Here are biographies of some of the modern and historical women celebrated during Women’s History Month. To learn more about any of these impressive women, just click the link.
Historical Movers and Shakers
Feminist Susan B. Anthony
Mental health nurse Dorothea Dix
Presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull
Writer Julia Ward Howe
Activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton
New Mexico activist Nina Otero-Warren
Reformer Lucretia Mott
Former slave Sojourner Truth
Educator Mary McLeod Bethune
Native guide Sacagawea
Blind and deaf author Helen Keller
Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman
Bus rider Rosa Parks
Teacher Maria Montessori
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Catherine of Aragon
Long-lived Queen Victoria
Feisty queen Eleanor of Aquitane
Queen wannabe Lady Jane Grey
The late Princess Diana
Argentine icon Evita Peron
Taiwan First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-shek
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Philippine tyrant Imelda Marcos
Indian leader Indira Gandhi
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem
Author Betty Friedan
Argentina president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Political and News Figures
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Senator Kamala Harris
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Attorney General Janet Reno
France’s Marine Le Pen
Attorney General Loretta Lynch
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
China’s Jiang Qing
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi
Judge Edith Brown Clement
Legal footnote Harriet Miers
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Famous Flyers
World-circler Amelia Earhart
Pioneering pilot Bessie Coleman
Atlantic-crosser Beryl Markham
Astronaut Sally Ride
Astronaut Mae C. Jemison
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova
Astronaut Christa McAuliffe
First Ladies
Science and Technology
Radiation expert Marie Curie
Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell
Civil War nurse Clara Barton
Birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger
Biologist Rachel Carson
Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale
Efficiency expert Lillian Gilbreth
Writers
Poet Amanda Gorman
Poet Anne Bradstreet
Poet Maya Angelou
Mystery writer Patricia Highsmith
Children’s author Beverly Cleary
Poet Alice Walker
Poet Emily Dickinson
Novelist Emily Brontë
Children’s author Astrid Lindgrena
Poet Elizabeth Bishop
Children’s author Beatrix Potter
Feminist writer Bell Hooks
Radical feminist philosopher Mary Daly
Political author Ayn Rand
Novelist Barbara Kingsolver
Author Alice Childress
Southern scribe Carson McCullers
Poet Tracy K. Smith
Novelist Doris Lessing
Sci-fi writer Octavia Butler
Novelist Eudora Welty
Poet Mary Oliver
Novelist Annie Proulx
Playwright Aphra Behn
Diarist Anais Nin
TV Screenwriter (Star Trek) D.C. Fontana
Artists
Entertainers
TV host Oprah Winfrey
Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald
Jazz singer Erykah Badu
Jazz singer Billie Holiday
Rocker Chrissie Hynde
Pop singer Madonna
Pop singer Whitney Houston
Jazz crooner Norah Jones
Pop rocker Avril Lavigne
Jazz singer Bessie Smith
Film director Jane Campion
Film documentarian Leni Riefenstahl
Thespian Helen Hayes
Actress Katharine Hepburn
Filmmaker Patty Jenkins
Actress Jane Fonda
Actress and singer Barbra Streisand
Actress Barbara Stanwyck
Actress Catherine Deneuve
Actress Sophia Loren
Pop footnote Valerie Solanas
Athletes and Game-Players
Golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Chess champ Alexandra Kosteniuk
Tennis player Margaret Smith Court
Tennis player Billie Jean King
Olympic sprinter Wilma Rudolph
Tennis player Martina Navratilova
Golfer Michelle Wie
Gymnast Nadia Comaneci
Gymnast Mary Lou Retton
Golfer Annika Sorenstam
Basketball player Jackie Stiles
Golfer Nancy Lopez
Golfer Natalie Gulbis
Ice skater Katarina Witt
Ice skater Michelle Kwan
Ice skater Sarah Hughes
Ice skater Sonja Henie
Ice skater Sasha Cohen
Basketball player Sheryl Swoopes
Basketball player Rebecca Lobo
Wimbledon winner Althea Gibson
Auto racer Danica Patrick
Drag racer Shirley Muldowny
From Early History
Ancient human Arlington Springs Woman
Ancient mother Mitochondrial Eve
Biblical figure Eve
Biblical figure Lilith
Legendary ruler the Queen of Sheba
Egyptian ruler Cleopatra
Religious Figures
Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy
Seventh-Day Adventist founder Ellen G. White
Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson
Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint and warrior Joan of Arc
Nun and composer Hildegard von Bingen
Christian blogger Rachel Held Evans
Humanitarian nun Mother Teresa
Ready for more? You may also enjoy our list of Black History Month Biographies.
Still haven’t found who you’re looking for? Browse our categories for activists, actors, First Ladies and other roles.