Sara Carbonero

To some she is merely the trophy girlfriend of footballer Iker Casillas. But when the British press accused her of distracting goalkeeper Casillas in the 2010 World Cup, and thus causing Spain’s shock first-round defeat to Switzerland, the response was overwhelming. Spanish newspapers, commentators and fans of every political stripe defended the sports journalist in a rare case of Spanish unity. And the Spanish wife of British deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Miriam González Durántez, sent a stinging letter to The Times in which she called on it to “treat women for who they are, and not simply for what their male partners do.”