Women in the Performing Arts

Electra is a heroine of Greek mythology, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. After her father is murdered by her mother and her lover Aegisthus, she convinces her brother Orestes to avenge him. Her tragic fate inspired all three of the great Greek tragedians.

Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Iphigenia was condemned to be sacrificed at Aulis to appease Artemis and allow the Greek fleet to sail for Troy. Saved by the goddess, she was transported to Tauris where she became a priestess. Her fate inspired major tragedies by Euripides.

Phaedrus was a Latin fabulist of the 1st century AD, a freedman of Emperor Augustus. He was the first author to render Aesopian fables in Latin verse, leaving behind a collection in five books that had a lasting influence on European literature.

Spanish actress of the Golden Age, daughter of theatre company director Jerónimo Velázquez. She was the mistress of the young playwright Lope de Vega, who immortalized her under the name “Filis” in his poems.

Alceste is the central character of Molière's *The Misanthrope* (1666). An uncompromising idealist, he refuses the hypocrisy and flattery of court society, while being deeply in love with Célimène, a worldly coquette. He embodies the tension between absolute moral integrity and the compromises of social life.

Anna Girò (c. 1710–1748) was an Italian contralto singer, pupil and close collaborator of Antonio Vivaldi. She created many roles in the Venetian composer's operas, becoming one of the most celebrated performers of her time.

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was the first English woman to earn her living by the pen. A prolific playwright, novelist, and spy in the service of Charles II, she defied the conventions of her time by making her mark in the male-dominated literary world.

Italian composer, singer, and instrumentalist (1587–c.1641), Francesca Caccini is the first known woman to have composed an opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero (1625). Daughter of composer Giulio Caccini, she was the highest-paid musician at the Medici court in Florence.

Gabrielle Charpentier (c. 1764–1793) was the wife of Georges-Jacques Danton, a leading orator of the French Revolution. The daughter of a Parisian café owner, she died at 28 in February 1793 while her husband was on a mission in Belgium, just months before the Reign of Terror.

French actress of the 17th century, co-founder of the Illustre Théâtre alongside Molière in 1643. A central figure in Molière's troupe for over thirty years, she contributed to the rise of French classical theatre.

Mastani (c. 1699–1740) was the second wife of Bajirao I, the Maratha Peshwa. Daughter of a Rajput raja and a Muslim concubine, she was an accomplished dancer and warrior. Their interfaith love caused a scandal at the Maratha court and gave rise to legend.

Annie Oakley (1860-1926) was an American sharpshooter who became the star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Nicknamed “Little Sure Shot,” she embodied the mythologized figure of the conquest of the West while pushing back the limits placed on the women of her time.

Martha Jane Cannary (c. 1852-1903), known as Calamity Jane, was a scout, stagecoach driver, and iconic figure of the American conquest of the West. A legend in her own lifetime, she performed in Wild West shows and was associated with the gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok.

Nicknamed “La Duse,” this Italian tragedienne (1858–1924) revolutionized dramatic art through a style of unprecedented inner truth, free of makeup and theatrical effects. Legendary rival of Sarah Bernhardt, she embodied the heroines of Ibsen and D’Annunzio on the greatest stages of Europe and America.

American actress of English origin, a figure of the traveling theater of the early years of the United States. Mother of the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe, she died young of tuberculosis, leaving her children orphaned.

Irish actress famous for her Shakespearean roles, she triumphed in Paris in 1827. Hector Berlioz, madly in love with her, dedicated his Symphonie fantastique to her before marrying her in 1833.

Polish actress regarded as one of the greatest tragediennes of her time. After emigrating to the United States in 1876, she pursued a brilliant career under the name Helena Modjeska, particularly in Shakespearean roles. She inspired Susan Sontag's novel 'In America'.

Franco-Haitian actress and dancer, Jeanne Duval is best known as the muse and companion of Charles Baudelaire. She inspired the “Black Venus cycle” in *The Flowers of Evil*, while embodying the figure of the exoticized Black woman in the colonial imagination of the 19th century.

Nineteenth-century Swedish singer, a coloratura soprano of international fame nicknamed “the Swedish Nightingale.” She enjoyed immense success in Europe and then in the United States during a tour organized by the impresario P. T. Barnum.

A 19th-century Italian prima ballerina, Marie Taglioni revolutionized Romantic ballet by popularizing dancing on pointe. Her performance in *La Sylphide* (1832) defined the airy, ethereal aesthetic of Romantic ballet for generations to come.

