50 Quotes From Powerful Women That Will Empower You.

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I have gathered a list of quotes from powerful women throughout history.

They show the struggle of women, how far we have come and how much further we have to go.

We all can learn from the powerful messages written in these quotes.

Oprah Quote
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.

Oprah Gail Winfrey

is an American media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Powerful women
If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?

Maya Angelou

was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist.

She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. 

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

Nora Ephron

Was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker.

She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Writing: for Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).

Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
 A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.

Eleanor Roosevelt 

Was an American politician, diplomat, and activist who later served as a United Nations spokeswoman.

She served as the First Lady of the United States from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.

Anne Frank

Was a German-born DutchJewish diarist.

One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch; English: The Secret Annex), in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

It is one of the world’s best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.

Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.

Amelia Earhart

Was an American aviation pioneer and author.

Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

She set many other records wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.

Trust in God – she will provide.

Emmeline Pankhurst

was a British political activist and organizer of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote.

In 1999 Time named Pankhurst as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating “she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back”.

She was widely criticized for her militant tactics, and historians disagree about their effectiveness, but her work is recognized as a crucial element in achieving women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom.[

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

Margaret Thatcher

Was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office.

Women quotes
As women and young girls, we have to invest that time in getting to understand who we are and liking who we are.

Michelle Obama

She is an American lawyer, university administrator, and writer, who was the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is married to the 44thpresident of the United States, Barack Obama, and was the first African-American first lady.

We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.

Audre Lorde

Was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist.

As a poet, she is best known for technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life.

Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, and the exploration of black female identity.

quotes for women
A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous

Coco Chanel

Fashion designer Coco Chanel, born in 1883, in France, is famous for her timeless designs, trademark suits, and little black dresses.

Chanel was raised in an orphanage and taught to sew. She had a brief career as a singer before opening her first clothes shop in 1910. 

When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.

Bette Davis

American actress Bette Davis was born on April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts.

After a brief theater career, she became one of the biggest stars in the Hollywood studio system, appearing in nearly 100 films before her death in 1989.

Davis is still considered an icon for her performances in such films as All Above Eve and Dark Victory, as well as for her larger-than-life persona both on and off the silver screen.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Marie Curie

Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person — man or woman — to win the award twice. With her husband Pierre Curie, Marie’s efforts led to the discovery of polonium and radium and, after Pierre’s death, the further development of X-rays. The famed scientist died in 1934 of aplastic anemia likely caused by exposure to radiation.

empowering quotes
I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.
Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work.

Susan B. Anthony

Was an American writer, lecturer, and abolitionist who was a leading figure in the women’s voting rights movement.

A social reformer and women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement.

Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17.

In 1856, she became the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.

Beyoncé Knowles Carter

 is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress.

Achieved fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B group Destiny’s Child and then launched a hugely successful solo career.

We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.

Malala Yousafzai

She is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.

She is known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children in her native Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.

Her advocacy has grown into an international movement, and according to former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she has become “the most prominent citizen” of the country.[

Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.

Margaret Atwood

 is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, inventor, teacher, and environmental activist.

Since 1961, she has published 17 books of poetry, 16 novels, 10 books of non-fiction, eight collections of short fiction, eight children’s books, and one graphic novel, as well as a number of small press editions in poetry and fiction.

Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.

Sonia Sotomayor

is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

She was appointed by President Barack Obama in May 2009 and confirmed that August. She was the first Hispanic and Latina Justice

Why are women… so much more interesting to men than men are to women?

Virginia Woolf

was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and also a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.

Things are never as bad as they seem.

Harper Lee

was an American novelist widely known for To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960.

Immediately successful, it won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. 

love quote
If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.
Kiss me and you will see how important I am.

Sylvia Plath

was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a poet and writer. 

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.

Jane Austen

was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century.

Austen’s plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. 

Don’t talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddam rules.
Love is so much better when you’re not married

Maria Callas

She was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.

Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice, and dramatic interpretations.

Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner.

Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.
We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Dolly Parton

is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music.

The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.

Queen Victoria

was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death.

On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Known as the Victorian era, her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors.

It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.

No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful, than the man who is anxious about his virility.

Simone de Beauvoir

was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist.

Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory.

Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.

Martha Gellhorn

was an American novelist, travel writer, and journalist who is considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century.

She reported on virtually every major world conflict that took place during her 60-year career.

women empowering quotes
We believe that equal means equal, and that’s true in the workplace, it’s true in marriage, it’s true every place.

Elizabeth Warren

is an American politician and former academic serving as the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts since 2013.

She was formerly a law school professor specializing in bankruptcy law.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

Audrey Hepburn

was a British actress and humanitarian.

Recognized as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend in Golden Age Hollywood and was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.

What makes you different or weird- that’s your strength

Meryl Streep

is an American actress. Often described as the “best actress of her generation”, Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accents. Nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards, she has won three.

Among other accolades, she has received 31 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight

We have become the men we wanted to marry.

Gloria Steinem

is an American feminist, journalist, and social-political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Steinem was a columnist for New York magazine and a co-founder of Ms. magazine.

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I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.
Diane Von Furstenberg
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Diane Von Furstenberg

is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. Having launched her eponymous label in 1970, Diane von Furstenberg cemented her status with her iconic wrap dress in 1974.

You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.

Rosa Parks

was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement

Girls should never be afraid to be smart.

Emma Watson

is an English actress, model, and activist. Born in Paris and brought up in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School and trained as an actress at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts.

As a child artist, she rose to prominence after landing her first professional acting role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, having acted only in school plays previously.

What you do makes a difference. And you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make

Jane Goodall

formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall is an English primatologist and anthropologist.

Considered to be the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her over 55-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees since she first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.

Lucille Ball 

was an American actress, comedian, model, entertainment studio executive, and producer.

She was the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love LucyThe Lucy ShowHere’s Lucy, and Life with Lucy, as well as comedy television specials aired under the title The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

Hillary Clinton

Is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker. She was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 until 2013.

Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president of the United States by a major political party when she won the Democratic Party nomination in 2016.

quotes of empowering
Be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

Judy Garland

was an American actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian.

During a career that spanned 45 years, she attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage.

Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award.

Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her live recording Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961).

People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me.

Princess Diana

was a member of the British royal family.

She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry.

Diana’s activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her an enduring popularity as well as an unprecedented public scrutiny, exacerbated by her tumultuous private life.

Champions keep playing until they get it right.

Billie Jean King 

is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player.

King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles.

She won the singles title at the inaugural WTA Tour Championships. She often represented the United States in the Federation Cup and the Wightman Cup.

She was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups.

For three years, she was the United States’ captain in the Federation Cup.

Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone

Sophie Scholl

was a German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany.

She was convicted of high treason after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU) with her brother, Hans. As a result, she was executed by guillotine.

Since the 1970s, Scholl has been extensively commemorated for her anti-Nazi resistance work.

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are

Anaïs Nin

was a French-Cuban American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica.

Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the daughter of composer Joaquín Nin and Rosa Culmell, a classically trained singer.

Nin spent her early years in Spain and Cuba, about sixteen years in Paris (1924–1940), and the remaining half of her life in the United States, where she became an established author.

The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self.”

Maria Montessori

was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy.

At an early age, Montessori broke gender barriers and expectations when she enrolled in classes at an all-boys technical school, with hopes of becoming an engineer.

She soon had a change of heart and began medical school at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she graduated – with honors – in 1896. Her educational method is still in use today in many public and private schools throughout the world.

I really don’t believe in magic.

J. K. Rowling

is a British author, film producer, television producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist.

She is best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history.

The books are the basis of a popular film series, over which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and was a producer on the final films.

She also writes crime fiction under the name Robert Galbraith.

Do you have any other quotes to add? What is your favorite quote?

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