Top 100 Famous Women in History

100

of 100

Rachel Carson

Pioneer environmentalist Rachel Carson wrote the book that helped create the environmentalist movement in the late 20th century.

99

of 100

Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan brought modern dance to the world, while living (and dying) with personal tragedy.

98

of 100

Artemisia

Ruler of Halicarnassus, Artemisia helped Xerxes defeat the Greeks and then helped talk him into abandoning the war against the Greeks.

97

of 100

Martha Graham

Martha Graham was a dancer and choreographer best known as a leader of the modern dance expressionist movement, expressing emotion through dance.

96

of 100

Davis's support for revolutionary Black activist George Jackson led to her arrest as a conspirator in the abortive attempt to free Jackson from a Marin County, California, courtroom. Angela Davis was acquitted of all charges and became a renowned teacher and writer about feminism, Black issues, and economics.

95

of 100

Golda Meir

Golda Meir, a labor activist, Zionist, and politician, was the fourth prime minister of the state of Israel and second woman prime minister in the world. The Yom Kippur War, between Arabs and Israelis, was fought during her term as prime minister.

94

of 100

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the world to graduate from medical school. Blackwell was also a pioneer in the education of women in medicine.

93

of 100

Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein was a writer and associate of many of the 20th century's cutting-edge writers and artists. Her salon in Paris was a center of modernist culture. She's known for her stream-of-consciousness style.

92

of 100

Caroline Kennedy

A proponent of her own privacy and that of her family, Caroline Kennedy (Schlossberg) is a lawyer and writer who has been in the public eye since her father, John F. Kennedy, took office as President in 1961. Her books include a 1995 book on privacy.

91

of 100

Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead was an American anthropologist whose groundbreaking work, especially in Samoa in the 1920s, was strongly critiqued after her death. She emphasized cultural evolution and personal observation.

90

of 100

Jane Addams

A pioneer in social work, Jane Addams founded Hull-House in the 19th century and led it well into the 20th. She was also active in peace and feminist work.

89

of 100

Lena Horne

The sultry singer began at Harlem's Cotton Club and rose to stardom in both the film and music industries, even as she struggled to overcome the limitations placed on her career by racism.

88

of 100

Margaret Sanger

Margaret L. Sanger — Bettmann/Getty Images

After seeing the suffering caused by unwanted and unplanned pregnancies among the poor women she served as a nurse, Margaret Sanger took up a lifetime cause: the availability of birth control information and devices.

87

of 100

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Stanton Reading at Table — Bettmann/Getty Images

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the intellectual leader and strategist of the 19th century's women's rights movement, though her friend and lifelong partner in activism, Susan B. Anthony, was more of a public face to the movement.

86

of 100

Erma Bombeck

Erma Bombeck's humor helped document the life of women in the 20th century as wives and mothers in suburban homes.

85

of 100

Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane was one of the best-known women of the American "Wild West." Scandalous enough as a woman who dressed as a man and infamous for drinking and fighting, she embellished her life story considerably.

84

of 100

Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë was one of three brilliant sisters, writers of the 19th century, each of whom died while still relatively young. Charlotte's best-known work is the novel Jane Eyre, which drew from her own experience as a student in an inhumane school and as a governess.

83

of 100

Ida Tarbell

Muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell was one of the few women to succeed in that circle. She exposed the predatory pricing practices of John D. Rockefeller, and her articles about his company helped bring about the downfall of Standard Oil of New Jersey.

82

of 100

Hypatia

Bettmann/Getty Images

Hypatia is known as the ancient world's most famous woman mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer. Her enemy, Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, may have called for her death. She was a pagan martyr, torn apart by a mob of Christian monks.

81

of 100

Colette

A French novelist of the 20th century, Colette was noted for her unconventional and risqué themes and lifestyle.

80

of 100

Sacagawea

1805: Sacajawea interprets Lewis and Clark's intentions to the Chinook Indians — MPI/Getty Images

Sacagawea (or Sacajawea) guided the Lewis and Clark expedition, not completely of her own volition. In 1999 her image was selected for the U.S. dollar coin.

79

of 100

Judy Collins

Part of the 1960s folk revival, with music that is still popular today, Judy Collins made history by singing during the Chicago 7 conspiracy trial.

78

of 100

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams was the wife of the second U.S. president and mother of the sixth. Her intellect and lively wit come alive in her many letters, which were preserved.

77

of 100

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher was the first woman prime minister in Europe. She's also, to this date, the longest-serving British prime minister since 1894. Famous (or infamous) for her conservative politics, she also presided over the British retaking of the Falkland Islands from Argentina.

76

of 100

Sally Ride

Sally Ride was a nationally ranked tennis player, but she chose physics over sports and ended up as the first American woman astronaut in space, a NASA planner, and a science professor.

