On March 8th, women all around the world celebrated International Women’s Day. After four days, everyone celebrated Michelle Yeoh’s victory as the first Asian woman to win “Best Actress” at the Oscars. What a month! Check out some women that rocked the entertainment industry:
- Boa
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If you have ever heard any K-pop song made by any girl group or female solo artist, you should know that BoA paved the way for them. The 36-year-old singer debuted when she was only 13 years old, on August 13th, 2000, making her 23rd career anniversary this year. What an accomplishment!
BoA is from the first K-pop generation and was the first k-idol to break the boundaries and establish a solid career abroad, becoming a huge success in Japan and being the first one to sell records in the USA (way before PSY did with “Gangnam Style”). Nowadays, she collected the titles of singer, musical director, actress, dancer, and composer. After two decades, she is still active as a solo artist, as well as a member of the group, GOT the beat. Listen up to one of her hits:
- Gail Fisher
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Speaking of paving the way, Gail Fisher is a pro in that! Born in the ’30s, she became the first African American actress to ever win an Emmy Award, back in the 70s, when she was 35 years old. The role that made Fisher walk home with the trophy was the secretary Peggy Fair, in the drama Mannix, winning the award for “Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Drama”.
Gail graduated from the American Dramatic Arts College, in the New York Conservatory. Besides the Emmy, the artist also won the Golden Globes for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series” and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television”. Check out the Mannix teaser here.
- Madonna
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It is impossible to make a list of women that changed the entertainment industry without talking about the one and only Madonna. The “queen of pop” has a 44-year-old career filled with best-selling records. Madonna has already collected the titles of singer, songwriter, musical producer, actress, writer, dancer, and businesswoman. Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, the north american singer actually intended to become a contemporary dancer and moved to New York to pursue that dream.
Since her debut album, Madonna, released in 1983, the singer has been awarded “Best Selling Female Recording Artist of All Time”, by the Guinness Book of World Records, “Best Selling Album” in the 80s with “True Blue” and the “Best Selling Record from a Female Artist”. When she wasn’t rocking the music industry, she was participating in movies such as A Certain Sacrifice, released in 1979, and A League of Their Own, 1992, with artists like Tom Hanks. Check out one of her best-selling songs:
- Beyoncé
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Something that no one can deny is that Beyoncé is one of the most influential artists in the 21st Century. Just like Madonna, everybody knows at least one of her songs, such as “Single Ladies” or “Crazy in Love”. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is a writer, producer, model, musician, and actress, who made history in the music industry.
You have probably already heard “Say My Name”, by Destiny’s Child. Before being one of the most successful female solo artists, Beyoncé was a group member of Destiny’s Child. In 2003, she made her solo debut with the hit “Crazy in Love”, and proceeded to release several top-selling songs, such as “Single Ladies”, “Halo” and “Telephone”. After all those years, Beyoncé accomplished nothing less than the title of the female artist who scored the most Grammy nominations, a total of 51 times, winning 23 of them. Besides that, she has also sold more than 160 million records as a solo artist and member of Destiny’s Child. Listen to her debut song:
- Michelle Yeoh
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Okay, here comes the star! Michelle Yeoh made her name famous again recently after Everything Everywhere All at Once, which earned her an Oscar statue. The actress’ full name is Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng, and she was born in Ipoh, a city located in Malaysia. Just like Madonna, the 60-year-old artist intended to be a dancer. She started taking lessons to become a professional ballet dancer at the age of four, and at fifteen her family moved to England so she could attend the London Royal Academy of Dance.
However, a spine contusion made the artist change her mind. Back in 1983, Michelle moved back to her home country and became Miss Malaysia and participated in Miss World, in London. Along with the Oscar-winning movie, she was also in the cast of Crazy Rich Asians, 007 – Tomorrow Never Dies, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Memoirs of a Geisha. At 60 years old, Michelle became the first Asian woman and the second non-white actress to win the Oscars’ “Best Actress” award. Check out the Everything Everywhere All at Once trailer:
- Carol Burnett
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If you love comedy variety shows, then Carol Burnett is the one you should know! Carol was born in 1933, and was the first woman to host a show in that genre, The Carol Burnett Show. She was an actress, comedian, singer, and writer, and revolutionized the comedy field for women, especially in the U.S.
Born Carol Creighton Burnett, the artist has been through every kind of acting, having already performed on stage, on television, and in movies in various genres. Thanks to her versatility and talent, Carol has already taken home six Primetime Emmy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award. In 2005, at 72 years of age, she received a Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, ten years later, in 2015. Watch a clip of her show:
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Oliveira.
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