Female Biographers

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 1 
Jane Hawking
(Writer)
Jane Hawking
6
Birthdate: March 29, 1944
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: St Albans, Hertfordshire, England

Jane Hawking is an English teacher and author. She is best known as the ex-wife of popular physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking. She was married to Hawking for 30 years, during which she doubled up as his caretaker. Jane Hawking took good care of Stephen Hawking despite struggling from depression, for which she is much-respected in the scientific community.

 2 
Anne Lister
(English Diarist)
Anne Lister
4
Birthdate: April 3, 1791
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Died: September 22, 1840

Apart from being a traveler and a mountaineer, Anne Lister was also known as the world’s "first modern lesbian". Nicknamed Gentleman Jack for her androgynous fashion, which almost always included the color black, she penned diaries that contained many secret codes that were deciphered much after her death.

 3 
Piper Kerman
(Known for Memoir of Her Prison Experiences, ‘Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison’)
Piper Kerman
4
Birthdate: September 28, 1969
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 4 
Margot Frank
(Second World War victim)
Margot Frank
4
Birthdate: February 16, 1926
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Died: March 9, 1945
 5 
Monica Crowley
(Radio personality, Biographer, Journalist)
Monica Crowley
4
Birthdate: September 19, 1968
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Arizona

Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs, Monica Crowley is also known as a Fox News political analyst. She has penned two bestsellers about her experience of working with Richard Nixon and has also contributed to the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

 6 
Ève Curie
(Journalist and Pianist Best Known for Writing a Biography of Her Mother “Madame Curie”)
Ève Curie
4
Birthdate: December 6, 1904
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: October 22, 2007

French and American writer, journalist, and pianist Ève Curie was one of the daughters of scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. She was the only one in the Curie family who did not choose a career in science. She authored her mother’s biography and was actively involved with UNICEF, helping women and children in developing countries.

 7 
Dorothy Bush Koch
4
Birthdate: August 18, 1959
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Harris County, Texas

The author of the New York Times bestseller My Father, My President, Dorothy Bush Koch is the sixth child of former U.S. president George H.W. Bush, and the sister of George W. Bush. A Eucharistic minister, she is also the founder of BB&R Wellness Consulting, centered on health and well-being.

 8 
Mary Soames
(Youngest Child of Winston Churchill)
Mary Soames
6
Birthdate: September 15, 1922
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chartwell
Died: May 31, 2014

Mary Soames was a British author and the youngest child of Winston Churchill and Clementine. From 1939 to 1941, Soames worked for several public organizations, such as the Women's Voluntary Service and Red Cross. She then joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1945, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of meritorious military services.

 9 
Ann Rule
(Author of True Crime Books, Famous for Her Book 'The Stranger Beside Me', About Serial Killer Ted Bundy)
Ann Rule
4
Birthdate: October 22, 1931
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lowell, Michigan, United States
Died: July 26, 2015

True crime author Ann Rule had initially been a policewoman and was also well-versed in criminology and psychology. She first gained attention with her book The Stranger Beside Me, which relates her experiences of working with Ted Bundy, a volunteer at a suicide hotline, who later murdered several women.

 10 
Anna Leonowens
(British Travel Writer, Educator, and Social Activist)
Anna Leonowens
4
Birthdate: November 5, 1834
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ahmednagar, India
Died: January 19, 1915

Indian-born British author Anna Leonowens is best remembered for her memoir The English Governess at the Siamese Court, which related her experience as a governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam. The musical The King and I and the novel Anna and the King of Siam were inspired by her life.

 11 
Nancy Mitford
(English Novelist and Biographer Who is Known for Writing Popular Historical Biographies)
Nancy Mitford
3
Birthdate: November 28, 1904
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: June 30, 1973

Born to the 2nd Baron Redesdale, Nancy Mitford and her siblings were all homeschooled. Known as one of the brightest of the Mitford sisters, she became famous for writing semi-autobiographical novels such as The Pursuit of Love. She pioneered the use of language to distinguish between social classes in books.

 12 
Rachel Corrie
(American Activist and Diarist)
Rachel Corrie
3
Birthdate: April 10, 1979
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Olympia, Washington, United States
Died: March 16, 2003

Crushed to death in Gaza by an Israeli armored bulldozer, peace activist Rachel Corrie was also a member of pro-Palestine International Solidarity Movement. Born and raised in USA, she had gone there as part of her college assignment and met her death while trying to stop the demolition of Palestinian houses by Israeli forces, causing international furore.

 13 
Deborah Cavendish, dowager duchess of Devonshire
(Writer)
Deborah Cavendish, dowager duchess of Devonshire
3
Birthdate: March 31, 1920
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Asthall Manor, England
Died: September 24, 2014

Deborah Cavendish, the duchess of Devonshire, was the youngest of the popular Mitford sisters. An aristocrat and a socialite, she was one of the rare people who had met both Adolf Hitler and John Kennedy. She played a key role in commercializing Chatsworth Estate and also wrote books on it.

 14 
Margaret Drabble
(English Novelist, Biographer and Critic)
Margaret Drabble
3
Birthdate: June 5, 1939
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Sheffield, England

English author Margaret Drabble mostly writes about women protagonists and their experiences through marriage, motherhood, and intellectual development. Her novels such as The Gates of Ivory and A Summer Bird-Cage have earned her honors such as the DBE. She is the younger sister of novelist A.S. Byatt.

 15 
Colleen McCullough
(Novelist, Writer, Neurologist, Biographer, Science fiction writer)
Colleen McCullough
3
Birthdate: June 1, 1937
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Wellington
Died: January 29, 2015

Australian author Colleen McCullough soared to fame with her bestselling novel The Thorn Birds, which was also made into a hit miniseries. Fans also lover her Masters of Rome and Carmine Delmonico series of novels. A former neuropsychologist, she has previously taught at the Yale School of Medicine.

 16 
Jo Wood
(English Model, Television Personality and Entrepreneur)
Jo Wood
3
Birthdate: March 15, 1955
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Essex, England
 17 
Cathy O'Brien
(Author)
Cathy O'Brien
3
Birthdate: December 4, 1957
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Muskegon, Michigan, United States

Cathy O'Brien is an American author and conspiracy theorist. She gained national attention when she claimed that the US government is running a secret program called Project Monarch which is designed to control people's minds. She also claimed that she has been a victim of the program and that Project Monarch was part of the Central Intelligence Agency's Project MKUltra.

 18 
Liu Xiaoqing
(Chinese Actress and Businesswoman)
Liu Xiaoqing
3
Birthdate: October 30, 1955
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Fuling District, Chongqing, China
 19 
Susan Berman
(Memoirist of Easy Street, detailed her life as a mobster's daughter)
Susan Berman
0
Birthdate: May 18, 1945
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Died: December 23, 2000
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 20 
Anna Comnena
(Greek Princess & Scholar)
Anna Comnena
3
Birthdate: December 1, 1083
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Porphyra Chamber, Great Palace of Constantinople, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Died: 1153 AD
Daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, Anna Komnene is best remembered for writing Alexiad, a genuine treatise of the life and times of her father. She had written the book while imprisoned at the Kecharitomene Monastery, after a failed attempt to depose her brother, John II Komnenos.
 21 
Philomena Lynott
(Writer)
Philomena Lynott
3
Birthdate: October 22, 1930
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland
Died: June 12, 2019

Apart from being the mother of Thin Lizzy lead singer Phil Lynott, Philomena Lynott also made her mark as an author, with her memoir My Boy. She learned about Phil’s struggle with drug addiction after he collapsed in his home. Phil died soon after, following which Philomena became a campaigner against drug abuse.

 22 
Deborah Feldman
(Writer,)
Deborah Feldman
0
Birthdate: August 17, 1986
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 23 
Gitta Sereny
(Biographer and Investigative Journalist Known for Her Interviews and Profiles of Infamous Figures, Including 'Mary Bell')
Gitta Sereny
3
Birthdate: March 13, 1921
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: June 14, 2012

Known for her persistent researches on some of history’s most reviled characters, Gitta Sereny was an investigative journalist and author of five biographical works that attempted to make sense of their crimes. Notable among her works are Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth and The Case of Mary Bell: A Portrait of a Child Who Murdered.  

 24 
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy
(Writer)
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy
3
Birthdate: February 24, 1940
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Naples, Italy
 25 
Kathleen O'Meara
(Writer)
Kathleen O'Meara
3
Birthdate: 1839 AD
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Died: November 10, 1888
 26 
Gunilla von Post
(Writer)
Gunilla von Post
3
Birthdate: July 10, 1932
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Died: October 14, 2011

Gunilla von Post was a Swedish aristocrat best remembered for her 1997 book Love, Jack, which revealed an intimate relationship with John F. Kennedy during the 1950s. In 2010, Gunilla von Post auctioned some of the letters penned by Kennedy to her.

 27 
Kalpana
(Actress)
Kalpana
3
Birthdate: October 5, 1965
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Died: January 25, 2016
 28 
Suha Arafat
(Author)
Suha Arafat
3
Birthdate: July 17, 1963
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Israel
 29 
Bahia Bakari
(Sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626)
Bahia Bakari
0
Birthdate: August 15, 1996
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Evry, France
 30 
Shirley Graham Du Bois
(Author)
Shirley Graham Du Bois
3
Birthdate: November 11, 1896
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Died: March 27, 1977
 31 
Margaret Forster
(British Writer Novelist, Literary Critics, Biographer and Historian Best Known for the 1965 Novel 'Georgy Girl')
Margaret Forster
3
Birthdate: May 25, 1938
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Carlisle, England
Died: February 8, 2016

English author and freelance critic Margaret Forster is best remembered for her bestselling novel Georgy Girl, which was made into a film later. She also penned biographies and contributed to BBC Radio 4 programs. She had also been a Booker Prize judge but mostly remained away from book-signing events.

 32 
Emma Dabiri
(Writer)
Emma Dabiri
3
Birthdate: March 25, 1979
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Born to an Irish mother and a Nigerian father, Dublin-born Emma Dabiri spent her initial years in the US before returning to Ireland. A teaching fellow at the SOAS, she is also the bestselling author of Don't Touch My Hair and other books that depict the reality of racism.

