Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms:

I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy.

Isabel Allende is a master storyteller in the genre of magical realism. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages, and have sold more than 51 million copies worldwide.

Her list of honours, awards and accomplishments is truly staggering. But none of this, according to her, reflects who she is, or what has been important in her life.

Mona Eltahawy is a freelance Egyptian journalist based in America who for a long period wrote a weekly column for the Saudi-owned international Arab publication Asharq Al-Awsat.

Her articles were discontinued for being 'too critical' of the Egyptian regime, she claimed in an article she wrote for the International Herald Tribune.

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones (August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930), born in Cork, Ireland, was a prominent American labor and community organizer.

She helped co-ordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World.

Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE (born 31 July 1965; married name Murray), better known under the pen name J. K. Rowling.

Rowling is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990.

Rowling is perhaps equally famous for her "rags to riches" life story, in which she progressed from living on welfare to multi-millionaire status within five years.