Womanica

Jane Foole, or Jane the Fool, (fl. 1535-1558) was a fool at the English Royal court during the Tudor era in the mid 16th century. As a woman court jester, she was extremely unique among professional jesters of the era, and greatly revered by Mary I of England. For Further Reading: Fools and Jesters at the English Court A Brief History: Jane the Fool Bloody Mary I's BRILLIANT Fool Jane Foole This b...

Betty White (1922-2021) led a television career that lasted more than seven decades. She began as a host on talk and variety shows, establishing a steady career as a TV personality before landing two sitcom roles that would make her one of the country’s most beloved celebrities. For Further Reading: Betty White, a Television Golden Girl From the Start, Is Dead At 99 Betty White: First Lady Of Tele...

Carol Channing (1921-2019) was a Broadway leading lady known for her eccentric public persona, sharp comedic timing, and unique gravelly singing voice. Her starring roles in the musicals “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Hello, Dolly!” cemented her as a stage legend.  For Further Reading: Carol Channing Dies at 97; a Larger-Than-Life Broadway Star - The New York Times   Carol Channing - Turner Class...

Fran Lebowitz (1950-present) is an American author, humorist, and public speaker. She rose to fame in the 1970s for her distinctive voice and unapologetic humor, often exploring topics such as politics, gender, and the urban experience. She has become a cultural icon for her sharp observations and sardonic style in her writing and speaking. For Further Reading: Fran Lebowitz is Never Leaving New Y...

Kitty Clive (1711-1785) was a well known English actress and singer at the famed Drury Lane Theater in London. Her career spanned many decades and took many forms over the years. She transformed from a dramatic lead to a comedic caricature of herself, evolving to win back public favor after several media squabbles. For Further Reading: Performer Catherine Clive of Drury Lane: British Theatrical St...

LaWanda Page (1920-2002) was an American actress, comedian, and dancer whose career spanned over 60 years. She was best known for her role as Aunt Esther in Sanford and Son – a pious, buttoned-up foil to the show’s main character, Fred Sanford.  For Further Reading: LaWanda Page, 81, the Aunt On TV's 'Sanford and Son' LaWanda Page, comedic genius and evangelist LaWanda Page, 81, Of ‘Sanford * Son’...

Mabel Normand (1882-1930) was an iconic actress and director of Hollywood’s silent film era. She popularized the pie in the face. She mentored Charlie Chaplin. . And she became one of the first women in history to have her name on a film production company.  For Further Reading: Mabel Normand - Turner Classic Movies Eyes on the pies: how Mabel Normand, Chaplin’s mentor, changed cinema | Silent fil...

Lulu Adams (1900- c.1989)  was an early female clown who appeared in some of the most renowned British circuses of her time. She formed a famous clown duo act with her husband, Albert, and toured the U.S. with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. For Further Reading: Performers of the Past; A Proud Legacy–Lulu Adams Adams, Lulu (Louise), c1900 - 1989 Send in the Clowness: The Problem...

Lydia Shum (c. 1945-2008) was a Hong Kong comedian whose recognizable image became a staple on TV screens across Asia. Known as “Fei Fei,” her skills in improv and comedy made her an indispensable figure in TV, movies, and as an advocate for Vancouver immigrant services group SUCCESS. For Further Reading: Hong Kong Heritage Museum: Our Beloved “Happy Fruit” Lydia Sum Beloved personality was 'an in...

Maria Elena Velasco (1940-2015) was a Mexican film and television actress who developed the popular character La India Marí, a slapstick comedy character based on a stereotypical Mexican indigenous woman.  For Further Reading: La India María: Mexploitation and the Films of María Elena Velasco Indios y burros: Rethinking “la India María” as Ethnographic Cinema El miedo no anda en burro - película c...

Marietta Holley (1836-1926) was a popular American humorist. Over her 40-year literary career, she used comedic language to advocate  for feminist causes like suffrage and temperance.  For Further Reading: Marietta Holley: Life with “Josiah Allen’s Wife” Marietta Holley: The Humorist as Propagandist Twayne’s United States Authors Series: Marietta Holley This month, we’re talking about comediennes...

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (1912-1996) was better known by her alter ego, Minnie Pearl — a radio, television, and stage personality known as the queen of country comedy. She performed for fifty years in her trademark thrift store dresses and straw hat as a member of The Grand Ole Opry.  For Further Reading: MINNIE PEARL Minnie Pearl Is Dead at 83; Star of 'The Grand Ole Opry' Minnie Pearl: The Li...

Niní Marshall (1903-1996) had many talents but is most known as a writer, humorist, and actress from Argentina. She challenged the soundscape of Argentine radio and created satirical characters that went on to be featured in film and theater.  For Further Reading: Niní Marshall, "la gran actriz cómica argentina" Niní Marshall, la reina inmortal del humor argentino: censura, exilio y legado Radio a...

Mitzi Shore (1930-2018) is known for opening the Comedy Store, a famous workshop and performance space for up and coming comics. She was the ultimate curator of young talent, and a  mentor for many comedians over the years. Mitzi offered talented performers a chance to make it big. Further Reading: Mitzi Shore: Still Minding the Store Mitzi Shore, Whose Comedy Store Fostered Rising Stars, Dies at...

Peg Lynch (1916-2015) was an American writer, actress and producer who wrote over 10,000 scripts for television and radio, and created and starred in one of the first sitcoms. For Further Reading: Peg Lynch, Writer and Star of Early Situation Comedy, Dies at 98 “There’s Nothing Like A Quiet, Pleasant Dinner At Home…” Peg Lynch Comedy of the Commonplace: The Sitcom Genius of Peg Lynch This month, w...

Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) was a pioneering female comic in the U.S. Her invented onstage persona – a hapless housewife with a dawdling husband named Fang – was iconic on late-night TV and in theaters across the country. Her abrasive humor left no stone unturned and paved the way for female comics to embrace a more unconventional style of comedy. For Further Reading: Like a Lampshade in a Whorehou...

Shari Lewis (1933-1998) is best known for her cheeky sock puppet friend Lamb Chop. Shari, Lamb Chop and their other puppet castmates starred in several television series in America and England and won 12 Emmy Awards. Together, they taught kids to love music and learning and they charmed television audiences for decades.  For Further Reading: Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop: The Team That Changed Childre...

Vesta Tilley (1864-1952) was a famous male impersonator in music halls throughout England and the U.S. Her act was so popular that during World War I, she became an unofficial recruitment officer for young men who came to see her show. Dressed in male clothing, she danced her way into the hearts of all types of audiences. For Further Reading: The Vesta Tilley Collection: The Music Hall Actress Fro...

Tun Tun (1923-2003) was "Hindi cinema's first-ever comedienne." She got her start  as a hit playback singer before transitioning to comedic acting. Over the course of her career, she acted in hundreds of films and became a household name in India. She leaned into her persona as a comedic sidekick using stereotypes to her advantage.  For Further Reading: Tun Tun/Uma Devi Khatri: Singer, Hindi Cinem...

Mabel, Bessie, Alberta, and Alice Whitman were a vaudeville performance group known collectively as the Whitman Sisters. From 1900 to 1943, they managed and toured with their own performing company, making them the longest-running and highest-paid acts on the Vaudeville circuit for Black performers.  Further Reading: Whitman Sisters The Whitman Sisters: Why We May Never Silence Them The royalty of...

Sorghaghtani Beki (c. 1190-1252) was one of the most powerful people in the Mongol Empire. Daughter-in-law to Genghis Khan, she used unique forms of diplomacy to cement her place in Mongol society and create a path forward for all four of her sons to become Khans in their own right. Her reforms, passed on through her children, gave stability and prosperity to the Mongol Empire at a crucial moment....

Mary Prince (c. 1788 - c. 1833) was the first Black woman to publish an autobiography about her experiences being enslaved. Her narrative, The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, Related by Herself contributed to the growing Abolition movement in Britain and the eventual passage of the Slavery Abolition Act.   Further Reading: Mary Prince The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, R...

Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878-1972) left a lasting impact on what we think of today as work-life balance. Her life was immortalized in the novel-turned film Cheaper by the Dozen . But she was also an engineer, a psychologist, a professor – in addition to being a mother of 12 children. She studied workplace efficiency and designed inventions that made worklife and homelife a little easier.  For Fur...

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was a journalist and writer. She is often considered the first female sociologist known for popularizing political economy. Over the course of her lifetime, she wrote 35 books and countless essays and articles spanning topics from anti-slavery to religion and health.  For Further Reading: Harriet Martineau The Victorian Woman Writer Who Refused to Let Doctors Define H...

Anna Komnene (1083-1153) has mostly been remembered in history for the failed coup to take control of the Byzantine Empire from her younger brother. But she was also a dedicated historian, and her 13 volume historical work — the Alexiad — is one of the most extensive written during the Middle Ages.   For Further Reading: The Misunderstood Byzantine Princess and Her Magnum Opus Anna Komnene - World...