75

of 100

Emily Brontë

Emily Bronte — Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Emily Brontë was the middle of the three famous novelist and poet sisters of the 19th century, along with Charlotte Brontë and Anne Brontë. Emily Brontë is best remembered for her dark and unusual novel, "Wuthering Heights." She's also credited as a major influence, in her poetry, on Emily Dickinson.

74

of 100

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut reigned as Pharaoh of Egypt about 3,500 years ago, taking on the titles, powers, and ceremonial clothing of a male ruler. Her successor tried to wipe her name and image from history; fortunately for our knowledge of this early woman leader, he did not entirely succeed.

73

of 100

Salome

Biblical character Salome is known for asking her stepfather, Antipas, for the head of John the Baptist, when he offered her a reward for her dancing at his birthday feast. Salome's mother, Herodias, had prearranged for this request with her daughter. Salome's story was adapted into a drama by Oscar Wilde and an opera by Richard Strauss, based on the Wilde drama. Another woman named Salome was present at the crucifixion of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Mark.

72

of 100

Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India and a member of a prominent Indian political family. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, and two of her sons were also Indian prime ministers.

71

of 100

Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter was a fictional character who represented the World War II civilian service on the homefront in the factory of many American women. She has come to represent all the industrial women workers in the war effort. After the war, many "Rosies" once again took up traditional domestic roles as housewives and mothers.

70

of 100

Mother Jones

A labor organizer, Mother Jones was born in Ireland and didn't become active in labor causes until she was in her late 50s. She's best known for her support of mine workers in several key strikes.

69

of 100

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary was the Queen of France (as a consort) and Queen of Scotland (in her own right); her marriages caused scandal, and her Catholic religion and kinship with England's Queen Elizabeth I caused enough suspicion of her motives that Elizabeth had her executed.

68

of 100

Lady Godiva

Did Lady Godiva really ride naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry to protest a tax imposed by her husband?

67

of 100

Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston was by profession an anthropologist and folklorist. Her novels, including "Their Eyes Were Watching God," have enjoyed a revival in popularity since the 1970s, thanks to the efforts of writer Alice Walker.

66

of 100

Nikki Giovanni

African American poet Nikki Giovanni's early work was influenced by the Black Power movement. Her later work reflects her experience as a single mother.

65

of 100

Mary Cassatt

A rare woman among the Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt often focused on themes of mothers and children. Her work gained in recognition after her death.

64

of 100

Julia Child

Julia Child is known as the author of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Her popular books, television cooking shows, and videos kept her in the public eye. Less well known: her brief spy career.

63

of 100

Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters, the award-winning journalist specializing in interviews, was, at one time, the highest-paid woman news anchor.

62

of 100

Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe was an American painter with a unique, spare style. In her later years, she moved to New Mexico, where she painted many desert scenes.

61

of 100

Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter, performed with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, at first with her husband Frank Butler and later as a solo act.

60

of 100

Willa Cather

Willa Sibert Cather — Bettmann/Getty Images

Willa Cather, novelist, documented many periods of American culture, including the settling of the pioneer West.

59

of 100

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker was an exotic dancer who found fame in Paris, helped with the Nazi resistance, was accused of communist sympathies, worked for racial equality, and died shortly after her 1970s comeback.

58

of 100

Janet Reno

Janet Reno was the first woman to hold the office of U.S. attorney general. She's remembered for her toughness and for several controversies during her tenure.

57

of 100

Emily Post

Emily Post first published her "Etiquette" book in 1922, and her family has continued her legacy of flexible, commonsense advice on good manners.

56

of 100

Queen Isabella

Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504). Engraving. Colored. — Isabella I of Castile.

Ipsumpix/Getty Images

Queen Isabella ranks as the 45th most searched woman: but there are several Queen Isabellas whom internet searchers might have been looking up. A likely favorite search was for Isabella of Castile, the erudite ruler who helped unite Spain, supported Columbus' voyage, drove the Jews from Spain, and instituted the Spanish Inquisition. But perhaps some searchers were looking for Isabella of France, queen consort of Edward II of England, who helped arrange his abdication and murder, then ruled with her lover as regent for her son. Other possible searches were for Isabella II of Spain, whose marriage and behavior helped stir up Europe's 19th-century political turmoil or Queen Isabella of Portugal, who served as regent of Spain during her husband's long absences.

55

of 100

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was the first woman to earn a medical degree from the University of Rome. She applied learning methods she developed for mentally disabled children to children with intelligence in the normal range. The Montessori method, still popular today, is child- and experience-centered.

54

of 100

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn, a 20th-century film actress, often played strong women at a time when conventional wisdom said that traditional roles were all that would sell movie tickets.

53

of 100

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Abraham Lincoln suggested that Harriet Beecher Stowe was the woman who started the Civil War. Her "Uncle Tom's Cabin" certainly stirred up a lot of anti-enslavement sentiment, but she wrote on more subjects than abolitionism.

