Young (Over)Achievers Who Make You Feel Crap About Yourself

Feeling accomplished for making it through the day without spilling your coffee? While that’s a win in itself, there are young people out there who’ve already redefined success before they hit 30. Here’s a list of modern trailblazers to inspire—and slightly humble—you.

Lena Dunham

Age: 39

Lena Dunham is best known for creating HBO’s Girls, for which she won multiple awards including Golden Globes. In 2025, she returns with the Netflix series Too Much, co-created with her husband Luis Felber.

Nick D’Aloisio

Age: 29

Nick developed the news app Summly at 15 and sold it to Yahoo! for around $30 million—making him one of the youngest self-made tech millionaires of his time.

Tavi Gevinson

Age: 29

Gevinson launched a fashion blog at 11 and by 15 had founded Rookie, an online magazine for teen girls. She has since expanded into acting and editorial writing.

Evan Spiegel

Age: 35

Spiegel co-founded Snapchat while still in university. Today, he leads Snap Inc. as CEO and is one of the youngest billionaires in tech.

Adora Svitak

Age: 27

A child prodigy and TED speaker, Adora published her first book at 7 and continues to advocate for education and youth empowerment worldwide.

Lorde

Age: 28

New Zealand pop icon Lorde hit No.1 in the U.S. with “Royals” at age 16. Her fourth album Virgin is slated for release in 2025, followed by the Ultrasound World Tour.

Malala Yousafzai

Age: 27

Malala survived a Taliban attack at 15 and became a global icon for girls’ education. She won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17 and continues her advocacy through the Malala Fund.

Feeling Inspired?

While you may not be closing million-dollar deals or headlining festivals (yet), it’s never too late to pursue your passion. Explore online courses and start carving your own path to success.

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