Nellie Melba (1861-1931) was the most celebrated Australian coloratura soprano of her time. Triumphing at Covent Garden and the Paris Opera, she embodied the prestige of bel canto and the grand operatic tradition of the Belle Époque.

A brilliant tragedienne of the Comédie-Française, Rachel Félix (1821–1858) revived French classical tragedy in the nineteenth century. Born into a modest Jewish family, she rose to fame through her electrifying performances in the roles of Racine and Corneille, becoming the most celebrated actress in Europe.

painter (born 1989)

French café-concert singer and *diseuse* (1865–1944), an icon of the Belle Époque immortalized by Toulouse-Lautrec. Famous for her long black gloves and her expressionist delivery of Parisian realist songs.

American singer and actress (1979–2001), nicknamed the "Princess of R&B." A revelation at 15 with her debut album, she profoundly influenced pop and R&B music of the 1990s–2000s before dying tragically in a plane crash.

American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress, a major figure of artistic commitment to the civil rights movement. Her expressive voice and her lyrics make her an emblematic artist of 20th-century jazz.

Adelaide Hall was an American jazz singer, later a naturalized British citizen, with an exceptionally long career. A pioneer of wordless singing, she rose to prominence in 1927 alongside **Duke Ellington** before becoming a star of the European stage.

French photographer, visual artist, film director and screenwriter

Agnez Mo is an Indonesian-American singer-songwriter and actress born in 1986 in Jakarta. A pop star in Indonesia from childhood, she broke onto the international scene in the 2010s.

Aishwarya Rai is an Indian actress and model born in 1973. Crowned Miss World in 1994, she became one of Bollywood's most internationally recognized stars and a global ambassador for L'Oréal Paris.

Aleksandra Exter was a Russian-Ukrainian painter and designer, a leading figure of the early 20th-century Russian avant-garde. A pioneer of Cubo-Futurism and Constructivism, she revolutionized theatrical sets and costumes.

The first female filmmaker in history, Alice Guy directed her first narrative film at Gaumont around 1896. She went on to found the Solax Company in the United States, one of the largest production companies of the era, before falling into obscurity despite a remarkable body of work.

Alla Pugacheva (born 1949) is the most famous pop singer of the Soviet Union and Russia. Nicknamed "the Primadonna," she dominated the Soviet and then Russian music scene for over forty years. Her career illustrates mass culture and the entertainment industry under a communist regime.

Amina Annabi is a French-Tunisian singer and actress born in 1962. A figure of world music blending Arab-Andalusian influences with Western pop, she represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 while also pursuing a parallel career in film.

Andie MacDowell is an American actress and model born in 1958. First making her name as a model for major cosmetics brands, she became a film star in the 1990s with a string of hit romantic comedies.

Anggun is an Indonesian singer born in 1974 in Jakarta, who became a French citizen in 1998. An international pop star, she broke through in France with her hit 'Snow on the Sahara' (1997) and represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012.

Italian actress (1908-1973), an iconic figure of Italian neorealism. Known for her intense and passionate performances, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1956 for The Rose Tattoo.

The first Chinese-American star of Hollywood, Anna May Wong (1905-1961) made her mark in both silent and sound cinema despite the industry's systemic racism. Throughout her career, she fought against stereotypes and anti-miscegenation laws that denied her leading roles.

Anna Netrebko is a Russian-Austrian soprano born in 1971, considered one of the greatest opera singers of her generation. Trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, she has conquered the world's most prestigious stages — the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Milan, and the Vienna State Opera.

British-American jazz singer and actress, a pioneer of vocalese. A member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, she is famous for setting lyrics to instrumental solos, notably her standard “Twisted” (1952).

French actress born in 1932, Anouk Aimée established herself as one of the leading figures of European auteur cinema. Her role in *Un homme et une femme* by Claude Lelouch (1966) brought her international acclaim.

Ariana Grande is an American singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1993 in Florida. She rose to fame through the TV series Victorious before becoming one of the most influential pop artists of her generation. Her response to the 2017 Manchester bombing earned her international recognition.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist, essayist, and activist born in 1961. Her novel The God of Small Things (1997) won the Booker Prize. She is a vocal advocate against nuclear weapons, dam construction, and social inequality in India.

Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) was a British actress and model of Belgian origin, an icon of Hollywood cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. She won the Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953) and became synonymous with elegance and grace on screen. In her later years, she devoted herself to humanitarian work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Avril Lavigne is a Canadian singer and songwriter born in 1984 in Belleville, Ontario. She broke through in 2002 with her debut album 'Let Go', becoming an icon of alternative rock and pop-punk for an entire generation.

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and pop icon born in 1978 in Fukuoka. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" in Japan, she is one of the best-selling female artists in the history of Japanese music.

Barbara (1930–1997) was a French singer-songwriter, nicknamed “the Lady in Black.” A pianist and poet of song, she is known for intimate works such as “Nantes” and “The Black Eagle.”

American singer and actress born in 1942 in New York, Barbra Streisand is one of the most awarded artists in entertainment history. She has shaped American pop music and cinema across more than six decades of career.

American actress (1908–1989), a towering figure of Hollywood cinema from the 1930s through the 1960s. Known for her roles as strong, complex women, she won two Academy Awards and established herself as one of the greatest stars of the studio system.

Beyoncé is an American singer, songwriter, and producer born in 1981 in Houston, Texas. A former member of Destiny's Child, she became one of the most influential solo artists of the 21st century, blending R&B, pop, and hip-hop.

Swedish dramatic soprano (1918–2005), considered the greatest Wagnerian interpreter of the 20th century. Her voice, exceptional in both power and clarity, brought her triumphs at Bayreuth, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the world's most prestigious concert halls.

Blossom Dearie (1924-2009) was an American jazz pianist and singer, recognizable by her light, delicate voice. A figure of intimate vocal jazz, she accompanied herself on piano in the clubs of New York and Paris.

French actress, model, and singer, Brigitte Bardot became a global symbol of femininity and freedom during the 1950s and 1960s. An icon of the French New Wave and popular culture, she retired from cinema in 1973 to dedicate herself to animal rights activism.

Britney Spears (born 1981) is an American singer, actress, and pop icon. Launched in the late 1990s, she became one of the best-selling artists in the world. Her career illustrates the excesses of the entertainment industry and the challenges of fame in the media age.

British playwright born in 1938, a major figure of feminist and political theatre. Her plays such as “Top Girls” (1982) and “Cloud Nine” (1979) deconstruct gender, capitalism, and power relations. Associated with the Royal Court Theatre in London, she has profoundly renewed contemporary dramatic forms.

French actress born in 1943, Catherine Deneuve is one of the greatest stars in world cinema. She played iconic roles in films by Truffaut, Buñuel, and Demy, becoming a symbol of French elegance.

Belgian director and screenwriter (1950–2015), a major figure in feminist and experimental auteur cinema. Her magnum opus *Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles* (1975) was voted the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound magazine in 2022.

Cheryl Crawford was an American theatre producer and a major figure of the 20th-century New York stage. A co-founder of the Group Theatre and later the Actors Studio, she helped spread the acting “Method” across the United States.

Christina Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1980. Breaking through in 1999, she established herself as one of the most powerful voices of her generation, blending pop, R&B, and soul. She became a symbol of female empowerment in the music industry at the turn of the 21st century.

Cleo Laine is a British jazz singer and actress, famous for her deep timbre and an exceptional vocal range of more than three octaves. The lifelong companion of saxophonist and bandleader John Dankworth, she became one of the major figures of 20th-century British vocal jazz.

Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and model born in 1986 in Copenhagen. The daughter of badminton champion Prakash Padukone, she has become one of Bollywood's most influential and highest-paid actresses. She is also known for her public advocacy for mental health awareness.

American singer (1924-1963), nicknamed the “Queen of the Blues.” A major figure in jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues during the 1940s and 1950s, she left her mark on African American music through her incisive phrasing and expressive voice.

American singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1946, icon of country music. Author of classics like "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You", she is also a philanthropist, founder of a children's literacy program.

Doris Lessing (1919-2013) was a British novelist born in Persia and raised in Southern Rhodesia. A major figure of 20th-century literature, she is best known for The Golden Notebook. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.

The only active female director working within the major Hollywood studios of the 1920s–1940s, Dorothy Arzner made around twenty films. A pioneer of women's cinema, she was the first woman admitted to the Directors Guild of America.

An African-American actress, singer, and dancer, Dorothy Dandridge became in 1955 the first Black woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Carmen Jones. An icon of Golden Age Hollywood, she broke racial barriers in a deeply segregated industry.

