Rejected Princesses | History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Seriously, nobody should make a kids' movie about her.

The poster child for childhood abuse, nobody should ever make a kids' movie about her.

Mariya Oktyabrskaya (1905-1944)

The Tank-Driving Widow

When her husband was killed in WW2, she sold all their belongings, bought a tank, named it Fighting Girlfriend, and started killing Nazis.

Collection: Journalists >

Ida B. Wells

One of the first anti-lynching advocates, she risked her life for decades to report on the truth when nobody would believe her.

Isabelle Eberhardt

This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.

Elizabeth Bisland

Rose from poverty to become a respected journalist who raced Nellie Bly around the world.

The Princess Who Leapt Into a Pit

After being saved from demonic forces, this legendary Indian princess is then subjected to endless purity tests by her own husband. She eventually puts an end to his questions in a manner that surprised everyone.

Nzinga Mbande (1583-1663)

Mother of Angola

When the Portuguese took the throne from her, this Angolan queen made a new one: out of her own servant. She then fled to the jungle, conquered a tribe of cannibals, and waged war on the Portuguese for so long that they gave up and left.

Mother of the Minotaur

This mythical queen gave birth to the minotaur and cursed her unfaithful husband with the world's weirdest magic STD -- but was her whole story just a smear campaign?

Collection: Dancers >

Mekatilili wa Menza

When colonial powers went too far, she rebelled in the most stylish way possible: dancing from town to town. It was surprisingly effective.

Anacaona

When Columbus and his crew ravaged her land, this native Haitian poet gave all to keep the peace.

Nwanyeruwa

Instigated a massive "women's war" against British taxation, the effect of which was one part protest movement, one part comedy roast, and one part block party.

Fredegund (mid 500s - 597)

Assassination-obsessed Queen

Possibly the most cartoonishly evil woman to have ever existed, this Merovingian queen was an endless source of assassination attempts - including, on one memorable occasion, her own young daughter.

Native American Maize Goddess

This mythical Native American woman saved her loved ones from starvation with delicious magical leprosy - a fact that led to, shall we say, complications.

Ghost of the Chokecherry Tree

The ghost of a tragically-murdered young child come back to haunt her mother in post-slavery America.

Collection: Jews >

Vitka Kempner

Spy, smuggler, saboteur, partisan: this Jewish woman refused to go like a lamb to the slaughter, and fought the Nazis tooth and nail... even after the war, when she, alongside others, poisoned thousands of Nazi POWs in a revenge plot.

Bella Abzug

Loud, proud, uncompromising: this bold politician helped bring about Title IX, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Equal Rights Amendment - as well as much more.

Sonya Golden Hand

Russia's greatest female thief was so slippery that even once she was re-captured after escaping from a Siberian prison, nobody was totally sure it was her.

Hatshepsut (1508-1458 BCE)

The Unforgettable Pharaoh

One of the greatest pharaohs to ever live, she built up Egypt so much that a generations-long sustained effort to erase her from history couldn't do the trick.

Vera Peters (1911-1993)

Mother of the Modern Mastectomy

When she was told to "go do women's work" after upstaging the medical community in her treatment of Hodgkin's disease, Dr. Vera Peters revolutionized breast cancer treatment through years of painstaking, meticulous work.

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