Influential Women of the Last 120 Years

Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) American actress. With an unconventional lifestyle for the time and through her acting, she helped redefine traditional views of women’s roles in society.

Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) American conservationist. Rachel Carson was a pioneering environmentalist who wrote the book, Silent Spring (1962). This highlighted the dangers of unregulated pesticide use and played an important role in creating the modern ecological movement.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French existentialist philosopher. Simone de Beauvoir wrote “The Second Sex” which depicted the traditions of sexism that dominate society and history, a defining book for the feminist movement.

Mother Teresa (1910–1997) An Albanian nun and charity worker who devoted her life to the service of the poor and dispossessed. Mother Teresa became a global icon for selfless service to others. She started the Missionary of Charities organization, and personally cared for thousands of sick and dying people in Calcutta. She was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1979.

Dorothy Hodgkin (1910–1994) A British chemist who was awarded the Nobel prize for her work on critical discoveries of the structure of both penicillin and later insulin. Dorothy devoted a large part of her life to the peace movement and promoting nuclear disarmament.

Rosa Parks (1913–2005) An American civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, led to some of the most significant civil rights legislation of American history.


Billie Holiday (1915–1959) American jazz singer given the title “First Lady of the Blues.” Billie Holiday was widely considered to be the greatest and most expressive jazz singer of all time. Despite dying at the age of only 44, Billie Holiday helped define the jazz era and her recordings are still widely sold today.

Betty Friedan (1921–2006) wrote the best-selling book “The Feminine Mystique.” Friedan campaigned for an extension of female rights and an end to sexual discrimination
Anne Frank (1929–1945) Anne Frank’s diary is one of the most widely read books in the world. It reveals the thoughts of a young, yet surprisingly mature 13-year-old girl, confined to a secret hiding place. “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”


Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) British actress. After her acting career ended in the mid-1960s, she devoted the remaining period of her life to humanitarian work with UNICEF.

Germaine Greer (1939– ) The Australian feminist icon of the 1960s and 1970s, she enjoyed raising contentious issues. In particular her book “The Female Eunuch” was a defining manifesto for the feminist movement, which proved influential in the 1960s.

Wangari Maathai (1940–2011 ) was a Kenyan-born environmentalist, pro-democracy activist and women’s rights campaigner. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to prevent conflict through the protection of scarce resources.
Shirin Ebadi (1947– ) An Iranian lawyer, Ebadi has fought for human rights in Iran, representing political dissidents and founding initiatives to promote democracy and human rights. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.


Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007) The first female prime minister of a Muslim country. She helped to move Pakistan from a dictatorship to democracy, becoming Prime Minister in 1988. She sought to implement social reforms, in particular helping women and the poor. She was assassinated in 2007.


Oprah Winfrey (1954– ) American talk show host and businesswoman, Oprah was the first woman to own her own talk show. Her show and book club were very influential, focusing on issues facing American women.


Malala Yousafzai (1997– ) Pakistani schoolgirl who defied threats of the Taliban to campaign for the right to education. She survived being shot in the head by the Taliban and has become a global advocate for women’s rights, especially the right to education.


Jacinda Ardern (1980 – ) the Youngest female Prime Minister of New Zealand. Her style of leadership which emphasized kindness and empathy has received substantial praise. She called for global action on climate change and universal recognition of human rights.


Greta Thunberg (2003 – ) a Swedish schoolgirl who become a global leader for environmental issues and leading protests against global warming. Thunberg has spoken at events across the world – making it clear we face a real environmental crisis unless we make wholesale changes to the way we live.

Your additions to this list are welcome, as are your comments.

 

I know there are many many more!
Nominations are open!

 

Well the title of the thread says in the Last Century, but if you want to mention someone earlier that is OK also

 

Christiane Amanpour former CNN journalist and reporter who reported from war zones in the middle east and brought a different perspective.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RGB) former Supreme Court Justice
Queen Elizabeth II they're missing her already.

These are real influencers. I find it funny that people on TikTok think they are "influencers". If so how are they impacting or changing the history of the world? 99% of the time, they're just hawking a product, shilling for a big corporation because the corporations no longer know how to reach people.

 

Like your cell phone and safe air travel?

heddy lamarr