The inspirational women who were trailblazing the year you were born

Princess Diana was an influential icon since the moment she stepped properly on to the public stage in 1981, as Prince Charles’ wife. But in 1987, the Princess of Wales really made waves of her own. During a visit to a dedicated ward for AIDS and HIV-related disease patients at London's Middlesex Hospital, Diana broke new ground by being photographed shaking the hand of a patient without wearing gloves. With so much stigma surrounding AIDS at the time (it was given all sorts of derogatory names in the media, referencing its prevalence in gay men), Diana’s actions did a lot for changing the face of the disease, the understanding around it, and the compassion shown to those living with it.

Having been scouted just two years previously, Naomi Campbell rose to success quickly, and in 1988 she made history by becoming the first Black model to feature on the cover of French Vogue. “I was 18 years old and I asked for that shoot, because they had never put a Black model on a cover before,” said Naomi of her trailblazing moment. “I discovered at an early age what it meant to be a Black model: I needed to challenge traditional standards of beauty. These moments were the result of hard work and extra effort – I had to be twice as good.”

When in 1989, a piece of legislation called Section 28 was introduced, 'promotion of homosexuality' was banned in schools. This meant conversations around same-sex and LGBTQ+ relationships were banned, affecting LGBTQ+ youth and teachers. In response to this, and in order to stop the homophobic law, Lisa Power (along with 13 other activists) founded Stonewall. Lisa went on to work for Lesbian & Gay Switchboard, and Terence Higgins Trust. Now more than 30 years later, Stonewall is one of the most successful campaigning organisations in the UK and continues to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. On International Women's Day in 2020, Lisa said: "Women are raised with an inner voice of self doubt; tell yours to shut up and let you have a go."

Madonna is known for bringing controversy to pop culture in the 80s, 90s and beyond, but it hit particular heights in 1990 during the singer’s Blond Ambition World Tour. The debut home of Madonna’s infamous ‘cone bra’, the tour went on to face major backlash over use of Catholic imagery and sexual content. Several (semi-successful) attempts were made to ban the tour in Italy, with the Pope even going so far as to call it "one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity." During a show in Toronto, police threatened to arrest Madonna if her performance of 'Like a Virgin' were to include her miming masturbation. Despite that, the then-32-year-old stood strong on her sex-positivity stance, and still included her warned-against hand motions during the song. The police chose not to arrest her on obscenity charges.

British chemist and astronaut Helen Sharman made history in 1991 by becoming the first British citizen to go into space. She participated in a mission to the Soviet modular space station, Mir, in May of that year, spending a total of eight days up there, and providing inspiration to young girls all over the country. Being just 27 at the time of lift off, Sharman simultaneously became one of the youngest people ever to go on a space mission. “People often describe me as the first British woman in space, but I was actually the first British person," she told The Guardian in 2020. "It’s telling that we would otherwise assume it was a man." Of her experience in Space, Helen said: "There’s no greater beauty than looking at the Earth from up high – and I’ll never forget the first time I saw it. After take-off we left the atmosphere and suddenly light streamed in through the window. We were over the Pacific Ocean. The gloriously deep blue seas took my breath away."

Junko Tabeil may have been 4 foot 9, and a woman (something, throughout her lifetime, many felt impeded your ability to climb), but she still made climbing the world’s highest summits a realised dream. Not content with becoming the first woman to summit the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest, in 1975, Junko went on to receive the title of ‘the first woman to climb the Seven Summits’ (the highest peak on each continent) in 1992, when she reached the top of Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. If there was ever a lesson in determination and resulting success, this is it.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s valuable presence in the fight for women's rights was felt long before the 90s, but it was in 1993 that she achieved the ultimate platform for her goals: a seat in the US Supreme Court. Despite having been one of just nine female undergraduates in a year of 500 men at Harvard in 1957, RBG powered through to receive the ultimate accolade of being a justice in the US’ highest court. There, she ruled favourably over cases concerning contraception, equal pay, and gay rights. Prior to her death in 2020, Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared her wish that there would be a time when all nine Supreme Court Justices are women. “People are shocked [when I say that],” she said. “But there have been nine men and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

Believe it or not, it took until 1994 for the first female same-sex kiss to be broadcast on TV in the UK before the 9pm watershed. The actresses who featured in it were Anna Friel and Nicola Stephenson, who played Beth and Margaret in Channel 4’s soap, Brookside. Friel even became involved in the writing of the script; her character, Beth, had a history of sexual abuse, and the actress wanted to ensure that her sexuality was in no way linked to the trauma of her past, as this is would have been a damaging narrative. “I am proud we took on such controversial storylines and it was new and innovative,” Anna Friel told the Radio Times years later. “I am proud that we got it in the contract that Beth would always stay gay; it wasn’t because of her sexual abuse.”