Born Édith Giovanna Gassion in 1915 in Paris, Édith Piaf became one of the most celebrated French singers of the 20th century. Nicknamed 'La Môme Piaf' (The Little Sparrow), she is the defining figure of French chanson réaliste and achieved worldwide fame.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) was a British-American actress widely regarded as one of Hollywood's greatest stars. A child prodigy who rose to fame early, she excelled in major roles of classic cinema and became a global symbol of glamour and the Hollywood star system. She was also a pioneering activist in the fight against AIDS from the 1980s onward.

Spanish coloratura soprano, one of the great bel canto voices of the early 20th century. Having become a teacher, she was Maria Callas's singing instructor in Athens, passing on to her the art of bel canto.

British actress born in 1990, who rose to fame as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. She became an international feminist activist, notably as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the HeForShe campaign.

Ethel Waters (1896-1977) was an African American singer and actress. A pioneer of jazz and vocal blues, she broke racial barriers on Broadway, in film, and on American television, becoming one of the most famous Black artists of the first half of the 20th century.

Iranian poet and filmmaker, a major figure of modern Persian poetry. Through intimate and bold writing about desire and the condition of women, she upended the literary conventions of her country. Her death in a car accident at the age of 32 made her an icon.

Gala is an Italian pop and dance singer born in 1975 in Turin. She achieved international success in the late 1990s with hits such as “Freed from Desire” (1997), which have become classics of dance music.

Soviet ballerina considered one of the greatest classical dancers of the 20th century. Prima ballerina of the Bolshoi, she embodied Giselle and Juliet with incomparable expressiveness. The first dancer to receive the title of Hero of Socialist Labor twice.

French film director, producer and screenwriter

An Oscar-winning American actress of the 1950s, Grace Kelly left Hollywood at the height of her fame to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956. As princess consort, she embodied elegance and cultural prestige until her accidental death in 1982.

American Hollywood actress who became Princess of Monaco by marrying Rainier III in 1956. An Oscar-winning star, she gave up her film career for her royal role and devoted herself to cultural and charitable patronage until her death in 1982.

Swedish actress who became one of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1920s–1930s. Famous for her air of mystery and restrained acting style, she voluntarily stepped away from the screen in 1941 at the age of 36.

American actress (1893-1952), Hattie McDaniel was the first African American woman to win an Academy Award, for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Her career illustrates the tensions between artistic success and racial segregation in the United States.

Jazz pianist and singer of Trinidadian and American descent, a virtuoso known for her arrangements blending classical music and swing. A star of nightclubs and the silver screen, she was also a civil rights activist who refused to perform for segregated audiences.

Austrian-born American actress, producer, and scientist

Ina Ray Hutton (1916-1984) was an American bandleader, singer, and dancer of the swing era. Nicknamed “The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm,” she led the Melodears in the 1930s, one of the first all-female big bands, before hosting her own musical television show in the 1950s.

Swedish actress (1915–1982), a towering figure of classic Hollywood cinema. Made famous by Casablanca (1942), she won three Academy Awards and established herself as one of the greatest actresses of the twentieth century.

French actress born in 1955, daughter of an Algerian father and a German mother. Launched to stardom by François Truffaut in *The Story of Adele H.* (1975), she portrays passionate and tormented women in *Possession*, *Camille Claudel*, and *Queen Margot*. Holder of a record five César Awards for Best Actress.

French actress born in 1953, considered one of the greatest performers in world cinema. A muse to directors such as Claude Chabrol and Michael Haneke, she brings an icy, deeply interior presence that redefines the art of acting.

American dancer (1877-1927)

French actress, singer, and director (1928–2017), iconic figure of the French New Wave. Muse of François Truffaut and Louis Malle, she embodied a free and modern femininity in films that have become classics of world cinema.

Jennifer Lopez, born in 1969 in the Bronx, New York, is an American singer, actress, and dancer of Puerto Rican descent. She established herself in the 1990s as one of the most influential Latin artists in the world.

African-American soprano considered one of the greatest operatic voices of the 20th century. Born in 1945 in Georgia, she rose to prominence on the world's most prestigious stages (the Met Opera, Bayreuth, Covent Garden). A figure in the civil rights movement, she performed *La Marseillaise* on the Champs-Élysées during the bicentennial of the French Revolution in 1989.

A British actress born in 1917 in Japan and died in 2013, Joan Fontaine became a major Hollywood star in the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1942 for Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, cementing her place among the great stars of classic American cinema.

