Anna Rugerin, the first woman to have her name in the colophon of a printed book.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, considered the Godmother of Rock & Roll. Without her, it's possible Elvis wouldn't have been the King.
Amanda Crowe, an art educator and Native American carver who helped revive the art in her hometown and in her tribe.
Properzia de' Rossi, the only woman sculptor written about by Vasari in his book The Lives of the Artists.
Anna Russell Jones, the first African-American woman to graduate from the Philadelphia School of Design for Women in 1920. She went on to start her own design studio in the '40s.
Judith Leiber, an immigrant and entrepreneur who went on to be one of the most beloved handbag designers and craftspeople in America.
Alice Guy-Blache, probably the first woman director in the history of film.
Susan Kare, a designer whose work has shaped the way Mac computers are interacted with and their overall sense of friendliness.
Millie Goldsholl, who ran Goldsholl and Associates with her husband and created some of the most original and striking advertising to date.
Karen Hampton, a textile designer who uses her art to speak for and to her ancestors and to tell their stories.
Kara Walker, one of the youngest recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, whose work makes people impassive viewers in reaction to images exploring race, sexuality, and gender.
Theresa Pollack, who played an instrumental role in the founding of VCU's School of Arts, growing it from a single figure drawing class she taught herself to twenty students.
Hildegard of Bingen, who, despite being one of the earliest identifiable composers in the history of Western music, was not mentioned in any reference book until 1979.
