Most Famous Female Firsts

Most Famous Female Firsts

James Brown might have sung that it's a man's, man's, man's world, but we disagree. We ascribe more to the Aretha Franklin outlook on life, that sisters are doin' it for themselves. In honor of Women's History Month, check out 18 fabulous females who paved the way for womankind.

Mariah Carey

Famous First: First female artist to debut a single at #1 on the charts

Year: 1995

Oprah Winfrey

Famous First: First woman to own and produce her own talk show

Year: 1986

Barbra Streisand

Famous Firsts: First woman to produce, direct, write and star in a major motion picture ("Yentl"); first female composer to win the Best Song Oscar for "Evergreen" ("A Star is Born")

Year: 1983 and 1977

Beyonce

Famous First: First female artist to be awarded the International Artist Award at the American Music Awards

Year: 2007

Barbara Walters

Famous First: First female co-anchor of network evening news

Year: 1976

Whoopi Goldberg

Famous First: First woman to host the Oscars solo

Year: 1994

Jennifer Lopez

Famous First: First female spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club of America

Year: 2010

Kathryn Bigelow

Famous First: First woman to win Best Director at the Oscars

Year: 2010

Chris Evert

Famous First: First female tennis player to earn $1 million in career prize money; first tennis player, male or female, to win 1,000 singles matches

Year: 1976 and 1984, respectively

JK Rowling

Famous First: First female billionaire book author

Year: 2004

Queen Latifah

Famous First: First female rapper to win a Grammy

Year: 1995

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Famous First: First female athlete to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, aside from the swimsuit edition

Year: 1987

Sandra Day O'Connor

Famous First: First female Supreme Court justice

Year: 1981

Tina Turner

Famous First: First woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone

Year: 1967

Danica Patrick

Famous First: First woman to win a major closed-course auto race

Year: 2008

Lucille Ball

Famous First: First woman in television to head a major studio

Year: 1962

Candice Bergen

Famous First: First female host of "Saturday Night Live"

Year: 1975

Helen Hayes

Famous First: First woman to win the EGOT

Year: 1976

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