It’s been a wee while since we marked International Women’s Daywith a new feature. As it’s the 115th anniversary of the earliest iteration of IWD—a sui generisFebruary 1909 event organised by the Socialist Party of America in New York City as “Woman’s Day”—it felt timely to compile a lovely list of the 115 most inspirational, trailblazing and pioneering females to have made their mark on Planet Earth.
Over the last century, the rights and roles of women have changed beyond all recognition. But one thing that’s remained constant is the sheer number of awe-inspiring members of the fairer sex that have existed all over the world.
From the Suffragette filly to the Dutch diarist, the Greek singer to the American Oscar winner who directed this writer in Zero Dark Thirty, these are the formidable femmes who challenged, shaped and smashed the status quo.
Social reformers, artists, activists, performers, politicians, sports figures, scientists, and other outstanding women, both famous and obscure all feature. Many are feminist mainstays, while several are controversial figures who divide opinion. But there is no question that they all had a hand in altering the course of history; some of them even subtly having their hands on the gear stick while the nearest and dearest played figurehead.
You say you want a revolution? Well, it started here…
Iman Abdulmajid (1955–present)
Maya Angelou (1928–2014)
Joan of Arc (c.1412–1431)
Jacinda Ardern (1980–present)
Nancy Astor (1879–1964)
Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Joan Baez (1941–present)
Josephine Baker (1906–1975)
Lucille Ball (1911–1989)
Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington (1922–2018)
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)
Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982)
Beyoncé (1981–present)
Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007)
Cherie Blair (1954–present)
Kathryn Bigelow (1951–present)
The Bond Girl (1962–present)
Betty Boothroyd (1929–2023)
Angie Bowie (1949–present)
Barbara Broccoli (1960–present)
Emily Brontë (1818–1848)
Kate Bush (1958–present)
Maria Callas (1923–1977)
Catherine the Great (1762–1796)
Edith Cavell (1865–1915)
Coco Chanel (1883–1971)
Agatha Christie (1890–1976)
Madonna Ciccone (1958–present)
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (c. 69–c. 30 BC)
Hillary Clinton (1947–present)
Claudette Colvin (1939–2026)
Sinéad O’Connor (1966–2023)
Fanny Cradock (1909–1994)
Joan Crawford (1904–1977)
Marie Curie (1867–1934)
Angela Davis (1944–present)
Bette Davis (1908–1989)
Judi Dench (1934–present)
Joan Didion (1934–2021)
Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992)
Amelia Earhart (1897–1939)
Agnetha Fältskog & Anni-Frid Lyngstad (1945–present)
Ella Fitzgerald 1917–1996)
Jane Fonda (1937–present)
Anne Frank (1929–1945)
Aretha Franklin (1942–2018)
Anna Freud (1895–1982)
Lady Gaga (1986–present)
Indira Gandhi (1917–1984)
Greta Garbo (1905–1990)
Judy Garland (1922–1969)
Mona Lisa del Giocondo (1479–1542)
Noele Gordon (1919–1985)
Katharine Graham (1917–2001)
Germaine Greer (1939–present)
Björk Guðmundsdóttir (1965–present)
Jerry Hall (1956–present)
Mata Hari (1876–1917)
Debbie Harry (1945–present)
Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993)
Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003)
Billie Holiday (1915–1959)
Chrissie Hynde (1951–present)
Grace Jones (1951–present)
Frida Kahlo (1907–1954)
Helen Keller (1880–1968)
Grace Kelly (1929–1982)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929–1994)
Billie Jean King (1943–present)
Gladys Knight (1944–present)
Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000)
Annie Lennox (1954–present)
Judith Leyster (1609–1660)
Vera Lynn (1917–2020)
Golda Meir (1898–1978)
Joni Mitchell (1943–present)
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)
Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
Jordan Mooney (1955–2022)
Rita Moreno (1931–present)
Nana Mouskouri (1934–present)
Martina Navratilova (1956–present)
Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
Anaïs Nin 1903–1977)
Michelle Obama (1964–present)
Yoko Ono (1933–present)
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928)
Rosa Parks (1913–2005)
Dolly Parton (1946–present)
Patricia Phoenix (1923–1986)
Eve Pollard (1943–present)
Gina Rinehart (1954–present)
Joan Rivers (1933–2014)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
Diana Ross & The Supremes (1939–present)
J.K. Rowling (1965–present)
Sappho (c. 630–c. 570 BC)
Jennifer Saunders & Joanna Lumley (1946–present)
Corinne ‘Coco’ Schwab (1947–present)
Nina Simone (1933–2003)
Siouxsie Sioux (1957–present)
Maggie Smith (1934–2024)
Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales (1961–1997)
The Spice Girls (1972–present)
Dusty Springfield (1939–1999)
Meryl Streep (1949–present)
Barbra Streisand (1942–present)
Donna Summer (1948–2012)
Taylor Swift (1989–present)
Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011)
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013)
Greta Thunberg (2003–present)
Ivana Trump (1949–2022)
Tina Turner (1939–2023)
Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
Queen Victoria (1819–1901)
Dionne Warwick (1940–present)
Sigourney Weaver (1949–present)
Vivienne Westwood (1941–2022)
The Williams sisters (1980–present)
Oprah Winfrey (1954–present)
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
Leslie Zemeckis (1969–present)
Steve Pafford (1969–present)
