Influential women in history
Influential Women Authors
Iconic female athletes of the past century
Food Network Personalities
Women Talking Sports
100
During the 1950s, U.S. society was largely segregated between Black and white citizens, including on public transport. On Dec. 1, 1955, seamstress she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, for which she was arrested. In response, She mobilized the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to boycott buses and draw national attention to inhumane segregation laws in the Southern states.
Rosa Parks
100
To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee
100
She holds the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players and tied for third on the all-time list. She is second in the Open Era. Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles is a record for the most tournament wins in the Open Era.
Serena Williams
100
Giada De Laurentiis
100
Pam Oliver
200
She began her work on the Underground Railroad by retrieving members of her own family, including her parents, several siblings and various nieces and nephews, according to biography.com. When the Civil War began, she supported the Union, working as a spy and a nurse before leading the daring Combahee Ferry Raid, which freed more than 700 enslaved people. Later in life, she became a prominent voice in the abolitionist movement and also fought for voting rights for women, helping to shape a path from slavery and discrimination toward justice in the United States.
Harriet Tubman
200
Beloved
Toni Morrison
200
She won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles
Billie Jean King
200
Ina Garten
200
Suzyn Waldman
300
**DD**
As a lawyer, she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases, and as California’s attorney general fought for foreclosure settlements and against predatory for-profit education. According to her biography from the White House, she also championed marriage equality, the Affordable Care Act and the environment.
Kamala Harris
300
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
300
One of only two female skiers to win four World Cup overall championships. She won three consecutive titles from 2008-10 and another in 2012. She was also the first American woman to win a gold medal in the downhill, which she did at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Lindsay Vonn
300
Trishia Yearwood
300
Erin Andrews
400
Throughout her career, Ginsburg promoted causes such as financial equality for women, as noted by Forbes; equality in education, as reported by Inside Higher Ed; LGBTQ+ rights, per the American Bar Association; civil rights for immigrants and undocumented people, as described by NBC News; and rights for people with disabilities, according to the Center for Public Representation.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
400
**DD**
The Color Purple
Alice Walker
400
She was the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. She overcame the loss of strength in her left leg and foot, caused by polio at five years old, to become the fasted woman in the world at the 1960 Olympics. She holds the record for the 100 meters at 11.2 seconds and 200 meters at 22.9 seconds.
Wilma Rudolph
400
**DD**
Sunny Anderson
400
**DD**
Maria Taylor
500
She was an actor, dancer and journalist, and is recognized as one of the most important figures in modern American literature. Due to childhood sexual abuse and trauma, She became unable to speak for several years, according to the National Women’s History Museum. Later, she found her voice through her writing. As an adult, she became involved in the civil rights movement and befriended both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Maya Angelou
500
Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf
500
**DD**
This American swimmer won five Olympic gold medals and 14 world championship gold medals, which a record for a female swimmer. She currently holds the world record in women's 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter freestyle.
Katy Ledecky
500
Ree Drummond
500
Danielle McCarten (WFAN)