh was celebrated for fighting anti-Asian hate, The Associated Press reported.
The magazine said Simone Biles “redefined what it means to win in sports” because of the way she stood up for herself and spoke openly about mental health.
America’s teachers, the magazine said, deserved to be recognized because their “resilience has been unbelievably inspiring these past two years.” The magazine chose four teachers to represent the more than three million classroom teachers who work every day across the country.
The magazine named George Clooney, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Selena Gomez, and Regina King as the “2020 People of the Year,” the AP reported.
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