Whether you're swiftly approaching, fondly recalling or smack bang in the middle of your thirties, the decade represents realised dreams and fresh ambitions. So what does the modern tricenarian look like? This group of game-changing women helps us shape the picture.

"I think the milestone mentally prepared me to make decisions about what I wanted and who I wanted to be. It's liberating not to think about how old you are but how far you have come as a person. In terms of dressing my age, I don't even consider that idea. Sometimes my outfits look like I'm 14 years old and I can do a pretty good nanna ensemble, too." - Anna Plunkett, designer, Romance Was Born

"In one's twenties, one feels as though there is somehow unlimited time to make decisions that are wrong for you and also experiment with things that are wrong for you. But when the decade turned, it suddenly felt as though there was no more time to waste." - Kate McKinnon, comedian, Saturday Night Live

"Your twenties come with a lot of anxiety around big life questions: what are you going to do with your career? Who are you going to end up with? Where are you going to live? In your thirties, you just know yourself better." - Lauren Bush Lauren, philanthropist

"I feel as if I'm reaching a new level of responsibility with regard to my physical upkeep that I previously didn't care about. I was like, 'I'm grungy'. Now I’m like, 'I'm an adult. I need to act like it'." - Emily Weiss, founder and CEO, Into The Gloss and Glossier

"I was a weird kid - I wanted to be Evel Knievel. Things aren't quite the same now, but my mantra is 'ride or die'. At 30, I cannot find a fuck to give about what people think about my life, and that's the best." - Megan McCain, author

"I've embraced ageing from both identities, as a woman and as an actress. Honestly, wisdom allows you to have a more fulfilled life. And as an actress, I think it's great when you're too old to play dumb." - Olivia Wilde, actress

"I wish I could go back to high school and be that transgender homecoming queen. I wish I could've been that brave, but I had to go out and experience the world in order to understand my own strength.” - Carmen Carrera, model and actress

"I was dreading turning 30. I spent the year before tormenting myself with 'should be' lists: I should be in a relationship by now, CEO of an NGO, own a house, skinnier... I wasn't on course to do what I really wanted – to write. Somehow I found the courage to jump. By the time I turned 32, I'd given up my job in advertising, written my first book, fallen in love and was packing my bags to start a new life in Australia.” - Ellie O'Neill, author

"On the evening of my 30th birthday, I got engaged and was eight months pregnant with my first child. So let's just say it started with a bang! The most vivid memories I have of my parents when I was growing up are them in their thirties, so it's always correlated to being an adult for me. To be honest, I've never been scared of ageing. Maybe this will change with time, but right now, I feel more fulfilled, more confident, more loved and I have much more love to give simply because I know who I am and what I want.” - Brenda Briand, creative director, Benah

"You think, 'Oh, by the time I'm 30, I'm definitely going to have kids'. And then you don't, and you're like, that's absolutely fine." - Misha Nonoo, fashion designer

"I just chopped off my hair. Like 'Oh, people don't need to think I'm pretty to like me'." - Nanna Øland Fabricius (AKA Oh Land), singer-songwriter

"An amazing script recently came my way. I loved it, but had to pass on it. If I were in my twenties, I would never have done that. - Shivani Rawat, film producer

"I just got married. I'm building a house. I'm probably going to get pregnant while I'm 30. I'm becoming a woman.” - Bar Refaeli, model

"I used to wonder what my life would be like at 30, but I don't know if I imagined I'd have kids [Kirke has two]. It was just like, I'm going to be able to drive and go to places by myself. I'll have money. I won't have to see my mother every day.” - Jemima Kirke, artist and actress, Girls