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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
Posie Graeme-Evans has worked in Australian film and television for the last 30 years as a director, commissioning executive and creator/producer of hundreds of hours of drama and children’s series, including the worldwide smash hit McLeod’s Daughters and Daytime Emmy nominated [...]
Beginning her career in 1929 as a model, Lucille Ball was the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy. After marrying Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940, [...]
Kerri Judd's career has included stints as a judge's associate and a defence barrister and she represented the state at the royal commissions into the Black Saturday bushfires and child sexual abuse. She also spent time in Alice Springs managing a [...]
Joanne Rowling is a British novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer and screenwriter, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have won multiple awards, and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in [...]
Sharon Salzberg is one of today’s best-known Buddhist teachers. Born in New York City in 1952, Sharon Salzberg experienced a childhood involving considerable loss and turmoil. However, the teachings of Buddhism would eventually turn her life around. Through her unique interpretation [...]
A native of France, Mireille Guiliano grew up in Lorraine amidst cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs. After a year as an exchange student in the United States, she completed her education in Paris, receiving her Master's degree in French and English literature. [...]
Elinor Catherine Hamlin is an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist who, with her husband, New Zealander Dr. Reginald Hamlin, co-founded the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The Fistula Hospital is the world's only medical centre dedicated exclusively to providing free obstetric fistula repair surgery [...]
Former Minister of Environment of Nigeria, Amina Mohammed was born in Nigeria in 1961. The eldest of five daughters, her mother is British, while her father is a Nigerian. In a 2017 article in the Guardian Ms Mohammed once confided that [...]
Social Entrepreneur Stephanie Shirley was born in 1933 as Vera Buchthal in Dortmund, Germany. Her Jewish father was a judge but lost his post to the Nazi regime. In 1939 Shirley (aged five) together with her nine-year-old sister, was sent [...]
Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro President and CEO of Global Fund for Women Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro is an activist for women and girls’ health and human rights, and passionate about using philanthropy and technology to drive social change. Born in Kenya, Musimbi traces [...]
Pam Warhurst: Eating our landscapes With energy and humour, Pam Warhurst tells the story of how she and a growing team of volunteers came together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens, and to change the narrative of [...]
Angela Merkel is currently Chancellor of Germany. She is also the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merkel has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union, the most powerful woman in the world, and the Leader [...]
Evonne Goolagong Cawley, AC, MBE is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, during which she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles (four at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon and one at [...]
"My job is giving people hope" • This video interview is part of the Human – the movie project Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in 1934 in London. Jane had always been passionate about animals and Africa, which brought her to the farm of [...]
An American portrait photographer, Anna-Lou Leibovitz was born in Connecticut, in 1949, the third of six children. Her mother Marilyn was a modern dance instructor of Estonian-Jewish heritage. Her father Samuel was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. The family [...]
Jane Seymour Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model and fitness guru. She is a two-time Academy Award winner, two-time BAFTA Award winner, and four-time Golden Globe Award winner. In 2014, Fonda was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2017, she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime [...]
Heather McKay, AM, MBE, AO was born Heather Blundell in 1941, the eighth of eleven children growing up in Queanbeyan, NSW. She played tennis in summer and hockey in winter. and most of her brothers and sisters also played sport regularly, [...]
Alla Wolf Tasker has enough national and international awards to fill virtually every wall of her house on the lake. Recent accolades include a listing in Tatler’s Top 100 hotels in the world, listing in The Australian’s Hottest 50 Restaurants and [...]
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ONZ DBE AC, has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Born in Gisborne, New Zealand in 1944, the Māori soprano is acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in the world. She possesses [...]
Francine Christophe is a French writer and poetess born in 1933. She was deported with her mother to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944. Released in 1945, she continues to share her experience and memories and regularly speaks to youth in schools [...]
A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, Betty Friedan's 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. The "Problem That Has No Name" was described [...]
Jill Bolte Taylor: An extraordinary journey One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a brain scientist, she realised she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one [...]
Mary Somerville: Pioneer Scientist Mary Fairfax Somerville was born on 27 December 1780, the daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir William George Fairfax (scion of a distinguished family of Fairfaxes), and was related to several prominent Scottish houses through her mother. She was informally taught [...]
Janet Yellen: First woman Chair of US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen became the new chair of the US Federal Reserve on 31 January 2014. Yellen, 67, is the first woman to head the US Federal Reserve in its 100 year history, [...]
