From Combat Boots to Crowns: Raquel Riley Thomas Redefines Power

From Combat Boots to Crowns: Raquel Riley Thomas Redefines Power

October 5, 2025 / Vanity Fair Fashion /

The first time I meet Raquel Riley Thomas, she walks into the room with the composure of a general and the grace of a queen. She offers a firm handshake, her eyes steady, her posture unshakable. There is something magnetic about her presence—an alchemy of discipline, glamour, and lived experience that makes you believe, instantly, that this is a woman who has lived a dozen lives in one.

And she has.

Her story begins not in a ballroom, but on the front lines of storytelling. In 1990, Raquel graduated from the Defense Information School of Technology and became a photojournalist for the U.S. Army. “I learned to see people at their most vulnerable,” she tells me, her voice measured but warm. “It taught me the value of capturing truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.” By 1998, she had earned her degree in Psychology from Hampton University, a Distinguished Military Graduate of its ROTC program, and had completed the Officer’s Leadership Course. She left the Army as a Captain, with commendations, medals, and an instinct for leadership that never faded.

But Raquel is not a woman who stays still. In 2011, she founded An Officer and GentleWoman, LLC, her global media and entertainment company headquartered in Washington, DC. In just over a decade, the company has amassed more than 75 awards, with clients featured in over 5,000 appearances across print, television, and radio. “The Army gave me discipline. Business taught me strategy,” she says. “I tell my clients if I can protect my country, I can protect your company.”

Still, there was another chapter waiting for her—one in sequins, not stripes. A six-time beauty queen presently crowned Elite Queen of the World 2025, Raquel brought her military precision to the stage. To her, the pageant world was not an escape from service but an extension of it. “Pageantry gave me a platform,” she tells me, “but service gave me purpose.”

That purpose crystallized in 2013 when she lost her mother, M. Riley, to suicide. The revelation that her mother had been a survivor of assault reshaped Raquel’s life. She launched DefendRILEY, an initiative offering hands-on self-defense and personal safety training for women and girls. Today, with high rank in Taekwondo, Raquel mentors children in national programs and works toward her Master level black belt certification.

Her humanitarian reach extends far beyond her own initiatives: Luke’s Wings, Women Vets Rock, No Kid Hungry, Stand Up for Kids, Victoria’s Voice—the list goes on. She serves as Publicist for the Southeast Chapter of the Emmys, sits on the Advisory Board of Operation Renewed Hope Foundation, and is a proud Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

Raquel embodies paradoxes: combat boots and couture gowns, Harvard negotiations and martial arts sparring, boardrooms and ballrooms. But the through-line is clear: she is always serving, always protecting, always giving.

As we wrap our conversation, I ask her what ties all these chapters together. She doesn’t hesitate. “I’ve worn many titles,” she says, her gaze steady. “Soldier. CEO. Queen. But the one I cherish most is humanitarian. Because if my life can help protect or uplift someone else, then every chapter has been worth it.”

And in that moment, I understand why Raquel Riley Thomas isn’t just our cover star. She is a symbol of what reinvention, resilience, and true power look like.

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I focus on highlighting the latest in news and politics. With a passion for bringing fresh perspectives to the forefront, I aim to share stories that inspire progress, critical thinking, and informed discussions on today's most pressing issues.

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