From Edith Wharton to Kamala Harris, join L'OFFICIEL in celebrating female trailblazers throughout time in honor of Women's History Month.

Breaking glass ceilings throughout history, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/richest-women-america-list-2020-rihanna-beyonce-jennifer-lopez" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women</a>&nbsp;have contributed to the progress of humanity&nbsp;with many pioneering innovations&nbsp;and monumental growth in different fields, from <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/jane-fonda-activism-feminist-timeline-protest-arrest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">politics</a>, science, and sports, to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/art/artist-bianca-bondi-interview-still-waters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arts</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/lady-gaga-suffragette-white-coat-mask-alaia-inauguration-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">culture</a>, and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/life-post-protest-reeducating-america-Black-literature" target="_blank" rel="noopener">literature</a>. Achieving all of this has never been a small feat, as women worldwide had to constantly fight for their <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/riot-grrrl-movement-history-punk-feminism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rights</a> to be treated equally and work&nbsp;hard to carve themselves a place in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/the-political-history-of-the-beret" target="_blank" rel="noopener">history</a> beside the big boys'&nbsp;club.
Women such as Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, and&nbsp;Valentina Tereshkova, who helped&nbsp;break the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/famous-feminists-that-changed-womens-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender</a> barrier in their respective&nbsp;industries, have <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/kim-petras" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paved</a> the way for their future <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/is-dolly-parton-a-feminist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">female</a> counterparts to bring outstanding contributions to those fields and make a valuable impact on world history. And needless to say, they have also proved what an important role women play in the development of society.
From the first <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/bumble-founder-whitney-wolfe-herd-youngest-self-made-billionaire-tinder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-made</a> female <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/kylie-jenner-billionaire-forbes-cover-news-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">billionaire</a> to the first female <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/alice-walker-best-quotes-the-color-purple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pulitzer Prize</a> winner, during Women's History Month, L'OFFICIEL celebrates the remarkable accomplishments achieved by 22 women who have made famous firsts in history and the long-lasting impact they had on the world.&nbsp;

Bertha von Suttner was an Austrian-Bohemian pacifist and novelist who became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905.

American novelist Edith Wharton was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1921. Wharton’s eloquent depiction of New York’s "aristocracy” in “The Age of Innocence” was praised by the masses and continues to be eagerly consumed today.

Madam C.J. Walker became the first recorded female self-made millionaire in America thanks to her line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women through the business she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

Bertha Benz was a German automotive pioneer and inventor and the first woman in history to drive an automobile over a long distance.

Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. This American aviation pioneer is remembered for her insistence that flying was a practice that women could successfully dominate.

Bessie Coleman became the first-ever African-American woman and first Native-American to hold an international pilot license in 1921.

Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie was the first and only woman to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields, Physics and Chemistry, for her pioneering research on radioactivity.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan stateswoman and the world's first female prime minister when she became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960.

Renowned jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was the first woman to win multiple Grammy awards. The successful artist took home the award for Best Vocal Performance, Female and Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Individual at the first-ever Grammys in 1958.

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first and youngest woman to fly in space. This Russian engineer completed her very own solo mission on the Vostok 6 in 1963.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the world’s first woman to be democratically elected, when she became President of Iceland in 1980.

Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer and the first woman to summit Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, in 1975. Before her death in 2016, Tabei also became the first woman to conquer the “Seven Summits,” the highest mountains on all seven continents.

Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to be nominated and confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Despite their opposing political views, O’Connor paved the way for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who constantly advocated for gender equality within the Supreme Court.

Aretha Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This queen of soul music was not only recognized in the music field but celebrated for her contributions to the civil rights movement.

Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for “The Hurt Locker,” an honor that has been disproportionately presented to men. Similarly, she was also the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing.

Hillary Clinton has a number of firsts under her belt, but most notably, Clinton was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, and the first woman to win the popular vote in a United States presidential election.

At the onset of her career, Taylor Swift broke records as the first female to win the Grammy award for Album of the Year twice. Her most-loved records "Fearless" and "Red" were what granted the singer her well-deserved accolades.

The teenage powerhouse Billie Eilish became the first woman to win all four General Field categories in one ceremony at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.

Kamala Harris is truly the queen of firsts. This role model is the United States' first female vice president, the highest-ranking female official in all of U.S. history, and the first African American and first Asian American vice president ever. Her position is a huge stride for women everywhere, and continues to be a reminder that we can do much more than breaking the glass ceiling.

Sarah Thomas was the first woman to referee full-time in the National Football League, and became the first-ever female to officiate the Super Bowl this year.

This past February, founder and CEO of dating app Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd, became the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire thanks to her revolutionary approach to how women date and network online.

In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former public defender, became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Famous Firsts in Women's History Around the World

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