Sure, she’s fictional – and yup aspects of her narrative are certainly problematic looking back (because. well, she couldn't have been much further from fat if she tried) – but it’s hard to argue that Bridget Jones isn’t an icon of our times. In 1995, Helen Fielding’s first Bridget Jones column was published in the pages of The Independent. The writer used the anonymity of a fictional character to avoid “hopelessly embarrassing and exposing” herself by sharing her inner monologue. And much to Fielding’s surprise, the world loved Bridget. She normalised being single in your thirties, taught people to embrace their single selves, and made us laugh until we nearly peed. The fictional best friend we never knew we needed.

Five women who changed the face of feminism came in the form of Sporty, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Posh – AKA, the Spice Girls. They might have been typecast into different roles, but by coming together to assume them, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Mel B, Mel C and Geri Halliwell taught women young and old all around the world that it was totally okay to be whoever they were. The message of empowerment filtered beyond their ‘Girl Power’ slogan and into their songs, too. Lyrics such as, “I'll tell you what I really, really want,” and, “God help the mister that comes between me and my sisters,” sum it up perfectly. Zig-a-zig-ah.

Politics had been viewed as a 'man's world' for far too long, but in 1997, feminist icon President Madeleine K. Albright began putting a stop to that by being appointed the 64th Secretary of State of the United States by President Bill Clinton. The role made her the highest-ranking woman in the federal government’s history. "The reason I made women's issues central to American foreign policy was not because I was a feminist, but because we know that societies are more stable if women are politically and economically empowered," she once said. Amen to that.

1998 saw the start of Sex and the City, and with it, four new strong female characters were welcomed into our lives and our hearts. While the men came and went, the four women chose each other as their family. As Samantha puts it during one episode: "We made a deal ages ago… men, babies, it doesn’t matter. We’re soulmates." (Although, the new series And Just Like That showed how friendships change over the years with the notably absent Samantha.)

In 1999, artist Tracey Emin not only took the art world, but the wider world by storm with the exhibition of her installation ‘My Bed’ at the Tate Britain. The idea behind the work was to share an insight into the bed and the bedroom of a real woman. Described by some as "a testament to the breakdown of a relationship," the scene includes an unmade bed along with used condoms, empty vodka bottles, and blood-stained underwear. It represented a change in attitude towards female sexuality, and invited a sense of liberation. Despite being controversial at the time (the installation received backlash, with one critic describing Emin's work as "tortured nonsense") the artist still upholds her creation. "I really care about the bed. I love it. I stand by it," she said.

Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams arrived on the music scene in the 90s, but they really made their mark in terms of female empowerment with the release of their song, Independent Women, in 2000. With uplifting lyrics like, "The car I'm driving, I've bought it, I depend on me" – it's no surprise this turned out to be the band's biggest single, staying at the top spot of the US charts for no less than 11 consecutive weeks, and also reaching number one in three other countries, including here in the UK.

The Williams sisters between them have long-dominated the world of women's tennis, but in 2001 their friendly rivalry got serious when they met for the first time in a slam-final at the US Open. It was the first time two sisters had ever played each other at such a prestigious level, and as a result the game received widespread media coverage. Venus Williams won that one, but from there Serena went on to take the upper hand, reaching the number 1 rank for the first time on July 8, 2002. Both sisters have remained vocal about the inspiration they provide to other budding female sports stars around the world. "As a Black tennis player, I looked different. I sounded different. I dressed differently. I served differently. But when I stepped onto the court, I could compete with anyone," Serena once said.

Queen Elizabeth has got to be one of the biggest icons of all our lifetimes – no matter what year we were born. Becoming monarch in 1952, following the untimely death of her father King George VI, the Queen celebrated her golden jubilee in 2002, marking 50 years on the throne. Since then, she has become the longest reigning monarch ever in British history (70 years, OMG), as well as the oldest monarch ever to live. Almost as if she knew she would live such a long life of service, in a speech made on her 21st birthday in 1947, the then-Princess Elizabeth said: "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

The battle for trans rights has been long-fought for globally, but in 2003 came a major moment of change for transgender individuals in the United States (and also the wider world, as trans visibility generally increased). Mara Keisling, a woman who began transitioning in her early 40s, founded The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), a social justice organisation devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and more. Mara remains the executive director of the NCTE today, and has overseen policy change at a local and federal level during her time leading the organisation.

In the male-dominated world of architecture, Zaha Hadid was not deterred from rising from the top. The British-Iraqi architect – famed for the MAXXI museum of contemporary art and architecture in Rome and the Heydar Aliyev Centre Baku, Azerbaijan – made history in 2004 when she became the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize, one of the most illustrious awards in the industry. Speaking to the Financial Times in 2015, a year before her death at the age of 65, she said: "As a woman in architecture, you're always an outsider. It's okay, I like being on the edge."