Biographies

Jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott was not only the first African-American woman to host her own television show, but she also bravely stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood studio machine.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first American to be canonized as a saint.

Fearless Wall Street broker Muriel Siebert was known as The First Woman of Finance.

Olympia Snowe was the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of State Legislature and both houses of Congress.

As the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor has made an impact in and out of the courtroom.

Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer lived her entire life in Virginia, where she tended her garden, worked as a librarian and teacher, hosted luminaries of Black intellectual and cultural life, and fought for equal rights for African Americans. 

On February 23, 1914, Lilian St. Cyr, performing under the name “Princess Red Wing,” became the first Native American actress to appear in a silent film. During her 15-year acting career, she performed in more than 70 films.

Author, lecturer, and chief philosopher of the woman’s rights and suffrage movements.

Gloria Steinem is an acclaimed journalist, trailblazing feminist, and one of the most visible, passionate leaders and spokeswomen of the women’s rights movement.

A leading suffragist and abolitionist, Lucy Stone dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the “Guardian of the Glades,” led the charge to protect the Everglades and reveal their rich natural heritage to the rest of the world.

Abolitionist author, Harriet Beecher Stowe rose to fame in 1851 with the publication of her best-selling book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which highlighted the evils of slavery, angered the slaveholding South.

On September 6, 1870, 70-year-old Louisa Ann Swain stepped up to the ballot box in Laramie, Wyoming and cast her vote in the general election. In doing so, she became the first woman to legally cast a ballot since 1807.

Maria Tallchief was one of America's most popular ballerinas.

During World War I, Julia Taufflieb turned her home into a hospital for wounded soldiers in France.

Although it was very dangerous for African Americans to speak out against white people during the Jim Crow era, Recy Taylor refused to remain silent about sexual violence.

As women around the world speak out against sexual harassment and unfair treatment, Tina Tchen continues to support the movement through her legal activism.

Kimberly Teehee became the first Cherokee Nation delegate in the House of Representatives

Shirley Temple was a child actor with curly hair and later worked as an ambassador for the US government.

Mary Church Terrell was a well-known African American activist who championed racial equality and women’s suffrage.