52

of 100

Sappho

Ancient Greece's best-known poet, Sappho is also known for the company she kept: mostly women. She has been alternately famous and infamous for writing about her passionate relationships with women. She lived on the island of Lesbos: is it fair to call her a lesbian?

51

of 100

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth was best known as a North American 19th-century Black activist, but she was also a preacher and spoke for women's rights.

50

of 100

Catherine the Great

Catherine II of Russia. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Catherine the Great was the ruler of Russia after she had her husband deposed. She was responsible for the expansion of Russia into Central Europe and to the shores of the Black Sea.

49

of 100

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley, the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley and later wrote the novel "Frankenstein" as part of a bet with Shelley and his friend George, Lord Byron.

48

of 100

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall observed and documented the life of chimps in the wild from 1970 into the 1990s, tirelessly working for the better treatment of chimpanzees.

47

of 100

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel was one of the 20th century's best-known fashion designers. Her look helped define the 1920s and the 1950s.

46

of 100

Anais Nin

The diaries of Anaïs Nin, first published in the 1960s when she was more than 60 years old, frankly discuss her life, her many loves and lovers, and her self-discovery quest.

45

of 100

Isabel Allende

Journalist Isabel Allende fled Chile when her uncle, the president, was assassinated. After leaving her homeland, she turned to writing novels that look at life, especially women's lives, with both mythology and realism.

44

of 100

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison won the 1993 Nobel Prize for literature and is known for writing about the experience of Black women.

43

of 100

Betsy Ross

Even if Betsy Ross didn't make the first American flag (she may not have, despite the legend), her life and work shed light on the experience of women in colonial and revolutionary America.

42

of 100

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette, Queen Consort to Louis XVI of France, was unpopular with the French people, and ultimately was executed during the French Revolution.

41

of 100

Mata Hari

Mata Hari, one of history's most infamous spies, was executed in 1917 by the French for spying for the Germans. Was she guilty as charged?

40

of 100

Jackie Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy during her official visit to Paris 1961 — RDA/Getty Images

Jackie Kennedy (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) first came to public attention as the fashionable and graceful wife of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. She served as First Lady from 1961 until her husband's assassination in 1963, and she later married Aristotle Onassis.

39

of 100

Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet, colonial American woman, was America's first poet. Her experiences and writings provide insight into the experience of the early Puritans in New England.

38

of 100

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott is best known as author of "Little Women," and less well known for her service as a Civil War nurse and for her friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson.

37

of 100

Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty, known as a Southern writer, was a six-time winner of the O. Henry Award for Short Stories. Her many other awards include the National Medal for Literature, the American Book Award, and, in 1969, a Pulitzer Prize.

36

of 100

Molly Pitcher

Molly Pitcher was the name given in several varying stories about women who fought in the American Revolution. Some of these stories may be based on events that happened to a Mary Hays McCauley, who is most commonly associated with the name "Molly Pitcher," and some may be about a Margaret Corbin. (Molly was a common nickname for "Mary," which was itself a very common name of the time.)

35

of 100

Joan Baez

Joan Baez, part of the 1960s folk revival, is also known for her advocacy of peace and human rights.

34

of 100

Eva Peron

Maria Eva Duarte Peron — Bettmann/Getty Images

Señora Maria Eva Duarte de Perón, known as Eva Perón or Evita Perón, was an actress who married Argentian Juan Perón and helped him win the presidency, becoming active in politics and the labor movement herself.

33

of 100

Lizzie Borden

"Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks." Or did she? Lizzie Borden was accused (and acquitted) of the murders of her father and stepmother. Recent books investigating the murders come to contradictory conclusions. It appears this mystery will never be definitively resolved.

32

of 100

Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan, a champion figure skater, is remembered by many for her Olympic performances, though the gold medal eluded her.

31

of 100

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan and nicknamed Lady Day) was a dazzling jazz singer who came from a tough past and struggled against racial discrimination and her own addictions.

30

of 100

Alice Walker

Alice Walker, African American novelist and author of "The Color Purple," as well as an activist, depicted sexism, racism, and poverty that were met with the strengths of family, community, self-worth, and spirituality.

29

of 100

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf, a prominent modernist English writer of the early 20th century, wrote many novels and essays, including "A Room of One's Own," an essay asserting and defending women's creative potential.

28

of 100

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand, mother of objectivism, was, in the words of Scott McLemee, "the single most important novelist and philosopher of the 20th century. Or so she admitted with all due modesty, whenever the subject came up."

27

of 100

Clara Barton

Clara Barton, a pioneering nurse who served as an administrator in the Civil War and who helped identify missing soldiers at the end of the war, is credited as the founder of the American Red Cross.

