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American women human rights activists

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Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, and the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 as the wife of Bill Clinton. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party and the only woman to win the popular vote for U.S. president. Clinton lost the United States Electoral College vote to Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. She is the only first lady of the United States to have run for elected office.
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Queen of Pop", she is known for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. Her works incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes and have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. Madonna has had a significant socio-cultural impact across both the 20th and 21st centuries and is often deemed one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Known for her vocal ability, artistic reinventions, and live performances, she is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 21st century. Credited with shaping popular music, Beyoncé is often deemed one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award and three Golden Globe Awards. Films in which she has appeared have grossed over $6.9 billion worldwide. She has been named Hollywood's highest-paid actress multiple times.
Helen Keller
American deafblind author, political activist, lecturer, scholar (1880-1968)
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of glamor and romance, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music awards, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for 11 Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while Rolling Stone UK named her as the "greatest American songwriter of the 21st century".
Eleanor Roosevelt
American diplomat and activist, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1884–1962)
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was a British and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. She then became the world's highest-paid movie star in the 1960s, remaining a well-known public figure for the rest of her life. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her seventh on its list of the greatest female screen legends.
Pearl S. Buck
American writer (1892–1973)
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. An influential figure in popular music, Cyrus is known for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She was an established child actress before developing a successful entertainment career as an adult. Cyrus emerged as a teen idol with her portrayal of Miley Stewart in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana (2006–2011), growing a profitable franchise and achieving two number-one soundtracks on the Billboard 200.
Michelle Obama
lawyer and former First Lady of the United States (2009-2017)
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop movement in music. She is also known for her cultural impact through fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards.
Christina Aguilera
American singer, songwriter and actress
Emma Goldman
Russian-born American anarchist (1869–1940)
Amelia Earhart
American aviation pioneer and author (1897–1939)
Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda is an American actress and activist. Fonda's work spans several genres and over seven decades of film and television. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, eight Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards. Fonda is also the recipient of various honorary awards including the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2007, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2014, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2017, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2025.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress. Dubbed the "Goddess of Pop", she is known for her androgynous contralto voice, bold fashion and visual presentation, and multifaceted career. Her screen roles often reflect her public image as a strong-willed, outspoken woman. An influential figure in popular culture, Cher has sustained a career spanning more than six decades through continual reinvention.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
American abolitionist and author (1811–1896)
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Her films have grossed over $6.8 billion worldwide. She was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2015.
Paris Hilton
American media personality (born 1981)
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is an American singer, actress, songwriter, and filmmaker. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Streisand's success in the entertainment industry has included Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
Julianne Moore
British-American actress and author
Whoopi Goldberg
American actress, comedian, author and television personality
Harriet Tubman
African-American abolitionist (1822–1913)
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. Considered a pop icon, she is known for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Jackson's sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content that concerned social issues and deeply felt experiences contributed to the appeal of her work to the youth audience.
Susan Sarandon
American actress and activist
Martina Navratilova
Czech-American tennis player
Jane Addams
American feminist social activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, philosopher, and writer (1860–1935)
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Tony Awards. She is one of the few performers awarded a non-competitive EGOT having received an honorary Grammy Award. Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
Sally Field
American actress
Ellen DeGeneres
American comedian, television host, actress, and writer (born 1958)
Judith Butler
American feminist gender studies philosopher (born 1956)
Susan B. Anthony
American women's rights activist (1820-1906)
Pink
American singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1979)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
American lawyer and jurist (1933–2020)
Angela Davis
American political activist, scholar, and author (born 1944)
Amber Heard
American actress
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, comedian, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Courtney Love
American rock musician and actress (born 1964)
Emily Greene Balch
American economist and writer
Sojourner Truth
African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist (1797–1883)
Jody Williams
American teacher and aid worker
Jessica Chastain
American actress and producer (born 1977)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
American writer, suffragist and Women's Rights activist (1815–1902)
Gloria Steinem
American activist and journalist (born 1934)
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album Horses made her an influential member of the New York City–based punk rock movement. Smith has fused rock and poetry in her work. In 1978, her most widely known song, "Because the Night," co-written with Bruce Springsteen, reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number five on the UK Singles Chart.
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Lauper is known for her distinctive image, which features eccentric clothing and a variety of hair colors. She is also known for her powerful four-octave vocal range. Lauper has been dubbed the "Queen of Quirky Pop". She has sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has also been celebrated for her humanitarian work, particularly as an advocate for LGBTQ rights in the United States.
Anne Rice
American writer
Nicole Scherzinger
American singer
Betty Ford
First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress. She began acting as a child, with early roles in the horror film The Amityville Horror (2005), the drama series Desperate Housewives (2006–2007), the horror film The Eye (2008), the drama film The Poker House (2008), the romantic comedy film 500 Days of Summer (2009), and the children's comedy film Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010). Her breakthrough came in 2010 with her performance as Hit-Girl in the superhero film Kick-Ass.
Mia Farrow
Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the prime-time television soap opera Peyton Place and gained further recognition for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra. She achieved her career breakthrough and international acclaim as the titular character Rosemary in Roman Polanski's psychological horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968), receiving nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She went on to appear in several films throughout the 1970s, such as Follow Me! (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Death on the Nile (1978). Her younger sister is Prudence Farrow.
Betty Friedan
American feminist writer and activist (1921–2006)
Gloria Estefan
Cuban-American singer (born 1957)
Nellie Bly
American journalist
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Dutch-American political activist and author
Elizabeth Blackwell
American physician, abolitionist, women's rights activist (1821-1910)
Alyssa Milano
American actress (born 1972)