The second of four daughters, Quentin Bryce grew up in the small town of Ilfracombe, near Longreach, where all of the children in her family were home-schooled. Later moving to Brisbane, Quentin met her future husband Michael at school (they were [...]
Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars in 1967 – considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century. Jocelyn Bell was born in Belfast in 1943. Her father was an architect who had helped design the Armagh Planetarium, and [...]
Judi Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest British actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, and later films. Judi Dench was born in Yorkshire in 1934. She attended a Quaker school in York [...]
Businesswoman, philanthropist and women’s football pioneer Susan Alberti was named the 2018 Victorian of the Year. A defining moment in Susan's life was her journey to New York to collect her daughter Danielle who was suffering severe complications from type 1 [...]
The daughter of a career diplomat and former Ambassador to the United Nations, Masako was born in Tokyo in 1963. Growing up in several countries due to her father's career, Princess Masako is an intelligent, sporty, educated woman who speaks six [...]
Ellen got her big debut as a comedian in 1986 aged 28, on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson after working in standup for a few years and making regular appearances on the talk show circuit. Finding success as an actress [...]
Born in 1897, Amelia Earhart was an American aviation pioneer, feminist and author. Aged 23, she visited an airfield with her father where Frank Hawks gave her a ride that would change her life. "By the time I had got two [...]
Trailblazer Pat O'Shane's life is full of "firsts" - the first female Aboriginal teacher in Queensland; the first Aboriginal to earn a law degree; the first Aboriginal barrister; and the first woman and indigenous person to be the head of a [...]
As Head of Communications and chief spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Melissa Fleming works to drive empathy and generate support for the world’s 65 million refugees and displaced people. Prior to working for the UNHCR, she served [...]
From an early age Tenley had two ambitions, to be a doctor and to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. She started skating at 9 years of age, but was diagnosed with polio the next year. Although hospitalised and [...]
Yayoi is an 89 year old Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, but is also active in painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry and fiction. She has been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to [...]
British born Cecilia Payne is the reason we know basically anything about variable stars (stars whose brightness as seen from earth fluctuates) as literally every other study on variable stars is based on her work. Cecilia won a scholarship to Cambridge [...]
In January 2017, Susan Kiefel was sworn in as the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of Australia. That she came into the law without any prior social or family connection, marked her as an outlier in the upper echelons [...]
As a young gymnast from Belarus, Olga Korbut was nicknamed the "Sparrow from Minsk", winning four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in 1972 and 1976 for the Soviet team. She also won an individual gold [...]
A specialist in cabaret, Robyn Archer has released 10 solo albums, several more as collaborations, and written 20-odd shows for theatre, including The Pack of Women which was adapted into a TV special for the ABC. Born in Adelaide, Robyn was [...]
A prolific author and activist, American Barbara Deming is known for her nonviolent political activism. She directed plays, taught dramatic literature and wrote and published fiction and non-fiction works. On a trip to India in 1959, inspired by Gandhi's writings, Barbara [...]
As CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), Violet Roumeliotis was named Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year for 2017 – selected from 4000 entrants for her work building her not-for-profit organisation that helps settle refugees in Australia. Growing up as [...]
An anti-trust and labour lawyer, Christine Lagarde was the first female chair of major international law firm Baker & McKenzie, between 1999 and 2004. Born into a family of academics, as a teenager, Christine was a member of the French national [...]
Born in Belgium, Diane initially rose to prominence when she married German Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Following their divorce, she has continued to use his family name. Studying economics at Madrid University and University of Geneva, Diane worked with a fashion [...]
Gerda Lerner was a historian and scholar who pioneered the field of women's history. Born in Vienna, Gerda became involved in the anti-Nazi resistance in 1938. After spending 6 weeks in gaol, Gerda was sponsored to emigrate to the United States. [...]
General Ann Dunwoody (retired) is the first woman in US military history to achieve a four star officer rank. Her father, Brigadier General Dunwoody, was a highly decorated veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and [...]
The feminist author is known for the strong portrayals of women she gives in her works. Born into a Chilean family with political ties, she went into exile in the United States in the 1970s – an event that, she believes, [...]
Hired as the first female photojournalist by LIFE magazine in 1936, one of Margaret's photos was featured on the cover of the very first issue of the famous news magazine. For decades, Bourke-White travelled the world photographing key events of her [...]
It was during her childhood that Lente developed a great love for animals and the African bushveld. At just six years old Lente was given an orphaned cheetah cub after a neighbouring farmer had shot its mother. Together, Lente and her [...]
