Glitter Girl founder Sophia Rizzo named 2025 ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls

A Gold Coast entrepreneur who launched a global glitter brand at just 10 years old has snagged a major new role after baker Brooke Bellamy was sensationally dropped.

When one high-profile brand lost its sparkle to controversy, it was the moment for the Gold Coast’s own Glitter Girl to shine.

Marymount College student Sophia Rizzo, 17, who won the Gold Coast Bulletin Harvey Norman Young Woman of the Year Award in 2022 when she was just 14, has just been named the 2025 ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls, becoming the face for their GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) leadership program.

Her appointment comes after influencer baker Brooke Bellamy, the owner of Brooki Bakehouse and author of Bake with Brooki, was dropped as an ambassador for the federally funded program after fellow cookbook author Nagi Maehashi accused her of plagiarism. Ms Bellamy denied the accusations.

However, that bitter ending has now turned into sweet success for teen business queen Sophia, who launched her global glitter brand at just 10 years old.

She will share her secrets of success in an exclusive keynote address for students taking part in the GLOW initiative, which launched for the first time last year with author and entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake as its face and keynote speaker.

Glitter Girl Sophia Rizzo has been named the 2025 ambassador for the Academy of Enterprising Girls and the face of their GLOW leadership program. Picture: Supplied

Sophia, who also last month released a limited-edition glitter toothpaste in a collaboration with Burleigh-based HiSmile, said she was thrilled to be filling the shoes of successful female entrepreneurs.

“It’s so exciting to be part of such an incredible academy with such an amazing community of

women involved,” she said.

“I feel like I’m the perfect demographic for this role … I know what it’s like to be studying businesses in school and it all seems so unattainable. But when girls hear my story it’s relatable, they can see how someone can start small with a simple idea and grow.

“My story is achievable and supporting others has always been the ethos of Glitter Girl.”

Launching her glittering business idea from a unicorn notebook while still in primary school, Sophia has gone from selling her first pots of glitter in 2017 to turning over $350,000 per year with new products regularly dropping.

Now she’s even planning to expand into the lucrative US market.

“I create custom eyeshadow palettes for cheer teams here in Australia, and I’m hoping to break into the US market with our makeup,” she said.

“You have to dream big to make it big.”

Sophia Rizzo with her Young Woman of the Year Award in 2022. Picture: Richard Gosling.

And that’s exactly what the Academy for Enterprising Girls is banking on.

Funded by the Australian Government’s Office for Women and supported by the

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, the Academy delivers free design, thinking and careers workshops in schools to help students think like an entrepreneur and start their own business one day.

Teachers across the country can access the Academy’s free resources, including Lesson Plans and Assessment Guidelines, with online eLearning modules aligned to the Australian Curriculum.

The GLOW initiative focuses on girls aged 16-18, who are encouraged to design and host their own leadership events at school as part of the DIY series, including assembling panels of local women in leadership and running morning teas for their school community.

“We look forward to the impact she’ll have in classrooms across the country as a keynote speaker for the GLOW initiative to help ignite creativity and leadership in girls and young women across Australia,” said Council of Small Business Organisations Australia head of programs Nicole Walsh.

Originally published as Glitter Girl founder Sophia Rizzo named 2025 ambassador for the Academy for Enterprising Girls