

Noor Tagouri, 22, isn’t your average girl. She’s a journalist and all-around influencer who seeks to bring new life and perspective to the idea of feminism. And we have to say, she’s already made a great start. Noor shook things up by becoming the first woman to wear a hijab in Playboy’s “Renegades 2016” feature, and that’s just the beginning. HollywoodLife.com has you covered with five amazing facts!
1. Noor claims she did the Playboy shoot for Muslims and women.
While readers may have made up their minds about Noor’s shoot in Playboy, for which she wore the traditional Muslim headdress with a moto jacket and Chuck Taylor’s, the journalist set the record straight on why she did the shoot. In a letter she posted on Instagram on Sept. 30, Noor dedicated her shoot to women. “I did it for Muslims, for women, and for everyone misrepresented in mainstream media today,” she wrote. “I did it for the 10,000 [women] who came before me that were bullied in private or publicly humiliated because they didn’t conform to societal standards of how a woman should present herself.” Wow, that’s incredible!
2. She is a highly respected journalist who currently works for Newsy.
Noor is a respected journalist in the Washington D.C. area. She currently works for Newsy and covers a variety of cultural and political subjects, including Islamophobia and sexism. Additionally, Noor speaks publicly on behalf of the publication at professional events. Can you say girl boss!?
View this post on InstagramI wrote you all something. Full letter at bit.ly/Tagouri •• #linkinbio
A post shared by NOOR نور (@noor) on
3. She became an Internet sensation after a hashtag she created went viral.
In Jan. 2016, Noor created the hashtag, #LetNoorShine, which quickly went viral. In an interview with Marie Claire, Noor explained the hashtag developed after she posted a picture from a moment during her internship at CBS. “As an intern for CBS, I would shadow the anchors. I sat down at the desk and a friend snapped the photo,” she told Marie Claire. “That night, I posted that photo as my Facebook profile picture… I got such a huge response, and I realized that I had to do something with this. So my cousin and I decided to come up with a hashtag, and she suggested #LetNoorShine. My name Noor means “light,” so [it would be about] inspiring others to let their lights shine. The idea was that the color of my skin, what I’m wearing on my head, my sex, my sexual orientation—none of that will stop me!” That is SO cool!
4. Noor started a clothing line to empower women and combat sex trafficking.
Shortly after her success with the #LetNoorShine tag, the journalist launched #TheNoorEffect, a clothing line that focuses on empowering women and combating sex trafficking in May 2016. The online clothing brand sells a collection of jackets, hats, and shirts with the word “girl” crossed out. Is there anything she can’t do?
5. Her dream is to become the first hijabi anchor on commercial U.S. television.
In her interview with Playboy, Noor revealed that her biggest dream is to become the first hijab-wearing anchor on U.S. television. While she’s definitely on her way, she said the biggest challenge thus far is “getting people to trust you enough to tell their stories.” But she says by opening up and being vulnerable as an anchor enables those break-throughs with her sources. And Noor says the wait for a hijabi anchor may be over soon enough. “I’m still figuring out who I am as a storyteller… But I can tell you that you’ll be seeing me on TV soon!” We can’t wait to see what’s next for Noor!
HollywoodLifers, were there some things that you learned about Noor? Let us know!