The Eternal Activist

Alyssa Milano’s favorite four-letter word is something we can actually print: hope. And she’s full of it. When the prominent social-justice activist meets people in person who disagree with her, they’re respectful and gracious. Despite a lukewarm reception from critics, her Netflix dramedy Insatiable was one of the most binge-watched shows of 2018. And she even has a new children’s book series called Hope, centered on a little girl named—you guessed it—Hope.

It’s also because she’s seen firsthand the good that comes from confronting the bad. She helped change the course of history when she encouraged women around the world to bravely share their painful stories with just a simple request: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”

Activist Tarana Burke first coined the phrase “Me Too” in 2006 to raise awareness of pervasive sexual abuse and assault, but Alyssa surmises what lit the spark in 2017: “I don’t think #MeToo would’ve happened if Hillary Clinton had been elected. I think it was a direct relationship to how we were feeling, how terrified we were…I think women could see that our rights were