Superstar poet Amanda Gorman has signed a three-year deal to be a “global changemaker” for Estée Lauder, the cosmetic company announced in a news release.
Gorman, who made headlines earlier this year when she became the youngest poet ever to read at a presidential inauguration, “will bring her voice of change to the Estée Lauder brand through campaigns debuting in Spring 2022,” the company said.
Estée Lauder will donate $3 million to a literacy initiative called “Writing Change” as part of the partnership.
“I’m never just lending my body or my face,” Gorman told the New York Times. “They are getting my spirit, my breath, my brain.…I realized this is my moment to tell the world what it needs to get done.”
Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Estée Lauder’s executive group president, compared Gorman to the company’s trailblazing founder and namesake.
“Amanda’s powerful presence and inspirational voice brings hope and confidence to the next generation of leaders,” Hertzmark Hudis said. “Together, we will create real and meaningful impact through literacy, voice, and self-expression.”
The partnership is the latest development in what has been an exceptionally busy year for Gorman. In February, she became the first poet to perform at the Super Bowl, and in August, she established a poetry award in conjunction with her publisher, Penguin Random House.
Gorman’s first full-length poetry collection for the publisher, Call Us What We Carry, is set for publication on Dec. 7.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
