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Juleidah
When her father decided to marry her, this leather-clad princess embarked on one of the most bonkers Cinderella tales ever told.
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.
Arwa al-Sulayhi
The greatest ruler of Yemeni history, she defeated her numerous foes to usher the country into its golden age.Collection: Samurai >
Masako Hojo
When her shogun husband cheated on her, she raised an army and destroyed the other woman's house. Later she deposed her incompetent son to become the first nun to rule Japan.
Sutematsu Oyama
The first Japanese woman to go to college didn't have a choice. But the experience changed her - and she changed Japan in return.
Takeko Nakano
When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.Collection: Activists >
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Through years of unrelenting protest, this Nigerian teacher felled a king, won women the right to vote, and taught all of Africa how to protest.
Luisa Capetillo
In 1915, this rowdy Puerto Rican activist was arrested for wearing pants in public. It wouldn't be the last time she wore pants, or got arrested.
Carolina Maria de Jesus
Brash, funny, and difficult, this mother of three wrote her way out of extreme poverty with her uncompromising look at Brazilian society - and was alternately lauded and berated for it.Random Princesses
Alfhild
Viking princess who decided she'd rather be a pirate than get married.
Khawlah bint al-Azwar
When Byzantine forces captured her brother, this warrior poet donned the outfit of a black knight and went on a bloody rescue mission.
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.
Wu Zetian
The only female emperor of China in history, her ruthless rise to power makes Game of Thrones look like a day at the beach.
Ka'ahumanu
United Hawaii under one rule, abolished ancient taboos, and led negotiations with the fledgling United States.
Joan of Arc
The infamous teen girl who helped end the Hundred Years War and save France - but do you know how…
Moll Cutpurse
Cross-dressing Queen of Thieves who flouted social norms and had plays written about her.
A'isha bint abi Bakr
Independent, bold wife of the Prophet Muhammad, she led armies in the Battle of the Camel and was one of…
Ching Shih
Headed a squadron of 80,000 pirates, ruled the Chinese seas for two decades, and actually retired happily - but not before extorting a nice pension from the Chinese government.
Kharboucha
This legendary pockmarked poet sang truth to power and was killed for it, becoming an enduring symbol of resistance.
Mariya Oktyabrskaya
When her husband was killed in WW2, she sold all their belongings, bought a tank, named it Fighting Girlfriend, and started killing Nazis.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
When her beloved college of history was bombed by the Germans, this woman began a dark path that would see her become history's deadliest female sniper -- and one of Eleanor Roosevelt's best friends.
Calafia
Black, Muslim warrior queen of a tribe of griffin-riding Amazons - and the honest-to-god namesake of California.
Gouyen
When an enemy killed her husband, this Apache woman broke the rules of her tribe to get revenge - and in so doing, became one of her tribe's greatest heroes.
Velu Nachiyar
With a dead husband and a hostile foreign country on her hands, this Indian queen did the unthinkable - turned her loyal servants into some of the first suicide bombers in recorded history.