TIME(@TIME):Even if you didn’t binge-watch 'Love Island USA' Season 7 last summer, you’ve probably seen Olandria Carthen pop up on social media. Though she didn’t win the season, Carthen was the breakout star of the franchise, immediately becoming a fan favorite not just for her style, sparkle, and storyline, but also because of how open and vulnerable she was about representing dark-skinned Black women on reality TV. When playing TIME’s game of telephone on at Thursday night's TIME100 Creators Party with Julian Shapiro-Barnum, she put it simply, “I broke the standard." See more from the celebration here:

2026.08.01 15:00

Even if you didn’t binge-watch 'Love Island USA' Season 7 last summer, you’ve probably seen Olandria Carthen pop up on social media. Though she didn’t win the season, Carthen was the breakout star of the franchise, immediately becoming a fan favorite not just for her style, sparkle, and storyline, but also because of how open and vulnerable she was about representing dark-skinned Black women on reality TV. When playing TIME’s game of telephone on at Thursday night's TIME100 Creators Party with Julian Shapiro-Barnum, she put it simply, “I broke the standard." See more from the celebration here: