Shonda Rhimes Guest Edits Good Housekeeping's First-Ever Awesome Women Awards for the September 2016 "Connected Women" Issue

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - August 17, 2016) - Good Housekeeping magazine today announced that Grey's Anatomy and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes will guest edit the first-ever Awesome Women Awards feature for its September "Connected Women" issue, on stands now.

Shonda Rhimes collaborated with Good Housekeeping's Editor in Chief Jane Francisco to select 25 of the smartest, most connected and inspiring women out there for this landmark issue, celebrating how women connect with each other and how they are changing the landscape in their fields. The women featured range from non-profit standouts, empowering change makers, creative visionaries, and crusaders who are tacking tough issues and breaking boundaries.

"I was excited by the idea that there would be an entire issue devoted to celebrating the awesomeness of women," says Rhimes on what drew her to guest edit the issue. "Women who've never met a problem they couldn't solve; women who are redefining race, fighting poverty, reinventing fashion, literally saving lives and more," she adds. "They are inspiring, amazing and awesome. The only difference between being a woman and being an awesome woman lies in how you define yourself and how you choose to live your life. If you believe yourself to be awesome, you can be."

Good Housekeeping also partnered with Awestruck, AwesomenessTV's digital lifestyle entertainment brand for millennial moms, on an exclusive video series produced by Awestruck that will showcase select Awesome Women Award winners in candid sit-down conversations delving deeper into the successes of these connected visionaries. The series is live at YouTube.com/awestruck.

"I'm so inspired by the commitment and accomplishments of our incredible Awesome Women honorees," says Jane Francisco, Editor in Chief, Good Housekeeping. "Shonda is the ultimate connected woman-so was the perfect choice to help us develop this feature. Her insights into what really goes into being an innovator -- why it is vital to never stop learning, always challenging yourself and having fun along the way -- are the embodiment of what it takes to be a successful, Awesome Woman."

"We are so thrilled to work with Good Housekeeping, a trusted brand that has helped improve the lives of women and their families for over a century," said Sarah Penna, Head of Awestruck. "At Awestruck, we're all about creating content for a new generation of digitally savvy women that celebrates, connects and inspires. The Connected Women issue and the incredible stories shared on Awestruck's YouTube channel are a perfect collaboration to spotlight and reach women of all types and every generation."​

For the cover, Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo invited Good Housekeeping into her home to talk family, her career decisions and the awesome women in her life, including her mentor and boss Shonda Rhimes. "What I think makes an awesome woman is evolution," states Pompeo. "The ability to evolve and grow and change and forgive…and continue to learn."

Readers are also encouraged to connect with each other on social media and share photos or quotes of awesome women who inspire them using the hashtag #GHAwesomeWomen.

Good Housekeeping + Awestruck's First-Annual 2016 Awesome Women are:

The Angels

Adina Bailey, 42: Cofounder, Take Them a Meal

Jane Chen, 37: CEO and cofounder, Embrace Innovations

Karissa Bodnar, 27: Founder and CEO, Thrive Causemetics

Tami Halton Pardee, 45: Owner and CEO of Halton Pardee + Partners

Angie Nwandu, 26: CEO, The Shade Room

The Mentors

Beverly Bond, 45: Founder of Black Girls Rock!

Jessica Knoll, 32: Best-selling novelist, Luckiest Girl Alive

Randi Zuckerberg, 34: Entrepreneur

Ingrid Nilsen, 27: Lifestyle expert and YouTube personality

Glynnis MacNichol, 41 + Rachel Sklar, 43: Founders, TheLi.st

Renata Mutis Black, 37: Founder, Empowered by You

Luvvie Ajayi, 31: Writer; executive director and cofounder, The Red Pump Project

The Creatives

Linda Rodin, 68: Founder and creative director, Rodin Olio Lusso

Rebecca Minkoff, 35: Fashion designer

GloZell Green, 44: Online comedian

Ashley Eckstein, 34: President, Her Universe

Ashley Jung, 34 + Paige Dellavalle Walker, 29: CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Stella Valle

The Crusaders

Candace Cameron, 40: Co-host, The View

Wendi Levy, 47 + Kim Etheredge, 45: Founders, Mixed Chicks

Amy Robach, 43: News anchor, Good Morning America

Geena Davis, 60: Founder, The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media:

Alexandra Bernadotte, 46: Founder and CEO, Beyond 12

Read more about the Awesome Women Awards here and in the September issue of Good Housekeeping, on newsstands now, and watch the close-up interviews with select Awesome Women Award honorees at Youtube.com/Awestruck.

About Good Housekeeping:

Celebrating 130 years, Good Housekeeping (goodhousekeeping.com) is a leading lifestyle media brand inspiring a monthly audience of 30+ million readers to discover genius innovations, delicious ideas, style-savvy trends, compelling news and best-in-class products for their homes, families and themselves. The Good Housekeeping Institute's state-of-the-art labs combined with Good Housekeeping's seasoned editorial talent is unparalleled. Staffed by top engineers, scientists and technology experts, the GH Institute tests and evaluates thousands of products each year for the magazine, website and for the Good Housekeeping Seal and the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, which are among the most recognized and trusted consumer icons in the world today. Good Housekeeping, which also has five international editions, is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst, one of the nation's largest diversified media, information and services companies. With 21 titles in the U.S., Hearst is the leading publisher of monthly magazines in terms of total paid circulation, and reaches 79.5 million readers and 68 million unique site visitors each month (comScore). Follow Good Housekeeping on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and on the Inside the Institute blog. Follow Jane Francisco on Twitter and Instagram.

About Awestruck

Awestruck is a lifestyle entertainment brand for millennial moms with original short-form programming on YouTube, Facebook and go90 that covers Docu-reality, Scripted, Comedy, DIY and Lifestyle. Awestruck creates content featuring its community of celebrity talent and everyday moms to deliver entertainment, information and conversation tailored for today's time-pressed mom. Awestruck is part of AwesomenessTV, a multi-platform media company owned by DreamWorks Animation, Hearst and Verizon. Visit Awestruck at awestruck.com.