What’s the common thread running through our second OG portfolio? The word fearlessness came up often. The courage to be disliked, to stick to your guns, to seek adventure and make trouble, to look past trends and embrace the next generation of like-minded mavericks, to keep going, at 55 or 95, despite it all, and (to quote Nobel Prize–winning OG poet Louise Glück) “risk joy in the raw wind of the new world.” A toast to the aristocracy of talent on this list. We see and salute you. After all, game recognizes game. — Erik Maza
Bethann Hardison “She speaks her mind and tells the truth, whether you like it or not. She’s not afraid to go up to anyone to correct a wrong. When we worked together, I witnessed firsthand a woman who is strong-willed and compassionate, and, despite it all, still dares to dream.” —Frédéric Tcheng, Hardison’s co--director on the doc about her life, Invisible BeautyTRUNK ARCHIVES
Nan Goldin “First she revolutionized photography, becoming an unparalleled master of composition and the greatest colorist since William Eggleston. Then she revolutionized activism, using her talent for making a scene to expose the rotten system that enabled the Sackler family’s greed. She transformed a medium, then she transformed the world—she is a true agent of history.” —David Velasco, editor of ArtforumDenis ALLARD/REA/Redux
Parker Posey “Parker is one of one. For as long as I’ve wanted to be an actress, she has been someone I’ve looked at as an example of how to do it right. She chooses her work carefully, from the heart, and then she plays—hard. Parker Posey—bright and sharp and goofy and glam—is a genre unto herself.”—Hari Nef, who co-stars with Posey in The Seagull/Woodstock, NY at the Pershing Square Signature Center in NYC through March 26. Hair by Rob Harmon. Makeup by Brett Jackson at See Management Styled by Yvette JordanPhilip Friedman
Laurie Anderson Music’s most Zen iconoclast edited The Art of the Straight Line, a mindfulness book by late husband Lou Reed.United Archives
Judy Blume A doc about her life wowed Sundance, and an Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret movie is due next month.Karjean Levine - Getty Images
Justin Vivian Bond Living proof, usually in head-to-toe Loewe at Joe’s Pub, that glamour is resistance.Sylvain Gaboury - Getty Images
Linda Goode Bryant Just Above Midtown, her pioneering incubator for Black artists, is immortalized at MoMA.Dave Kotinsky - Getty Images
John Cale Downtown music’s avant-garde godfather released a new LP at 80.Michael Putland - Getty Images
Willem Dafoe The IMDB lists 10 upcoming credits, including as an art thief in the thriller Inside, out now.Gabriel Olsen - Getty Images
Snoop Dogg What would Martha toke without him?Stephen J. Cohen
Jodie Foster Director, producer, two-time Oscar winner, HBO’s new True Detective.David Hume Kennerly - Getty Images