Joan Sutherland (1926-2010) was an Australian soprano regarded as one of the greatest lyric voices of the 20th century. Nicknamed “La Stupenda”, she was celebrated for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire of Donizetti, Bellini, and Verdi.

French singer, dancer, and revue performer of American origin

Judi Dench is a British actress born in 1934, considered one of the greatest stage and screen performers of her country. Trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company, she achieved worldwide fame in cinema, notably in the role of M in the James Bond saga.

Judy Garland (1922-1969) was an American actress and singer, and one of Hollywood's most iconic figures. She rose to fame at 17 in The Wizard of Oz (1939), becoming the defining star of Hollywood's golden age of musical cinema. Her extraordinary voice and tragic life story made her a symbol of 20th-century popular culture.

A pioneering American filmmaker, Julie Dash is best known for *Daughters of the Dust* (1991), the first feature film by an African American woman director to receive a national theatrical release in the United States. Her work explores memory, identity, and the cultural heritage of the African American diaspora.

French actress born in 1964 in Paris, a leading figure in world arthouse cinema. She is the first actress to have won the César, the BAFTA, and the Academy Award in the same year (1997) for *The English Patient*, then the Best Actress prize at Cannes for *Certified Copy* (2010).

Kareena Kapoor, born in 1980 in Mumbai, is one of Bollywood's most celebrated actresses. From the legendary Kapoor family of Indian cinema, she has left her mark on Hindi film through her versatile roles and iconic style since the 2000s.

Kate Winslet is a British actress born in 1975 in Reading, England. She rose to worldwide fame through James Cameron's Titanic in 1997 and is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2009 for her role in The Reader.

Katy Perry is an American singer-songwriter born in 1984 in Santa Barbara. She rose to prominence in the 2000s–2010s as one of the best-selling pop artists in the world, with global hits such as 'Roar' and 'Firework'.

Kim Novak is an American actress born in 1933, a major figure of 1950s Hollywood cinema. She is world-famous for her dual role in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' in 1958.

Lana Del Rey, born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, is an American singer-songwriter born in 1985. Known for her melancholic lyrics and retro aesthetic, she blends pop, indie, and cinematic elements across acclaimed albums such as 'Born to Die' (2012).

Nicknamed the “Nightingale of India”, Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2022) is the most celebrated playback singer in Indian cinema. Over a career spanning more than 70 years, she recorded over 30,000 songs in some thirty languages, becoming a national cultural icon.

An African-American lyric soprano born in 1927, Leontyne Price was the first Black woman to achieve the rank of prima donna at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Celebrated for her interpretations of Verdi, she embodied both artistic excellence and triumph over racial segregation.

Italian director and screenwriter born in 1933. A figure of Italian auteur cinema, she is known for provocative works exploring power, memory, and Nazism, including “The Night Porter” (1974).

American playwright and screenwriter (1905–1984), Lillian Hellman made her mark on Broadway with politically engaged plays denouncing social injustice and fascism. She became an iconic figure of resistance to McCarthyism by refusing to name her colleagues before the HUAC committee.

Liv Ullmann is a Norwegian actress, director, and screenwriter born in 1938. The muse of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, she established herself as one of the greatest actresses in European cinema of the 20th century. She also advocates for children's rights as a UNICEF ambassador.

American dancer (1862–1928), pioneer of modern dance and stage lighting design. Her serpentine dance with silk veils lit by colored electric lights made her famous at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1892 onward, turning her into an icon of the Belle Époque and Art Nouveau.

Lois Weber (1879-1939) was one of the first great female directors in the history of American cinema. A Hollywood pioneer, she was one of the most influential and highest-paid filmmakers of the silent film era, tackling controversial social issues.

American playwright and author (1930–1965), Lorraine Hansberry was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway with *A Raisin in the Sun* (1959). A civil rights activist, she wove art and political commitment together in her fight against racial segregation.

An American comedic actress, producer, and businesswoman, she became a television icon thanks to the sitcom “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957). A pioneer, she was the first woman to head a major Hollywood production studio, Desilu.

American blues singer, known as the "Mother of the Blues." A pioneer of classic blues, she was one of the first African American artists to record records in the 1920s and influenced an entire generation of female singers.

Madhubala (1933-1969) is considered one of the greatest actresses of classic Hindi cinema. Nicknamed the "Venus of Bollywood," she embodied beauty and talent in films that became classics of the golden age of Indian cinema.

