Sylvia Brinton Perera

Sylvia Brinton Perera is an author and a Jungian analyst.
Life and career.
Professional.
Qualified as a Jungian analyst, Perera is in private practice, counseling as a psychotherapist. Her earlier training included an MA in psychology; her undergraduate focus at Radcliffe was in art history. At the C. G. Jung Institute of New York, she became recognized as a training analyst and is a member of the faculty. She also served on its board of directors. In addition to her articles, Perera has authored four books on Jungian psychology, and is co-author of another. She also has located her practice in Vermont.
Personal.
The eldest of five children of a Quaker family, Perera came of age in Scarsdale, New York. She has two children by her former husband, political scientist Gregory James Massell. Jungian analyst and author Edward Christopher Whitmont became her partner until his death in 1998.
Commentary.
In general.
Andrew Samuels discusses Perera in terms of the developing feminist perspective on Jung's psychology. He proposes three such groups: first, those working with Eros and "psychic relatedness" (including Esther Harding and Toni Wolff); second, those who view a woman not as one who relates, but "as she is, in her own right" (Perera, Marion Woodman and Ann Belford Ulanov); and third, those most compatible with contemporary feminism (e.g., June Singer re androgyny). Samuels later adds that Perera wrote of finding a nascent therapy, a "wisdom in change" embedded in an ancient goddess myth. Such myths were often overlooked by the prevailing patriarchal view.
"Descent to the Goddess".
Perera's 1981 book "Descent to the Goddess" concerns the commanding Inanna of Sumer who presides over the avenues of "destiny". More terrifying is her underworld sister Ereshkigal with the "eye of death". Edward C. Whitmont compares Perera's description here of the yin of 'feminine consciousness' to that of Erich Neumann's. As portrayed by Perera, under the sway of Ereshkigal a woman may become familiar with impersonal energies that can inflict a pitiless pain on other people, yet be part of a healing process and a stage of psychological growth. Inanna's "descent into the underworld presages a renewal of life."
Susan Rowland also discusses Perera's 1981 book, which she calls "popular and influential". The shadow-sister Ereshkigal holds archetypes of great pain, but also of healing. "[T]his goddess myth of an underworld journey and return enables Perera to shape depressive mental states as potentially empowering women."


Armanda Guiducci

Armanda Guiducci (Naples, October 12, 1923 - Milan, December 8, 1992) was an Italian writer, literary critic, and Marxist feminist. She was a major player in the feminist debates of the 1970s. She was the recipient of the Rapallo Carige Prize for "Virginia e l'angelo" in 1991.


Andrea Joyce Stone

Andrea Joyce Stone (January 29, 1949 - February 18, 2014) was a North-American Mayanist. She studied Maya art at the University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Linda Schele and, since 1984, taught at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as a Professor in art history. Her contributions to the scholarship of ancient Mesoamerica include the zoomorphs and cosmic monsters of Quirigua (also her doctoral thesis), the iconography of foreigners at Piedras Negras, issues of sacrifice and sexuality in Classic Maya art, and the underworld imagery of Maya cave painting, particularly at Naj Tunich.
Stone's photographic study of the cave art at Naj Tunich was published in 1991 (). The book included 199 monochrome photos, 296 line drawings and 14 maps.


Rachela Fiszel

Rachela Fiszel (fl.1496 – fl.1519), was a Polish banker. She was the Court Jew of the King of Poland from 1496 until 1519 after her spouse Mojżesz. She was also the banker of Aleksander Jagiellończyk, Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, Jan Olbracht and Zygmunt Stary.


Julia Varley

Julia Varley, OBE (born 1871 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England; died 1952 in Yorkshire) was an English trade unionist and suffragette.
She worked in a mill from the age of 12. At 15, she became the secretary of the Bradford Weavers' and Textile Workers' Union.
In 1909 Varley moved to Birmingham and established a branch of the National Federation of Women Workers at the Cadbury factory at Bournville. She was also involved in the Cradley Heath women chainmakers' strike of 1910 and the Black Country strike of 1913, and later sat on the General Council of the Trade Union Congress.
She was made OBE in 1931, and retired in 1938. She continued to live in Birmingham, before returning to Yorkshire, where she died in 1952.
In May 2013, she was commemorated by the erection of a blue plaque at her former home in Hay Green Lane, Bournville, by the Birmingham Civic Society.


Esther Shiner

Esther Shiner (February 12, 1924 – December 19, 1987) was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She served on the North York city council from 1973 until her death, and was also a member of the Metropolitan Toronto council. She served as North York's Deputy Mayor in the 1980s.
Early life and career.
Shiner's parents were Jewish refugees from Poland. She was raised in modest circumstances, and attended the University of Toronto for a year before marrying and becoming a homemaker. Shiner was an active Zionist, and was a member of Hadassah in her youth.
Municipal politician.
Shiner was elected as an alderman for North York's fourth ward in the 1972 municipal election. Her primary cause was the Spadina Expressway, which she wanted to extend as far as downtown Toronto. Shiner fought several battles with Premier Bill Davis on this issue, and unsuccessfully tried to have a city-wide plebiscite on extension in 1985. The expressway was partly extended in the 1970s, but Davis blocked any further extensions.
Shiner was elected to the North York Board of Control in 1976, and remained a member until her death. The position gave her an automatic seat on the Metropolitan Toronto Council. She served on Metro's transportation committee for several years, and was a frequent rival to fellow councillor Anne Johnston. She was also appointed to the management board of the O'Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts in 1979, and remained a board member until 1986. Shiner supported the principle of amalgamation for Toronto's six municipal governments in 1978, on the grounds that it would yield a better transportation system.
In 1982, she helped convince North York City Council to name a street after Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenburg, who is credited with saving the lives of over 100,000 Hungarian Jews in World War II.
Shiner held conservative views on several issues. She opposed councillor Howard Moscoe's plan for campaign donation limits in 1984, arguing that it would be unworkable. She also criticized an affirmative action plan for North York employees, and suggested that a housing task force for the city could become an expensive waste of time. Shiner considered challenging Mel Lastman for Mayor of North York in 1985, but declined.
She died in December 1987, at age 63. The North York City Council held a moment of silence in her honour in January 1988, and the civic square carillons played "Moon River" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", two of her favourite songs. Later in the year, the North York Civic Stadium in the Bathurst and Finch area was renamed the Esther Shiner Stadium. Her son, David Shiner, was a municipal politician in Toronto prior to the 2018 Toronto municipal election. A street in the Sheppard Avenue and Leslie Street area is named 'Esther Shiner Blvd.' in her honour.
Electoral record.
Results taken from "The Globe and Mail", 14 November 1985. The final results were not significantly different.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from "The Globe and Mail", 9 November 1982.
The final results confirmed the election of Shiner, Greene, Yuill and Sutherland.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from the "Toronto Star", 11 November 1980.
The final results confirmed the election of Shiner, Yuill, Sutherland and Gardner.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from the "Toronto Star", 14 November 1978.
The final results confirmed the election of Greene, Shiner, Yuill and Paisley.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from the "Toronto Star", 6 December 1976.
The final results confirmed the election of Greene, Shiner, Summers and Yuill.
Electors could vote for four candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from the "Toronto Star", 3 December 1974.
 The final official results were not significantly different.
Results taken from the "Toronto Star", 5 December 1972.
 These results obviously do not reflect the final totals. Shiner pulled ahead of Perry when the final eighteen polls were counted, and was listed in the next day's "Star" as winning by twelve votes, 2,326 to 2,314.


Anna de Grenaud

Anna de Grenaud (1861–1955) was a Bulgarian aristocrat, memoirist and royal court official. She was the principal lady-in-waiting to first Princess Clémentine of Orléans, secondly Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, and finally to Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz.
Life.
She was the daughter of the French count Alexander de Greno, who served as the court chamberlain of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in a castle in Savoy.
She was employed as a maid of honour to the French Princess Clémentine of Orléans, and accompanied her to Bulgaria, when the son of Princess Clémentine became King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria in 1887. Her father was given the office as chamberlain of the monarch. In this period of time, Bulgaria had recently become free from the Ottoman Empire. The country had no indigenous nobility, and the Royal Household and court life was something new, in which the foreign aristocrats who accompanied the new foreign royals from Western Europe mixed with the rich Bulgarian merchant and bureaucrat elite class.
In 1889, she married the Bulgarian diplomat Dimitar Stanchov. The marriage was a love marriage, and the engagement was announced by the monarch himself at a royal court ball. Since it was a marriage between a Catholic and an Orthodox, it took place twice.
They had five children: Alexander (1890–1891), Nadezhda (1894–1957), Feodora (1895–1969), Ivan (1897–1972) and Helene (1901–1966). One of the couple's daughters, Nadezhda Stanchova Muir, became Bulgaria's first woman on diplomatic service during the 1910s and 1920s with her brother Ivan also a leading diplomat.
After the wedding of the monarch in 1892, Anna de Grenaud was appointed principal lady-in-waiting to the consort of the monarch, Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma. In parallel, her spouse served as secretary to the monarch. The couple had living quarters in the Royal Palace of Sofia. As lady-in-waiting, she accompanied Marie Louise on her foreign trips.
After 1895, she accompanied her spouse on his diplomatic career to Romania, Austria and Russia. She is credited with having been of great help to him and a certain beneficial influence. They returned during her spouse's brief tenure as cabinet minister in 1906–07 and Prime minister in 1907. She was appointed principal lady-in-waiting to the Tsaritsa, Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz.
She was the author of the memoir ("Palace and Diplomatic Memories, 1887 - 1915").


The Sacred Riana

Marie Antoinette Riana Graharani (born 13 July 1992), commonly known as The Sacred Riana, is an Indonesian magician and illusionist best known for her performance as a bizarre illusionist.
Career.
Competitive shows.
She made her television debut as a contestant on Deddy Corbuzier's magic competition show "The Next Mentalist", which premiered on 17 November 2013 and was broadcast on Trans 7. She would go on to become the show's runner-up, successfully attracting the attention of the Indonesian public with her unique appearance.
In 2017, Riana joined the second season of "Asia's Got Talent" where she was declared the winner after beating the Filipino hip-hop dance group DM-X Comvaleñoz based on the audience votes in the grand final. There have been over 70 million views on Facebook and YouTube of her magic performances onstage.
In 2018, Riana appeared on season 13 of "America's Got Talent" where she was finished as a quarterfinalist. She was also the second Indonesian to enter "America's Got Talent" live shows after Demian Aditya. On 31 August 2019, Riana took to the "" stage but was eliminated in the first round.
On 21 August 2018, during the "America's Got Talent" quarterfinals live show, Riana's act was abruptly cut to black and a commercial break before the end of her performance, which confused many viewers about what had just happened and quickly provoked a huge question on social media, but according to a set of production notes which have been posted on Twitter, the dramatic "cut-to-black" moment was actually part of the plan all along.
Television & film.
Riana has appeared on several television shows or joined several talent search shows as a guest or contestant and later became a judge in The Great Magician show. In 2019, Riana made her film debut by playing as herself in "", which was released on 14 March 2019.
Character and artistry.
Background.
Riana's gimmick is a reference to Sadako in the Japanese horror classic "The Ring", with a similarity to her long hair falling in front of her face, while her doll calls to mind Annabelle from "The Conjuring" film.
Riana and her manager chose "The Sacred" name because they think that doing magic is a sacred thing for some people.
Characteristics on stage.
Riana has a distinctive appearance, characterized by head and hand twitching movement, always stands with one of her legs bent and a flat facial expression. Riana always appears with long and loose hair that covers most of her face.
In each stage appearance, Riana wears a long-sleeved dress and white tights and also holds her doll, Riani, which wears the same style of clothing as the magician. When she speaks during performances, she does so in a quavering and unclear voice.


Yolande Bonhomme

Yolande Bonhomme (c. 1490–1557) was a French printer and seller of liturgical and devotional books in Paris. She was among a handful of important female book printers in Paris during this time, including Charlotte Guillard, Francoise Louvain and Marie L'Angelier.
She was the daughter of Pasquier Bonhomme, himself a printer and one of four appointed booksellers of the University of Paris, and the wife of another printer, Thielmann Kerver. She began printing on her own following her husband's death in 1522. Estimates of her output range from 136 (according to Axel Erdmann) to 200 (according to Beatrice Beech, based on Renouard) publications before her own death in 1557. Because she often used her husband's name on the colophon for early books, her identity as the printer can be difficult to pinpoint. The University of Paris and the Catholic Church are counted among her patrons. She published a book of hours in 1523 and another in 1546; both books survive. In 1526, she became the first woman to publish the Bible. She also published the Roman Breviary (Latin: "Breviarium Romanum") in 1534 and a "Breviarium Romanum nuper reformatum" in 1537. She joined forces with Charlotte Guillard to demand better quality paper from the papermakers' guild.


Marcella Araica

Marcella Christina Araica is an American recording and mixing engineer, who has recorded and mixed tracks for artists including Britney Spears, Duran Duran, K. Michelle, Keri Hilson, Madonna, P!nk and Timbaland.
Biography.
Araica started her professional career as an assistant at the Hit Factory in March 2002. Araica graduated from the Full Sail Production and Recording Program in Florida in 2002. She was mentored by Jimmy Douglass and Demacio Castellon. Araica describes how it was difficult breaking into a male-dominated career, "As a female, I had more to prove." She has worked as an assistant engineer in sessions for Timbaland and Missy Elliott. Subsequently, she became a full-time engineer at the studio, working closely with Timbaland.
In the early 2000s, she met Danja and the two started working together. In 2008, they created N.A.R.S. records and in 2014, opened a studio in Miami, called Dream Asylum. The studio was built in a former warehouse and has separate recording rooms for Danja and Araica.
She visits Full Sail University often to spread her knowledge and give current students a closer look into what it really takes to become successful in the music industry. Araica also created the Red Bottoms Foundation in order to support women in the music industry. The foundation supports mentorships for women.
Araica's method of working with musical projects is to focus primarily on the vocal aspect of the song, and then uses effects in Pro Tools and outboard gear. She has also called herself "a mad scientist when I'm in the studio."
Credits.
Araica's mixing and recording credits include "Gimme More" by Britney Spears, "The Way I Are" by Timbaland, "Migrate" by Mariah Carey, "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled, "When I’m Gone" by Simple Plan and "The Valley" by Duran Duran.
Selected discography.
Name Variations: Marcella Araica, Marcella 'Ms. Lago' Araica', The Incredible Lago
Awards.
In 2010, Araica received two ASCAP awards for "Knock You Down" and "Sober."


Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey

Sarah Sophia Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey (4 March 1785 – 26 January 1867), born Lady Sarah Fane, was an English noblewoman and banker, and through her marriage a member of the Villiers family.
Early life.
She was the eldest daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, and Sarah Anne Child. Her younger sister Maria married John Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon, later the 4th Earl of Bessborough, a brother of Lady Caroline Lamb.
Her mother was the only child of Robert Child, the principal shareholder in the banking firm Child & Co.
Career.
Under the terms of her grandfather's will, she was the primary legatee, and she not only inherited Osterley Park but became senior partner of the banking firm Child & Co. after the death of her grandmother, Sarah Child. Her husband, George Villiers, added the surname Child by royal licence. The inheritance made her one of the richest women in England: in 1805 she was able to give £20,000 each to four family members without impairing her own income.
In politics she was a Tory, although she lacked the passionate interest in politics shown by her cousin Harriet Arbuthnot. On hearing that the Duke of Wellington had fallen from power in 1830, she burst into tears in public. She reportedly "moved heaven and earth" against the Reform Act 1832.
Personal life.
Lady Jersey married George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, on 23 May 1804, in the drawing room of her house in Berkeley Square. Her husband's mother, Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey (also Lady Jersey), was one of the more notorious mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. Her own affairs, though conducted discreetly, were said to be numerous: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, was thought to be one of her lovers. When asked why he had never fought a duel to preserve his wife's reputation, Lord Jersey drily replied that this would require him to fight every man in London. Together, Sarah and George were the parents of seven children:
Lady Jersey was one of the patronesses of Almack's, the most exclusive social club in London, and a leader of the "ton" during the Regency era. Lady Jersey was known by the nickname Silence; the nickname was ironic since, famously, she almost never stopped talking. The memoirist Captain Gronow, who disliked her, called her "a theatrical tragedy queen", and considered her "ill-bred and inconceivably rude".
She died at No. 38, Berkeley Square, Middlesex (now London). She had outlived not only her husband, but six of her seven children.
In popular culture.
She was immortalized as Zenobia in Disraeli's novel "Endymion". Caroline Lamb ridiculed her in "Glenarvon"; in revenge Lady Jersey had her barred from Almack's, the ultimate social disgrace. This, however, was unusual since she was notable for acts of kindness and generosity; and she was eventually persuaded to remove the ban.
She is a recurring character in the Regency novels of Georgette Heyer, where she is presented as eccentric and unpredictable, but highly intelligent and observant, and capable of kindness and generosity.


