Name: Tamara De Lempicka
Birthdate: May 16, 1898
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Profession: Painter
Achievements: She fell in love with a Russian man. When the
revolution started in Russia, he was put in jail, but Tamara
managed to get him free and organized their escape to Paris.
There, she realized she wanted to become an artist and she
became famous. At the beginning of the World War II, she
moved to America and her style got some bad reviews. She
swore never to exhibit her art again. Finally, she moved to
Mexico until her death and asked to put her ashes on the
volcano Popocatepelt. Today her paintings cost millions of
dollars and Madonna became one of her biggest fans
Quote: “I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of
normal society don’t apply to those who live on the fringe.”
Name: Michaela Deprince
Birthdate: January 6, 1995
Birthplace: Sierra Leone
Profession: Ballerina
Achievements: She lost her parents in a war. She had vitiligo,
a skin problem that caused white spots on her neck and
chest, and the other kids at the orphanage called her “the
devil’s daughter”. But she had a best friend there, Mia, who
was always by her side. One day, they saw an image of a
ballerina in a magazine and Michaela decided she wanted to
be like her. Later, a woman came to adopt not only her but
also Mia. Michaela wanted to take the magazine with the
picture of the ballerina with her and she showed it to her
new mum, who said that she could be a ballerina too.
Michaela worked hard and now she is a ballerina with the
Dutch National Ballet.
Quote: “Never be afraid to be a poppy in a field of daffodils.”
Name: Artemisia Gentileschi
Birthdate: July 8, 1593
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Profession: Painter
Achievements: Artemisia’s father was a painter and he
taught her how to paint. By the time she was 17, she had
already painted several masterpieces and at that time
women were not even allowed in artists’ studios. One day,
her father asked a friend, Agostino Tasso, to teach her
perspective. But Tasso wanted to marry her and she didn’t
want that. Things became so bad that she told her father
what was going on, and her father took Agostino to court.
Agostino denied everything and Artemisia faced terrible
pressure because Tasso was a powerful enemy. Finally, he
was found guilty. Today, Artemisia is considered one of the
greatest painters of all the time
Quote: “As long as I live, I will have control over my being.”
Name: Alicia Alonso
Birthdate: December 21, 1921
Birthplace: Havana, Cuba
Profession: Ballerina
Achievements: She was a wonderful ballerina when she fell
ill. She almost lost her eyesight and was forced to stay in bed
for months. Later, the New York prima ballerina injured
herself and they called Alicia to replace her. When she
started to dance, the audience was impressed. She
continued dancing and trained her partners to be in the right
place when she needed them. Her style was unique, and she
was asked to dance with her ballet company over the world.
But she decided she wanted to bring ballet into Cuba, so she
started to teach it to Cuban Dancers and she founded the
Alicia Alonso Ballet Company, which later became the “Ballet
Nacional de Cuba”.
Quote: “A dancer should learn from all the arts.”
Name: Sonita Alizadeh
Birthdate: 1996
Birthplace: Herat, Afghanistan
Profession: Rapper
Achievements: When she was 10 years old, her parents told
her they had to sell her into marriage because they needed
money. But she knew she didn’t want to be married, she
wanted to study, to write and to sing. The war started in
Afghanistan, Sonita and her brother went sent away to live in
a refugee camp in Iran and she went to a school nearby.
When she was 16, her mother came to visit her and told her
that they had found another husband who wanted to buy
her. She said no, she wanted to be a rapper, not a bride. She
wrote a song called “Brides for Sale” and uploaded it on
YouTube. She became famous and won a scholarship to
study music in America.
Quote: “I am tired of the silence.”