Who Are the World’s Sexiest and Most Powerful Women?

Perhaps best known for being the wife of movie star George Clooney (and expectant mother of the couple's twins), Amal Clooney, 39, is also known for jetting around the world to represent some of the world's toughest human-rights court cases. In fact, a 2014 list of London's most powerful people put together by the Evening Standard listed Clooney at No. 4, and the most powerful female on the list.

In addition to her roles as international pop star and fashion entrepreneur, Beyonce, 35, proved her power in social media when her Instagram announcement that she's expecting twins pretty much broke the Internet, receiving more than 10 million likes and more than 500,000 comments. In 2016, Queen Bey was named to Fortune magazine's list of most powerful women, citing her Ivy Park clothing line, her stake in husband Jay Z's Tidal music-streaming service and the addition of a record label to her management company, Parkwood Entertainment, which signs only female artists. Future business ventures include launching a line of cold-pressed watermelon juice.

As High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European Union, 43-year-old Ferderica Mogherini is a former Italian Parliament minister who now represents the EU on a variety of hot button issues, ranging from the crisis in the Ukraine to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the influx of Mediterranean migrants to Europe. In 2016, the married mother of two was listed at No. 19 on Forbes' ranking of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Go ahead and scoff that the selfie-taking, butt-baring star of Keeping Up With the Kardashians would end up on any kind of power list, but consider this: Kim Kardashian has parlayed her reality-show fame into a multimillion-dollar empire estimated at $85 million. And when it comes to social media, the 36-year-old's reach is pretty extraordinary, with 92 million followers on Instagram, 50 million on Twitter and closing in on 30 million "likes" on Facebook.

As CEO of Yahoo, Mayer orchestrated the company's $4.8-billion merger with Verizon, and the 41-year-old is regarded as one of the world's most powerful digital executives. Rated at No. 55 on Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women list for 2016, Mayer's net worth of $430 million comes largely from her 13-year-stint at Google, where she was one of the company's first employees.

While she's no longer FLOTUS, the former First Lady used her position to champion a wide range of causes, including promoting healthy eating for children, and carved out a role as a popular talk-show guest. Now that she and husband Barack Obama have exited the White House, don't expect Michelle Obama, 53, to head off into the sunset. It's expected she'll continue to lend her powerful voice to various causes during a time of deep political division in the U.S.

With a net worth estimated at a billion dollars, Spanx founder Sarah Blakely, was once a door-to-door salesperson who invented the slimming undergarments at age 29, investing $5,000 into the company, of which she still owns 100 per cent. Ranked at No. 90 on Forbes' 2016 list of the Most Powerful Women, the mother of four is also part owner of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.

One of the biggest musical artists in South America, Colombia-born Shakira, 40, has sold an astounding 60 million albums. A 2014 partnership with Fisher Price to develop a web series and line of toys will see the profits go to Shakira's Barefoot Foundation (which she founded when she was just 18), which funds building schools in Colombia and setting up early education systems around the world. Shakira landed at No. 81 in Forbes' 2015 power list.

Named one of Fortune's 10 Most Powerful Women, Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg, 47, became one of the world's youngest female billionaires in 2014 when Facebook stock closed at a record high, pushing her stake in the social media platform, combined with her personal wealth, into 10 figures.

When the former Harry Potter actress isn't starring in films such as Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, the 26-year-old is a powerful voice for feminist causes, serving as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the HeForShe equality initiative.

With her net worth estimated at $1 billion, Tory Burch is chairman, CEO and co-designer of her eponymous fashion line. She owes her success to Oprah Winfrey, who more than a decade ago told viewers Burch would be "the next big thing in fashion." The designer's signature item remains her iconic ballet flats, available in pretty much every colour. Burch, 50, was ranked at No. 73 on Forbes' 2016 list of the World's Most Powerful Women.

Star of hit TV sitcom Modern Family and films such as Hot Pursuit, the Colombia-born actress, 44, currently ranks as television's highest-paid female star, with 2016 earnings estimated at $43 million. In addition to her TV role, the bulk of Vergara's earnings come from lucrative endorsement deals and Latin WE, the management firm (focusing on Latino talent) she co-founded in 1994 with former music promoter Luis Balaguer.

Former CEO of Dreamworks, in 2016 Stacey Snider became chair and CEO of 20th Century Fox, one of the important parts of Aussie mogul Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire. Snider, 55, oversees all aspects of the studio, including its five production divisions, global marketing and distribution, and home entertainment.

TSwift made Forbes' Power Women list for the first time in 2015, and it looks like she'll be staying there for years to come. At age 27, Swift is the youngest-ever woman to make it onto the Forbes list, with her "1989 Tour" ranking as 2015's most lucrative concert tour, raking in a whopping $217.4 million.

Although the name may not immediately ring a bell with North Americans, in her native China, actress Yao Chen is one of the country's most popular film and television stars. In addition to her massive social media presence, the 37-year-old is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees.