CELEBRATE 5 EXTRAORDINARY LA WOMEN

Hollyhock House | Photo: Joshua White

From the arts to science, sports to politics, Los Angeles has been home to extraordinary women who have risen to the top of their fields. For generations, they've fought for the rights of others, impacted arts and culture, made great strides in the sciences, won numerous championships and much more. Whether it's Women's History Month every March, International Women's Day on March 8, or any time of the year, learn about some of the great women who were born in LA or have called the city home.

1) ALINE BARNSDALL

Oil heiress Aline Barnsdall is perhaps best known as Frank Lloyd Wright's client for the Hollyhock House, the first UNESCO World Heritage site in Los Angeles. Barnsdall bought the 35-acre Olive Hill property in 1919. Construction on the home began that year and was completed in 1922.

Barnsdall donated the 11.5 acres of Barnsdall Art Park to the City of Los Angeles in 1927. In her bequest, she stipulated that the site must "forever remain a public park…for the enjoyment of the community in general [and that] no buildings be erected except for art purposes." The City of LA's Department of Cultural Affairs operates the cultural and artistic programs at Barnsdall Park, while the grounds are maintained by the Department of Recreation and Parks.

Barnsdall was also a guiding force and important financial contributor for the Hollywood Bowl, and a patron of architects Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, and photographer Edmund Teske among others.

2) AMANDA GORMAN

LA native Amanda Gorman became an instant global icon with a galvanizing recitation of her poem, "The Hill We Climb," at the January 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The youngest inaugural poet in history, Gorman earned praise from Barack and Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and countless others. Following her reading, her books The Hill We Climb and Change Sings: A Children's Anthem, topped the Amazon bestseller list. A book version of her inaugural poem was released in March 2021 with a foreword by Oprah.

As part of the pregame ceremony for Super Bowl LV, Gorman delivered (via video) her original poem, "Chorus of the Captains," which was inspired by three essential workers who were the honorary captains of the coin toss. Gorman was interviewed by Michelle Obama for a TIME cover story, and was named to the TIME100 Next list - in his blurb, Miranda wrote that he's "a fan for life."

3) ANNA MAY WONG

Portrait of Anna May Wong dated Nov. 17, 1937
 Photo: Eugene Robert Richee for Paramount Picture

Born Wong Liu Tsong in Los Angeles to second-generation Chinese Americans, Anna May Wong achieved international stardom as a film star and fashion icon. Her career spanned the silent film era, sound and color films, TV, stage and radio. Wong is widely regarded as the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star, starring with Golden Age legends like Douglas Fairbanks in The Thief of Baghdad (1924) and Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express (1932).

Frustrated by the stereotypical "Dragon Lady" and "Butterfly" roles she reluctantly played in Hollywood productions, she left for Europe in 1928 and became a sensation. During this period she starred on the London stage in A Circle of Chalk with Laurence Olivier. In the late '30s, Wong starred in several B movies for Paramount Pictures - her roles depicted Chinese and Chinese Americans in a positive light. During World War II, Wong donated time and money to support China's struggle against Japan.

Wong made history in 1951 with The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first TV series in the U.S. to star an Asian American in the lead. In 1960, a year before her death, Wong was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wong is one of four pioneering actresses portrayed in the "Gateway to Hollywood" sculpture at Hollywood and La Brea - the others are Dorothy Dandridge, Dolores del Río, and Mae West. In March 2020, Wong was named one of TIME's 100 Women of the Year, a list of the most influential women of the past century.

Anna May Wong made history again in October 2022, when she became the first Asian American to appear on U.S. currency with the release of the fifth American Women Quarter.

4) BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé On the Run Tour | Photo: beyonce.com

The New Yorker has described Beyoncé as "the most important and compelling popular musician of the twenty-first century ... the result, the logical end point, of a century-plus of pop." A native of Houston, Texas, Beyoncé first rose to fame as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups in history. She's sold more than 330 million albums worldwide, including digital and 60 million with Destiny's Child. Queen Bey has won 32 GRAMMY Awards - more than any artist in history - and set the record for most GRAMMYs for a female artist in one night (six in 2010). In March 2020, Beyoncé was named one of TIME's 100 Women of the Year, a list of the most influential women of the past century.

Beyoncé is well-known for her activism - she described herself in Vogue as "a modern-day feminist" and has frequently spoken out about police brutality against African Americans.

A longtime ally of the LGBTQ community, Beyoncé has publicly endorsed same-sex marriage; included LGBTQ people and couples in videos for "Formation" and "All Night"; and dedicated "Halo" to the victims and survivors of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting during The Formation World Tour. In 2019, Beyoncé and Jay-Z received GLAAD’s Vanguard Award, which is presented to allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people. At the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, when Beyoncé accepted her record-breaking GRAMMY for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance, the star-studded crowd cheered as she thanked "the queer community for your love, and for inventing the genre."

5)) BIDDY MASON

Biddy Mason
Photo: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Bridget “Biddy” Mason was a former enslaved person who became a pioneering L.A. real estate entrepreneur and beloved philanthropist. Mason won her freedom in 1856 and settled in Los Angeles with her three daughters to work as a nurse and midwife. According to Wikipedia, Mason delivered hundreds of babies during her career and used her knowledge of herbal remedies (taught to her by other female slaves) to treat those afflicted by the smallpox epidemic, risking her own life in doing so. She lived frugally and began saving money, which she later used to acquire property and became one of the first African American women to own land in Los Angeles.

In 1872, Mason and her son-in-law, Charles Owens founded the city’s first African American church, the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. Organizing meetings took place at Mason's home on Spring Street and she donated the land on which First A.M.E. was built. Mason was a savvy investor - as Downtown LA continued to grow, her properties became prime real estate. She eventually amassed an estimated fortune of $300,000 and supported philanthropic projects like a travelers aid center and the first elementary school for African American children.

Located off Spring Street across from Grand Central Market in Downtown LA, Biddy Mason Memorial Park features an 80-foot timeline that traces her remarkable life.