Born in 1950 in Vermont, USA., Jody Williams learned to hate injustice at an early age when she witnessed fellow school children ruthlessly bullying her brother who was deaf and suffered from schizophrenia. Williams spent eleven years on various projects related [...]
The eldest of four daughters of a farming family based in the Waikato region, Helen graduated with an MA (Honours) from the University of Auckland in 1974, majoring in politics. As a teenager Helen became politically active, protesting against the Vietnam [...]
Born in Italy in 1870, Maria Montessori enrolled in the University of Rome's school of medicine in 1893. As a woman, she faced hostility from both fellow students and professors, but despite opposition, graduated with her degree and set up a [...]
In 1961, after Yuri Gagarin had beaten the Americans to become the first man in space, the Soviets decided to also go for the accolade of first woman in space. Tereshkova was selected out of 400 applicants, largely due to her [...]
It was 1984 and Ruth Coker Burks was just 25 years old when she came across a young gay man dying alone in the hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. She tried reaching out to his mother, but she had no intention [...]
Carmen Yulín Cruz is the elected mayor of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, since 2012. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located approximately 1,600 km southeast of Miami, Florida. Puerto Ricans are by law citizens [...]
Born in Melbourne, Armstrong attended Swinburne Technical College with the intention of becoming a theatre costume designer, but became increasingly interested in film. In 1972 Armstrong won a scholarship to join the first 12 students at Australia’s first and only film [...]
A self-trained Australian Bush nurse, Elizabeth Kenny was famous in the 1930s and 1940s for developing a controversial new approach for treating victims of polio. Instead of the conventional treatment of placing affected limbs in plaster casts, Kenny applied hot compresses [...]
Shirin studied law at the University of Tehran and passed the judicial qualification exams upon her graduation in 1969, continuing her studies, to earn a Ph.D. in law. As a lawyer, she is known for taking up pro bono cases of [...]
After learning 80 percent of those who drowned during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were women and children, British swimming instructor Christina Fonfé left her life in England behind to teach Sri Lankan women and girls basic swimming survival skills. Christina [...]
Marin Alsop was born in New York City to professional musician parents, and was educated at the Masters School. She attended Yale University, but later transferred to the Juilliard School, where she earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in violin. [...]
Shirley Smith was a social worker and humanitarian activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians. A Wiradjuri woman, she was born on Mission near Cowra, and grew up with her grandparents. Shirley began her lifelong welfare work after her [...]
Madeleine Albright paved the way for women when she became the first female Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton's administration. Her position made her the highest-ranking woman in the federal government's history – representing the US at the transfer of [...]
Michelle Robinson was raised on the South Side of Chicago, Michelle’s father suffered from multiple sclerosis, which had a profound emotional effect on her as she was growing up. She was determined to stay out of trouble and be a good [...]
Condoleezza Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up while the South was racially segregated. Her father instilled in his daughter that black people would have to prove themselves worthy of advancement, and would simply have to be "twice as [...]
Born in Alabama in 1880, Helen Keller contracted an illness which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis which left her both deaf and blind at 19 months old. When she was six years old, her mother was referred to Perkins [...]
The child of an Italian immigrant couple, Anita Roddick opened the first Body Shop in 1976 in the English seaside town of Littlehampton with the aim of making an income for herself and her two daughters while her husband was away [...]
Born in Melbourne, Sword was a promising ballet dancer but decided not to pursue it as a career. As a teen, she travelled to Bali and Jakarta with her father and brother, sparking an interest in the region. She attended Monash [...]
Dolly Parton is one of the most-honoured female country performers of all time. A composer of more than 3,000 songs, she is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony [...]
Considered one of the most unconventional and outspoken fashion designers in the world, Westwood rose to fame in the late 1970s when her early designs helped shape the look of the punk rock movement, in partnership with Malcolm McLaren, manager of [...]
Gertrude Bell was a writer, cartographer, archaeologist, and explorer who helped establish modern day Jordan and Iraq after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Both the British government and the Arab leaders claimed that she was valuable help thanks to her [...]
Barbra Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York, growing up in near-poverty after her father died suddenly when she was one year old. Although she knew her voice was good and she liked the attention it brought when she was young, [...]
As a young child, Birutė's head was filled with visions of far off forests and exotic creatures. The first book she borrowed from the library was a tale about a mischievous little monkey named Curious George. When she grew older, she [...]
