INSPIRING WOMEN

Innovators and pioneers who encourage us to dream big. Spot the woman in the spotlight with our handy guide

Ada Lovelace

Even though it’s from the 19th century, Ada’s ‘computing machine’ understanding exceeds our ‘turn it off and on again’ limits.

Coco Chanel

Her designs liberated women from the corset’s constraints – presumably enabling us to buy more No5.

Marie Curie

Developing the theory of radioactivity (and coining its name), her findings radiated across the 20th century.

Amelia Earhart

The first woman to fly the Atlantic solo. She also formed an organisation for female pilots, The Ninety-Nines.

Frida Kahlo

Dreams of becoming a doctor dashed by illness, Kahlo produced over 140 artworks on identity in Mexican society.

Maya Angelou

It’s impossible to sum up this life in a few words – she wrote seven autobiographies of her experience as a black American woman.

Audrey Hepburn

Hepburn not only conquered the screen, but – through her work for UNICEF – tackled real-life global issues, too.

Emmeline Pankhurst

Pankhurst’s suffrage organisation smashed ideas about women’s capabilities, and many windows in the process.

Ella Fitzgerald

Used her fame to challenge racial barriers – truly worthy of the titles ‘Queen of Jazz’ and ‘Lady Ella’.