Leading from the front
Published: December 10 2010 19:29 | Last updated: December 10 2010 19:29
FT writers and editors pick their most influential women of the past 10 years across the globe, from Nobel prize-winning scientists to political activists and technology tycoons.
POLITICS
Hillary Clinton
New York senator, presidential contender, secretary of state
Sonia Gandhi
President of the Indian National Congress Party and dynastic head
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
President of Liberia and first African female head of state
Angela Merkel
Chancellor of Germany and former chair of the G8
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burmese politician and former political prisoner
. . .
BUSINESS
Indra Nooyi
Chairman/chief executive of PepsiCo
Dame Anita Roddick (d)
Founder of The Body Shop, entrepreneur and ethical campaigner
Sherron Watkins
Former Enron vice-president turned whistleblower
Meg Whitman
Former chief executive of Ebay who blazed a trail for e-commerce
Hu Xiaolian
Deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China. Responsible for renminbi internationalisation
. . .
ART
Louise Bourgeois (d)
French-American artist and sculptor known for her spider structures
Marlene Dumas
South African artist who specialises in representations of the human body
Tracey Emin
Young British artist who makes art out of her personal history
Annette de la Renta
Vice-chairman, Metropolitan Museum, New York
Marian Goodman
New York gallerist bringing European art to Americans
. . .
SCIENCE
Elizabeth Blackburn
Won 2009 Nobel prize for work on ageing and cancer
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Astrophysicist who discovered the first pulsar (rotating neutron star)
Dame Jane Goodall
Groundbreaking primatologist and chimpanzee champion
Susan Greenfield
Britain’s most controversial female scientist
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
Nobel prize-winner for her work on embryonic development
. . .
SPORT
Yelena Isinbayeva
Russian pole-vaulter who won Olympic golds in 2004 and 2008
Paula Radcliffe
Long-distance runner who has won eight marathons
Annika Sörenstam
Holds more tournament titles than any other female golfer
Marta Vieira da Silva
Star football forward on Brazil’s national team
Serena Williams
Tennis champion with 27 Grand Slam wins and two Olympic golds
. . .
ENTERTAINMENT
Beyoncé
Moved from girl group to soloist, picking up 16 Grammys en route
Tina Fey
American actress, comic and Sarah Palin-impersonator
Jade Goody (d)
Icon of reality television
Angelina Jolie
One Oscar, three Golden Globes, massive Hollywood clout
Hannah Montana
Tween idol and model of media distribution
. . .
TECHNOLOGY
Carol Bartz
Outspoken Yahoo CEO who has sat on Intel and Cisco boards
Carly Fiorina
Head of Hewlett-Packard, 1999-2005
Marissa Mayer
The youngest member of Google’s executive committee
Sheryl Sandberg
Number two at Facebook is Zuckerberg’s closest business confidante
Padmasree Warrior
Chief technology officer and probable heir apparent at Cisco
. . .
BOOKS
Michiko Kakutani
Pulitzer prize-winning critic for The New York Times
Hilary Mantel
Queen of historical fiction. Winner of the 2009 Man Booker prize
Stephenie Meyer
Bestselling author of the Twilight vampire romance series
Gail Rebuck
Chairman and chief executive of the Random House Group
J. K. Rowling
Revolutionised children’s literature with Harry Potter
. . .
ZEITGEIST
Neda Agha-Soltan (d)
Iranian student killed in post-election protests in 2009
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Activist and author who criticised Islam in her 2006 memoir Infidel
Zaha Hadid
The world’s most successful female architect
Kate Middleton
Now the official royal bride-in-waiting after years of expectation
Sarah Palin
Darling of the US Tea Party, scourge of the left and 2012 contender
. . .
FASHION
Michelle Obama
First lady and fashion role model
Sarah Jessica Parker
Starred in Sex and the City – and changed the shoe industry
Phoebe Philo
Céline’s creative director defined the current drive for minimalism
Kate Moss
The ultimate mirror of fashion’s obsessions and model-as-brand
Anna Wintour
Editor of US Vogue. Arguably fashion’s most influential woman
Nominated by: Rosie Blau, Clive Cookson, James Crabtree, Jan Dalley, Vanessa Friedman, David Gelles, Andrew Hill, Simon Kuper, Joseph Menn, Chris Nuttall, Rebecca Rose, Alec Russell, Richard Waters and FT Weekend Magazine staff