American singer, dancer, and businesswoman born in 1958, Madonna emerged in the 1980s as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Nicknamed the "Queen of Pop," she constantly pushes the boundaries of artistic creation and asserts her independence in a music industry dominated by men.

Margot Fonteyn (1919–1991) is considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet in London, she formed with Rudolf Nureyev one of the most celebrated partnerships in the history of classical dance.

Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961) was a French composer, classically trained pianist who became one of the great musical forces of French song. She wrote many hits for Édith Piaf as well as the musical "Irma la Douce."

La Divina, the most celebrated opera soprano of the 20th century

An American theoretical physicist of German origin, she developed the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. In 1963, she became the second woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, after Marie Curie.

British-American jazz pianist Marian McPartland made her mark on the New York scene from the 1950s onward. She is best known for hosting the radio show “Piano Jazz” for more than thirty years on the American public radio network NPR.

An American actress, model, and singer, Marilyn Monroe became one of the major cultural icons of the 20th century. A symbol of Hollywood glamour and American consumer society in the 1950s–1960s, her tragic life continues to fuel conversations about the treatment of women in the entertainment industry.

Marina Abramović is a Serbian artist born in 1946, a pioneer of performance art. Since the 1970s, she has explored the limits of the body, of endurance, and of the relationship between the artist and the audience, becoming one of the major figures of contemporary art.

French aristocrat, daughter of the Duke of Morny, known by the nickname “Missy.” A sculptor and music-hall performer, she lived openly dressed as a man and had a famous relationship with the writer Colette, sparking the Moulin Rouge scandal of 1907.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) was an American dancer and choreographer, founder of modern dance. She revolutionized the art of choreography by breaking away from classical ballet, developing a technique based on contraction and release of the body.

A Canadian-American actress nicknamed “America's Sweetheart,” she was one of the greatest stars of silent cinema. A pioneer of the Hollywood industry, she co-founded the United Artists studio in 1919.

African-American poet, memoirist, and activist (1928–2014), Maya Angelou is best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. A committed figure in the civil rights movement alongside Martin Luther King Jr., she became one of the most important voices in 20th-century American literature.

Maya Plisetskaya (1925-2015) is one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. A Bolshoi prima ballerina for over fifty years, she brought extraordinary virtuosity to her roles in Carmen and Swan Lake, leaving a lasting mark on the history of classical dance worldwide.

Meryl Streep is an American actress born in 1949, considered one of the greatest performers in the history of cinema. The recipient of three Academy Awards, she has distinguished herself in roles of exceptional diversity, from historical drama to musical comedy.

Born in 1992 in the United States, Miley Cyrus is a versatile artist who has established herself as a singer-songwriter and actress. She first rose to fame through the Hannah Montana series (Disney Channel), before successfully transitioning to an independent and outspoken musical career.

Revue headliner and undisputed star of the French music hall, Mistinguett reigned over the stages of the Moulin Rouge, the Folies Bergère, and the Casino de Paris from the Belle Époque through the 1950s. Famous for her insured legs, her popular charm, and her song “Mon Homme”, she was the most popular French entertainer of the first half of the 20th century.

Momoko Kōchi (1932–1998) was a Japanese actress best known for her role in Ishirō Honda's original Godzilla (1954). She played Emiko Yamane, one of the main characters in this iconic film of postwar Japanese science fiction.

Russian painter, draughtswoman, and set designer, a major figure of the early 20th-century avant-garde. Co-founder of Rayonism with Mikhail Larionov, she also distinguished herself through her sets and costumes for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

Natalia Oreiro is a Uruguayan actress and singer born in 1977 in Montevideo. She gained international fame through Argentine telenovelas of the 1990s and 2000s, and a music career that made her especially popular in Eastern Europe.

Natasha Henstridge is a Canadian actress and former model born in 1974. She rose to international fame in 1995 with the science-fiction film 'Species', in which she played Sil, an extraterrestrial creature. She went on to pursue a career in both film and television.

An Australian-American actress born in 1967, Nicole Kidman is one of Hollywood's greatest stars. She won the Academy Award in 2003 for The Hours, and has left her mark on world cinema through the range of her roles and her artistic commitment.

Nora Ephron (1941-2012) was an American journalist, screenwriter, director, and novelist. A major figure in Hollywood romantic comedy, she wrote and directed films that became cult classics, such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

Nusch Éluard, born Maria Benz (1906-1946), was an artist, model, and muse of the Surrealist movement. The companion and later wife of the poet Paul Éluard, she inspired poets and painters, and herself created Surrealist collages. Her sudden death in 1946 plunged Éluard into profound despair.

