Marlo Thomas is an award-winning actress, author and activist whose body of work continues to impact American entertainment and culture. She has won four Emmys, the Peabody, a Golden Globe, a Grammy, and in 2014, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive, awarded to her by President Barack Obama. Marlo burst onto the scene as That Girl, television’s first independent working woman, and went on to create the groundbreaking children’s record, book and TV special, Free to Be…You and Me. She remains a constant presence on television and the Broadway stage, and serves as the National Outreach Director of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which was founded by her father, show business legend Danny Thomas. As the author of eight New York Times bestselling books, Marlo made the list again this year with her latest, What Makes a Marriage Last, which she co-authored with her husband, talk show pioneer, Phil Donahue.

Phil Donahue is a writer, producer, journalist, and media pioneer whose revolutionary talk show format ushered in a new era of broadcast television. The Donahue show was honored with twenty Daytime Emmys, plus a 1996 Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy for Phil. He is also the recipient of the Peabody Award, and induction in the Academy of Television Arts & Science Hall of Fame. Phil appeared on the Today show for nine consecutive years with his thought-provoking daily segment, “The Final Word,” and for three years with Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner on the CNBC current events program, Posner/Donahue. In 2006, Phil co-produced and co-directed Body of War, his critically acclaimed documentary about America’s controversial presence in the Iraq War. It captured, among others, the Best Documentary award from the National Board of Review, and a People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Phil is the author of three books: his memoir, My Own Story; The Human Animal, which was adapted into a groundbreaking five-part series on NBC; and in 2020, the bestselling What Makes a Marriage Last, which he co-authored with his wife of 41 years, Marlo Thomas.