Christy Haubegger: 1968—: Publisher

As a young child, Haubegger noticed that magazines in the grocery stores did not show women who looked like her. In fact, she soon realized that all of the role models around her, in the movies, media, or even her own family, were tall, Caucasian, and blond. As a chubby girl of Mexican-American heritage, with dark hair and brown eyes, Haubegger could not relate to these images. Magazines were particularly problematic for Haubegger because they defined what teenagers considered to be beautiful. As Haubegger wrote in Essence, "I remember being in high school and noticing that none of the magazines showed models in bathing suits with bodies like mine." Haubegger believed that the fact that she had Anglo parents strengthened her desire to connect with her Hispanic heritage. As Haubegger explained to the Texas Monthly, "Other Hispanic kids were frustrated by a lack of popular images in the media, but at least when they went home, they found people who looked like they did."

Rather than be discouraged, Haubegger instead decided to find an outlet that would celebrate the beauty of Hispanic women. While still in law school, she came up with the idea of a magazine dedicated to Hispanic women as part of an assignment for a marketing class. Upon graduation she and a friend decided to try to turn that idea into reality. Her friend quit the project after only three months, but Haubegger continued to pursue it on her own, working as a freelance legal researcher to support herself financially.