Olga Khokhlova was a Ukrainian dancer with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. She met Pablo Picasso during the creation of the ballet Parade in 1917 and became his first wife in 1918.

A British actress born in 1916 in Tokyo, Olivia de Havilland was one of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1930s and 1940s. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and successfully fought against the Hollywood studio system, paving the way for actors' contractual freedom.

Peggy Lee (1920-2002) was an American jazz and pop singer, songwriter, and actress. Discovered with Benny Goodman's orchestra, she established herself as a soloist with hits like "Fever" and "Is That All There Is?".

German dancer and choreographer

Preity Zinta is an Indian actress born on January 31, 1975, in Shimla. She rose to fame with the film Dil Se (1998) and became one of Bollywood's most popular actresses throughout the 2000s. She is also known for her humanitarian work and international career.

Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and singer born in 1982 in Jamshedpur. Crowned Miss World in 2000, she became one of Bollywood's most popular actresses before breaking into Hollywood. She embodies India's cultural influence on the world stage.

A pioneer of American female hip-hop, Queen Latifah made her mark from the late 1980s with politically engaged and feminist rap. She went on to build a dual career as a singer and actress, becoming one of the most influential women in the entertainment industry.

Renata Tebaldi (1922–2004) was one of the greatest Italian sopranos of the 20th century, celebrated for the purity and power of her voice. She dominated the world's opera stages, most notably La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and was the legendary rival of Maria Callas.

Rihanna is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman born in 1988. She rose to international fame in the 2000s and became one of the best-selling music artists in history. She is also the founder of the Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty brands.

Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was an American actress and dancer, considered one of the greatest Hollywood stars of the 1940s. A glamour icon, she is best known for her role in Gilda (1946).

Franco-German actress (1938-1982), launched to fame by the Sissi trilogy, she went on to establish herself as one of the greatest European actresses under the direction of Visconti, Sautet, and Zurlini. An icon of auteur cinema, her career path illustrates the transformation of the European star system.

British playwright (1971-1999), Sarah Kane is one of the major figures of radical contemporary theatre. Her plays, marked by extreme violence, psychological suffering and the disintegration of language, shook the English-speaking stage in the 1990s.

An American-Danish actress and singer born in 1984 in New York, Scarlett Johansson established herself in the 2000s as one of Hollywood's most influential actresses. She is also a producer and an advocate for feminist causes.

Selena Gomez is an American singer and actress born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas. Rising to fame through a Disney Channel series, she became a global pop icon and influential entrepreneur. She is also an advocate for mental health awareness and Latino representation in the media.

A Japanese actress considered one of the greatest in Japanese cinema, she is inseparable from the films of Yasujirō Ozu. Her radiant smile and restrained presence earned her the nickname “Eternal Goddess.” She mysteriously retired from cinema in 1963.

Shakira is a Colombian singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1977 in Barranquilla. A global icon of Latin pop, she blends Arabic, rock, and Afro-Caribbean influences. She was the first Latin American artist to surpass one billion views on YouTube.

French actress and writer (1921–1985), Simone Signoret was the first French actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Room at the Top (1959). An icon of postwar cinema, she was equally recognized for her political activism and her memoirs.

Soni Razdan is an Indian actress born in 1958, known for her roles in Hindi cinema and Indian television series. She is also the mother of actress Alia Bhatt.

Norwegian figure skater, three-time consecutive Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) and ten-time world champion. Reinventing herself as a Hollywood movie star, she revolutionized figure skating by bringing dance and showmanship into the sport.

Italian actress born in 1934, Sophia Loren is one of the greatest stars in world cinema. The first actress to win an Academy Award for a role performed in a foreign language, she embodies both glamour and Italian neorealism.

Susan Sontag (1933-2004) was a major American intellectual of the 20th century — essayist, novelist, and activist. Known for her reflections on photography, illness, and war, she profoundly shaped contemporary critical thought.

Sylvie Guillem (born 1965) is a French ballet dancer considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Trained at the Paris Opéra Ballet, she revolutionized classical dance with her exceptional technique and expressiveness. She became an étoile at 19 before pursuing an international career at the Royal Ballet in London.

Born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 in Tennessee, Tina Turner is one of the greatest rock and soul singers of the 20th century. After surviving an abusive marriage to Ike Turner, she made a triumphant solo comeback in the 1980s.