26

of 100

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda, an actress who was the daughter of actor Henry Fonda, was controversial over her Vietnam-era anti-war activities. She was also central to the fitness craze of the 1970s.

25

of 100

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was his "eyes and ears" when he could not travel freely due to his disability. Her positions on issues like civil rights were often ahead of her husband's and the rest of the country. She was key in establishing the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.

24

of 100

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was the best-known of the "first wave" supporters of women's rights. Her long support of women's suffrage helped the movement succeed, though she did not live to see it achieved.

23

of 100

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria of Great Britain ruled at a time when her nation was a great empire, and her name was given to an entire age.

22

of 100

Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland — Print Collector/Getty Images

Which Queen Elizabeth is meant in the internet searches? There's Queen Elizabeth I of England, or her much-later relative, Queen Elizabeth II. Then there's Queen Elizabeth who was also known as the Winter Queen and a whole lot of others.

21

of 100

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale practically invented the profession of nursing. She also brought sanitary conditions to soldiers in wars, at a time when more soldiers typically died of disease than of injuries in battle.

20

of 100

Pocahontas

Pocahontas was a real person, not much like the Disney cartoon portrayal of her. Her role in the early English settlement of Virginia was key to survival of the colonists. Did she save John Smith? Maybe, maybe not.

19

of 100

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart, a pioneer aviator (aviatrix), set many records before her 1937 disappearance during an attempt to fly around the world. As a daring woman, she became an icon when the organized women's movement had virtually disappeared.

18

of 100

Marie Curie

Marie Curie was the first well-known woman scientist in the modern world and is known as the "mother of modern physics" for her research in radioactivity. She won two Nobel Prizes: for physics (1903) and chemistry (1911).

17

of 100

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple Black was a child actress who charmed movie audiences. She later served as an ambassador.

16

of 100

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball is best known for her television shows, but she also appeared in dozens of films, was a Ziegfeld Girl, and was a successful businesswoman—the first woman to own a film studio.

15

of 100

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton, First Lady as wife to President Bill Clinton (1994–2001), was an attorney and reform advocate before moving to the White House. She then made history by being elected to the Senate, serving as secretary of state, and twice running for president. During her second run in 2016, she became the first female presidential candidate in U.S. history to be nominated by a major political party.

14

of 100

Helen Keller

The story of Helen Keller has inspired millions. Though she was deaf and blind after a childhood illness, with the support of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, she learned signing and Braille, graduated from Radcliffe, and helped change the world's perception of the disabled.

13

of 100

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks is best known for her refusal to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and her subsequent arrest, which kicked off a bus boycott and accelerated the civil rights movement.

12

of 100

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, a poet and novelist, is known for her beautiful words and big heart.

11

of 100

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman, conductor of the Underground Railroad during the era of enslavement in America, was also a Civil War nurse and spy, and an advocate for civil rights and women's rights.

10

of 100

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter whose style reflected Mexican folk culture and her own pain and suffering, both physical and emotional.

09

of 100

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, from Yugoslavia, decided early in her life that she had a religious vocation to serve the poor, and went to India to serve. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

08

of 100

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, is also one of America's most successful businesspeople and a philanthropist.

07

of 100

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake after she helped restore the King of France to his throne. She was later canonized.

06

of 100

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson c. 1846 — Culture Club/Getty Images

Emily Dickinson, who published little during her lifetime and was a noted recluse, revolutionized poetry with her verse.

05

of 100

Diana, Princess of Wales

Anwar Hussein Collection — Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Diana, Princess of Wales—known as Princess Diana—captured hearts around the world with her fairy-tale romance, marital struggles, and then an untimely death.

04

of 100

Anne Frank

Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl in the Netherlands, kept a diary during the time she and her family were hiding from the Nazis. She did not survive her time in a concentration camp, but her diary still speaks of hope in the midst of war and persecution.

03

of 100

Cleopatra

Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, had infamous liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony while trying to keep Egypt out of Rome's clutches. She chose death rather than captivity when she lost this battle.

02

of 100

Marilyn Monroe

Actress and icon Marilyn Monroe was discovered while working in a World War II defense plant. She was considered an icon and epitomized a certain image for women in the 1940s and 1950s.

01

of 100

Madonna

Madonna: Which one? The singer and sometimes-actress—and very successful self-promoter and businesswoman? The mother of Jesus? The image of Mary and other saintly mothers in medieval paintings? Yes, "Madonna" is the No. 1 woman of history searched for year after year on the internet—even if the searches are certainly for more than one woman.

The 100 Top-Searched Women of History

Golda Meir

Erma Bombeck

Judy Collins

Salome

Julia Child

Georgia O'Keeffe

Michelle Kwan

Ayn Rand

Shirley Temple

Lucille Ball

Oprah Winfrey

Marilyn Monroe

Madonna