 33 
Michelle Ye
(Best known for her roles in, Eternal Happiness, Triumph in the Skies, and Lost in the Chamber of Love)
Michelle Ye
3
Birthdate: February 14, 1980
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hangzhou, China
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 34 
Laura Huxley
(Motivational speaker, Writer, Violinist, Biographer)
Laura Huxley
3
Birthdate: November 2, 1911
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Turin
Died: December 13, 2007
 35 
Maud Gonne
(English-born Irish Republican Revolutionary, Suffragette & Actress)
Maud Gonne
0
Birthdate: December 21, 1866
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Tongham, England
Died: April 27, 1953

Maud Gonne not just co-founded the Sinn Féin party but also participated in the theater movement of W.B Yeats, who made her his muse and proposed to her many times, only to be rejected. An Irish nationalist, she also formed the Daughters of Ireland and acted in Yeats’s first play Cathleen ni Houlihan.

 36 
Jeanne Modigliani
(Historian)
Jeanne Modigliani
3
Birthdate: November 29, 1918
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Nice, France
Died: July 27, 1984

Jeanne Modigliani was an Italian-French Jewish art historian. She was the daughter of artists Amedeo Modigliani and Jeanne Hébuterne. She lost both her parents as a small child and was adopted by her aunt. She conducted extensive biographical research on her father years after his death and published the book Modigliani: Man and Myth.   

 37 
Stacy Schiff
(Historian, Author, Journalist, Writer, Biographer)
Stacy Schiff
3
Birthdate: October 26, 1961
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Massachusetts
 38 
Ethel Smyth
(The First Female Composer to be Granted a Damehood.)
Ethel Smyth
3
Birthdate: April 22, 1858
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Sidcup, England
Died: May 8, 1944

Ethel Smyth was an English composer whose compositions include songs, chamber music, works for piano, orchestral works, operas, and choral works. She was the first female composer to be granted a damehood. Ethel Smyth was also involved in the women's suffrage movement and is credited with composing The March of the Women, which became the anthem of the movement.

 39 
Cornelia
(Aristocrat)
Cornelia
3
Birthplace: Rome
Died: 0110 AD
 40 
Anna Dostoevskaya
(Memoirist)
Anna Dostoevskaya
2
Birthdate: September 12, 1846
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: June 9, 1918
 41 
Penelope Mortimer
(British Journalist, Biographer, and Novelist Best Known for Her Novel the 'Pumpkin Eater' )
Penelope Mortimer
2
Birthdate: September 19, 1918
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Rhyl, Flintshire, Wales
Died: October 19, 1999

Costa Book Award-winning Anglo-Welsh journalist Penelope Mortimer is best remembered for her iconic novel The Pumpkin Eater, which was later made into a film. An expert in writing feminist fiction, her works included plots of broken marriages. Her father, a clergyman, had apparently sexually abused her in childhood.

 42 
Sanmao
(Writer)
Sanmao
3
Birthdate: March 26, 1943
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chongqing, Sichuan, Republic of China (1912–1949) China
Died: January 4, 1991
 43 
Carole Simpson
(Broadcaster)
Carole Simpson
3
Birthdate: December 7, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
 44 
Eliette von Karajan
(Model)
Eliette von Karajan
2
Birthdate: August 13, 1939
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Mollans-sur-Ouvèze, Drôme, France
 45 
Immaculée Ilibagiza
(Writer, Motivational speaker)
Immaculée Ilibagiza
0
Birthdate: 1972 AD
Birthplace: Rwanda
 46 
Regine Olsen
(Writer)
Regine Olsen
2
Birthdate: January 23, 1822
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: March 18, 1904
 47 
Christie Blatchford
(Columnist, Writer)
Christie Blatchford
0
Birthdate: May 20, 1951
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Rouyn-Noranda, Canada
Died: February 12, 2020

Canadian journalist and author Christie Blatchford had created history as her country’s first sports columnist. Also known for her award-winning book Fifteen Days, which was based on her experiences in Afghanistan, she was associated with publications such as National Post. She unfortunately died of lung cancer at age 68.

 48 
Kate Grenville
(Australian Author)
Kate Grenville
2
Birthdate: October 14, 1950
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia

Australian author Kate Grenville is best known for her Orange Prize-winning novel The Idea of Perfection and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-winning book The Secret River. She has previously also edited documentaries and taught creative writing. The Officer of the Order of Australia awardee has also earned several honorary doctorates.

 49 
Jill K. Conway
(Scholar)
Jill K. Conway
2
Birthdate: October 9, 1934
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Hillston, Australia
Died: June 1, 2018
 50 
Nuala O'Faolain
(Journalist & Writer Known for Her Memoirs ‘Are You Somebody?’ and ‘Almost There')
Nuala O'Faolain
2
Birthdate: March 1, 1940
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Died: May 9, 2008

Apart from being a journalist and author, Nuala O'Faolain had also taught English literature. Best known for her 2 bestselling autobiographies, Are You Somebody? and Almost There, she was a true-blue feminist who often spoke about the rigid dogmas she faced while growing up in Catholic Ireland.