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Viśpálā
The first prosthetic limb in human civilization went to this ancient warrior queen. Or did it? The story is more complex than you might think.
Amanirenas
When Rome set its eyes on her country, this one-eyed queen fought them tooth and nail, until they left her alone.
Sophie Morigeau
The only use this Canadian badass had for pretty pink bows was to adorn her own rib — which she amputated from her own body after an accident.Collection: Artists >
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
The godmother of rock and roll, this black bisexual singer fused gospel and pop to blaze her own way across the Jim Crow-era south.
Noor Inayat Khan
Pacifist Indian princess who gave up everything of herself to hold the line in occupied Paris during World War 2.
Onorata Rodiani
When an unrequited admirer began threatening her, this early fresco painter became one of history's first warrior artists.Collection: Teens >
Li Chi
When a monster demanded teenage girl sacrifice, Li Chi saved herself, and was crowned princess for her troubles.
Tsuruhime Ohori
When invaders threatened her island home, she declared herself a living god, raised an army, and fought them tooth, nail, and occasional grenade.
Jackie Mitchell
In 1931, a seventeen-year-old girl struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in front of a crowd of thousands -- and then was benched into obscurity.Random Princesses
Charlotte Badger
The first European woman to end up in New Zealand, Charlotte Badger was part pirate, part adopted Maori, and part mom. Which part is which is somewhat lost to history.
Anahit
This Armenian folktale princess saved her hapless beau - by making him get a job.
Nancy Wake
This most-wanted WW2 spy rescued Jews and POWs, blew up Nazi trains, and used an X-rated radio rhyme to identify herself to Britain.
Rani Lakshmibai
Widowed young queen who led a fearsome rebellion against the British with her child tied to her back.
Bessie Stringfield
Motorcycling across America, making her living doing stunts and transporting secret government documents, this stand-out woman found family in places she didn't expect.
Benazir Bhutto
The exiled daughter of a deposed ruler, she could have been a fairytale bridge between worlds - but fairy tales are not real. Benazir, whose name means "without flaw," was anything but.
Sarraounia
The "panther queen" of the Azna defeated some of the greatest villains of French colonial history through wits, cunning -- and possibly magic.
Nafanua
When an oppressive regime threatened her home, this Samoan war goddess took matters into her own hands.
Corn Maiden
This mythical Native American woman saved her loved ones from starvation with delicious magical leprosy - a fact that led to, shall we say, complications.
Micaela Bastidas
The strident partner of the eponymously-named Tupac Amaru Rebellion of native peoples against the Spanish, she handled army and bureaucratic…
Florence Nightingale
One half of the odd couple of Crimean nursing - the by-the-book Victorian rebel who revolutionized the field of medicine who stood in stark to Mary Seacole's jolly reliance on folk remedies and home comforts.
Naziq al-Abid
She traded a life of privilege for one spent fighting for justice on both literal and political battlefields so tirelessly that even exiling her five times couldn't keep her down.
Mai Bhago
This Sikh warrior saint led 40 deserters back into battle and in so doing, possibly saved her entire religion from extinction.
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.
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.