Zimbabwean novelist and filmmaker born in 1959, Tsitsi Dangarembga is the first Black woman from Zimbabwe to have published a novel in English. Her work explores colonization, the condition of women, and African identity in a postcolonial society.

Valaida Snow (1904-1956) was an African American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. Nicknamed “the Queen of the Trumpet,” she enjoyed an international career between the two World Wars before the Second World War shattered her trajectory.

British actress born in 1913, Vivien Leigh is world-famous for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). A two-time Oscar winner, she embodied Hollywood glamour while also pursuing a demanding stage career in London.

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) is one of the greatest American singers of all time, celebrated for her exceptional voice. She dominated global charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s and starred in the blockbuster film The Bodyguard (1992).

Yoko Ono is a Japanese artist born in 1933 in Tokyo, a major figure in conceptual art and the Fluxus movement. A peace activist, she is also known for her artistic and political commitment alongside John Lennon. Her work explores audience participation, peace, and memory.

Youki Desnos (née Lucie Badoul, 1903–1962) was one of the iconic figures of the Parisian bohemian scene between the two World Wars. A model and muse for the painter Foujita, then partner of the Surrealist poet Robert Desnos, she was a central presence in the artistic circles of Montparnasse before becoming a gallerist.

Alyssa Milano is an American actress who rose to fame on television in the 1980s and 1990s. In October 2017, she revived the #MeToo hashtag on social media, helping to turn it into a global movement against sexual violence.

American actress born in 1982, Anne Hathaway has established herself as one of Hollywood's biggest stars. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2013 for her portrayal of Fantine in Les Misérables.

American director, producer, and screenwriter, Ava DuVernay has established herself as a major voice in socially engaged cinema. With Selma (2014) and the documentary 13th (2016), she explores the struggle for civil rights and racial inequality in the United States.

Icelandic singer, composer, and artist born in 1965 in Reykjavík, pioneer of experimental electronic music and avant-garde pop. She is also an actress, awarded at Cannes in 2000 for Dancer in the Dark.

Italian mezzo-soprano born in 1966 in Rome, Cecilia Bartoli is one of the greatest opera singers of her generation. A specialist in baroque and classical repertoire, she has brought to light many forgotten works by Vivaldi, Salieri, and Agostino Steffani.

Fan Bingbing is a Chinese actress and film producer, considered one of the most famous and highest-paid stars in Asia. She rose to meteoric fame before becoming embroiled in a tax scandal in 2018.

Francia Raisa is an American actress of Honduran and Mexican descent, known for her roles in television series such as “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” She became widely known to the public after donating a kidney to her friend, the singer Selena Gomez, in 2017.

Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress, producer and former model, born in 1985. Brought to prominence by the Fast & Furious saga and then known worldwide for her role as Wonder Woman, she is one of the major figures of Hollywood superhero cinema.

American director born in 1951, Kathryn Bigelow became in 2010 the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. A pioneer of action cinema, she explores war and violence with striking documentary-style realism.

Kelly Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, and later pursued a solo career and television personality work.

American singer and songwriter born in 1969, Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling artists in history with over 200 million albums sold. Known for her exceptional five-octave vocal range and whistle register, she dominated the American charts throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

American producer, mother of actress Scarlett Johansson. From very early on she accompanied her daughter to auditions and acted as an informal manager, and later as a producer, in her film career.

Nicki Minaj is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter of Trinidadian descent, born in 1982. A major figure in 2010s hip-hop, she established herself as one of the most influential and best-selling female rappers of her generation.

Ruth Hogben is a British director and video artist born in 1982, specializing in fashion. A former assistant to photographer Nick Knight, she has established herself as a leading figure in experimental fashion film and in art direction for music videos and runway shows.

Solange Knowles is an American singer, songwriter, and producer, a leading figure in alternative R&B and contemporary soul music. The younger sister of Beyoncé, she has established herself as a avant-garde artist celebrated for her album A Seat at the Table (2016).

A pioneering American playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks was the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for *Topdog/Underdog* in 2002. Her work explores African-American identity, collective memory, and history through experimental and poetic language.

French playwright, novelist, and actress born in 1959, Yasmina Reza made her mark with *Art* (1994), a philosophical comedy about friendship and the value of art. Her plays, translated into more than 35 languages, sharply examine the cracks in human relationships and social hypocrisies.