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Polish actress, dancer, film producer and environmental activist Izabella Miko is noted for starring in the films Coyote Ugly and The Forsaken and in the music videos Mr. Brightside and Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers. She debuted as film producer with Desert Dancer. She runs the eco foundation called EkoMiko and has a sustainable candle line called EkoMiko Candles.
Olga Tokarczuk is a Polish writer and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed authors of her generation in Poland. She was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first female Polish writer to receive the honor. Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages. She is also a clinical psychologist.
Enamoured by the ideas of French and German philosophers, Ferdinand Lassalle initially aspired to be a lecturer. He later joined the socialist cause and spearheaded Germany’s social democratic movement. He also introduced terms such as the iron law of wages and concepts such as Lassallism, or achieving socialist ideals through the state.
Marek Edelman was a Polish social and political activist and cardiologist. A well-known revolutionary, Edelman helped establish the Jewish Combat Organization which played a key role in launching the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. He was one of the most important leaders of the resistance movement. After the war, Marek Edelman went on to become a noted cardiologist.
Anna Walentynowicz was a Polish trade unionist. She was credited with co-founding a Polish trade union called Solidarity, which played a key role in ending the Communist rule in Poland. In 2006, Anna Walentynowicz was honored with the Order of the White Eagle. She was also named in Time magazine's 100 Women of the Year list in 2020.
Born in Poland, Charlie Riina moved to Canada in her younger days and won various chess contests there. She later studied criminology but changed her tracks after winning Miss Toronto. Now a popular adult star and beachwear model, she has also been a coveted Playboy Playmate of the Year.
Polish activist Nadia Oleszczuk is the founding member of the Consultative Council that was created by All-Poland Women's Strike in the context of the October 2020 Polish protests. Her role in the non-Government council includes taking care of rights issues of workers including workforce casualisation and wages for housework.
Polish politician Anna Grodzka became the first openly transgender Member of Parliament in Poland and third openly transgender member of a national parliament worldwide after she got elected to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland during the 2011 Polish parliamentary elections. She co-founded the Polish LGBT rights organization called Tras-Fuzja and served as its first president.
Johannes Zukertort was a Polish chess player who dominated the international chess scene during the 1870s and 1880s. The Réti Opening was originally called Zukertort's Opening as he often used Nf3 as his opening move. A multi-talented personality, Johannes Zukertort also achieved success as a musician, soldier, journalist, political activist, and linguist.
Russian-Polish physician Leon Pinsker didn’t just practice medicine in Odessa but also pioneered the Zionist movement, setting the stage for activists such as Theodor Herzl. His enthusiasm to get equal rights for Jews was cut short by the Odessa Pogroms. He established the Hovevei Zion in response to such pogroms.
Mariusz Szczygiel is a Polish writer and journalist who broke several taboos when he published The Shrift, a collection of reportages about lesbian and gay youth in Poland. He was also the first person to utter the word orgasm on Polish television. Mariusz Szczygiel’s popular book Gottland won Polish Booksellers prize as well as the European Book Prize.
Klementyna Suchanow is a Polish activist, writer, and editor. She is credited with co-founding a women's rights social movement called All-Poland Women's Strike. Despite being arrested on a couple of occasions for protesting against the government and officials, Klementyna Suchanow continues to participate in street protests for various causes. Her biography Gombrowicz: I, the Genius has received critical acclaim.
Antoni Grabowski was a Polish activist and chemical engineer. A well-known and respected figure in the field of chemical engineering, Grabowski is remembered for a multitude of technological innovations and inventions. Antoni Grabowski also played a significant role in the development of Esperanto, the most widely spoken international auxiliary language.
