Aja Naomi King, 39, is a good example of a young celebrity philanthropist who is putting her platform to work in partnership with powerful brands to make an impact. The Emmy-nominated King is probably best known for her role as Michaela Pratt in Shonda Rimes’ ABC legal drama series “How to Get Away with Murder,” in which she plays one of several law students getting their hands dirty outside of the classroom.
King is a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris USA, anchored for decades by its ubiquitous slogan, “Because you’re worth it.” That slogan is also reflected in the brand’s signature philanthropic program, Women of Worth, which is now celebrating its 19th year, and seeks to honor, amplify and support female changemakers.
Other L’Oreal brand ambassadors include entertainment luminaries like Andie MacDowell, Celine Dion, Viola Davis and Helen Mirren. L’Oréal Paris partners with GlobalGiving on the Women of Worth Fund, through which it awards its grants.
On September 4, 10 grassroots nonprofit leaders each received a $25,000 grant as part of the 2024 L’Oreal Women of Worth cohort. Additionally, the honorees will receive mentorship from L’Oréal Paris on how to enhance their business efforts and receive higher visibility through the brand’s social media and internal stakeholders.
IP connected with King last month in advance of the announcement to find out more about why she joined L’Oréal Paris USA as a brand ambassador, her own personal story of philanthropy, and how she sees her Hollywood peers also making an impact.
“So much is about community”
Raised in Walnut, California, a suburb east of downtown Los Angeles, King caught the acting bug early and earned fine arts degrees from UCSB and Yale. But before all of that, she recalls growing up in a tight-knit community where she learned philanthropic lessons early on. “Growing up in a Black family especially, so much is about community and this idea of having each others’ backs,” King began. “Sometimes, that will be with a hot meal or just, like, time. Spending time and listening to what’s happening with someone.”
These lessons also reached her through her church community. She mentioned that too often, many assume that philanthropy can only be measured on some grand scale, with eye-popping numbers and fanfare. But King emphasizes that all forms of giving are important, from donating clothes to mentoring.
Early in her Hollywood career, she described the common struggles of an artist’s life — crashing on friends’ couches and borrowing a clean shirt to nail an audition. Once her career really started rolling, she wanted to help others get a leg up, as she once was helped. This is what led her to L’Oreal’s Women of Worth and to become a brand ambassador to the program in 2017.
She admits she initially wasn’t even aware of the philanthropic initiative. “Getting to learn about the women over the years and the organizations they’ve created on a grassroots level… It was just insane to learn the possibilities of what people are able to create and make for themselves on smaller and larger scales,” King said.
King, like other figures across entertainment and sports, also brings with her an enormous platform, including a million followers on Instagram and another 200,000-plus on X. She sits on the artistic advisory board of Opening Act, a Brooklyn nonprofit that helps underserved youth build confidence through performance and writing. She’s also worked with Habitat for Humanity and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
In addition, she’s adamant about using her platform to highlight women like Paralympic athlete Danelle Umstead, founder of Sisters in Sports Foundation, which aims to unite women and girls with disabilities. Umstead, too, is part of the most recent Women of Worth class. “Being able to amplify those causes and to use my platform and talk about what these women do and try to help people get involved and getting involved myself — it felt really good,” King said.
Climate activists, trauma-informed service providers and more
I asked King about some of the Women of Worth honorees she’s excited about. But sometimes, picking your favorite philanthropic leaders is like picking your favorite child. King did mention she had the honor of meeting Susan Burton, a 2022 L’Oreal Women of Worth honoree, who founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project to help formerly incarcerated women.
Women leaders in the new cohort are involved in initiatives including tackling food insecurity, climate action and helping domestic violence survivors.
For instance, 2024 honoree Wawa Gatheru made early splashes as a young environmental activist and founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, hoping to inspire other Black women to claim their place in the climate movement. King notes that sometimes, climate change issues can seem intractable and overwhelming, but thinks that Gatheru has put actionable steps into place to make people feel like they can really step in and make a difference. More broadly, climate has been a focus for L’Oreal’s corporate giving for a while, including through a €15 million Climate Emergency Fund it debuted last year during Climate Week.
Another Women of Worth honoree this year is Dr. Tonya Stafford Manning of Dallas, founder and executive director of It’s Going To Be OK, which provides trauma-informed services and support to survivors of human trafficking.
When she’s not helping select Women of Worth awardees, one the biggest focuses of King’s early giving has been the mental health and wellness space (also an area L’Oreal has focused on, including through its brand Maybelline’s Brave Together Initiative). In that work, she joins other celebrity givers like Selena Gomez and Kevin Love, who have also focused on these causes, both through their own contributions and by using their platforms to spread awareness.
Something similar can be said about how King seeks to highlight the Women of Worth grantee cohort. “Honestly, the most beautiful thing about it is that there are so many women doing such profound work,” she said.