Margot Janse

Margot Janse (born 1969, Naarden) is a Dutch chef, best known for her work as head chef of Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, South Africa.
Career.
Born in Naarden and raised in Bussum in the Netherlands, Margot Janse originally travelled to Africa in 1989 alongside her South African boyfriend when he was offered a job in Zimbabwe as a reporter. They lived in Harare, where she worked as a waitress. His job took the couple to Zambia, where she met the recently released South African political prisoners Ahmed Kathrada and Walter Sisulu while taking photographs for her boyfriend. Following the release of Nelson Mandela, he also visited Zambia where Janse met him.
Janse moved to South Africa following the end of apartheid, where she lived in Johannesburg. She began working at Ciro Molinaro's Italian restaurant Parktown North on the other side of the city, where she would do double shifts to earn a living. She then moved to Cape Town, where she worked at the Bay Hotel. In 1995, she was hired as a sous chef at the Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek. When the head chef moved back to Johannesburg to work with Molinaro, Janse was promoted into the role. At the time, the restaurant was already award winning and had been named South Africa's Restaurant of the Year.
She introduced tasting menus to South Africa when she created the Tasting Room within the restaurant. In 2000, she spent three months in The French Laundry under chef Thomas Keller. Over the course of her time at Le Quartier Francais, she was named Eat Out DStv chef of the year in both 2002 and 2012. The restaurant was named eight best in The World's 50 Best Restaurants. By 2012, the restaurant had been named in the 10 ten list of South African restaurants on 11 occasions. After 21 years at the restaurant, Janse left Le Quartier Francais on 29 April 2017.
Personal.
Janse has competed in marathons to raise money for charities and local schools. In 2009, she began a scheme where muffins were baked for a small creche each Friday at Le Quartier Français. Following donations, this grew to a daily production for 200 pre-primary school children each day, and 1100 breakfasts.


Dana Telsey

Dana Telsey (born 1962, in New York City, New York) is the CEO and chief research officer of Telsey Advisory Group. She is an American consultant and top-ranked equity research analyst covering the retail industry. Telsey has been ranked for 13 years, and was the number one ranked analyst by "Institutional Investor Magazine" for seven years.
Education and early career work.
Telsey is a 1984 graduate of Hobart-William Smith College and has an M.B.A. degree from Fordham University. Family members have worked in the fashion industry. Her grandmother worked at Bergdorf Goodman and her mother at Fred the Furrier in addition to the family bookstore on Madison Avenue.
Telsey started at Baron Capital after her mother secured a secretary's position for Telsey from a former neighbor, Ron Baron, while meeting him on the street, and asking him: "Can you give Dana a job?" Telsey was eventually promoted to vice president of the Baron Asset Fund, a mutual fund of Baron Capital. Later, she was an analyst at CJ Lawrence from 1991 to 1994.
Bear Stearns and television career.
Telsey previously worked at Bear Stearns from 1994 to 2006, most recently as a senior managing director. She is a frequent guest analyst on CNBC and CNN, and has been interviewed by ABC News, "Wall Street Week", "The Today Show", and "NBC Nightly News".
Telsey founded the eponymous Telsey Advisory Group in August 2006.
Independent analyst role.
Telsey's firm provides primary, contextual, quantitative, and qualitative research. It offers research through company, industry, and sector specific and thematic reports. It caters to hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity firms, and private and public consumer companies. The firm also offers consulting services.


Elizabeth Fish

Elizabeth Mary Jane Fish (22 December 1860 - 21 March 1944) was a schoolteacher and the first elected woman president of the Educational Institute of Scotland, the oldest teachers' trade union in the world.
Early life and education.
Elizabeth was born at 83 North Woodside Road in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1860 to Jane McNaughton and William Fish, a city missionary.
William was chaplain at Sharp's Institution in Perth and it was here that Elizabeth was schooled.
Elizabeth returned to Glasgow to become a pupil teacher, starting out at Henderson Street public school where she came first in Scotland in the Queen's Scholarship examination. Following this, she went on to study at the Glasgow Church of Scotland Training College.
In 1885, Elizabeth graduated LLA (lady literate in arts) from St. Andrews University, studying French and Italian, for which she was awarded the Society of Arts medal.
Career.
Between 1881 and 1895, she taught for the Glasgow School Board; teaching at Runford Street public school and Shields Road public school.
Elizabeth then went on to teach at the Pupil-Teachers Institute, Glasgow, from 1895 to 1907 before moving on to teach at Whitehill Higher Grade school and John Street Higher Grade school from 1907 to 1920.
Elizabeth also ran evening classes to help people who stammer and gave lectures in physiology and hygiene. She resisted calls from eugenicists to introduce 'race improvement' into teaching and believed 'sex hygiene' was a parental responsibility rather than something that should be introduced into the classroom.
Later years.
Elizabeth was president of the Scottish Modern Languages Association (SMLA) for two years and became principal teacher of Modern Languages at Bellahouston Academy in 1920 until her retirement in 1925.
She was a leading public figure in Glasgow and held office in the Glasgow branches of the Class Teachers' Association and the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) as convenor of the EIS Central Ladies Committee from 1902 onwards.
In June 1913, Elizabeth was elected the first woman president of the EIS.
She polled 4,822 votes compared with the other three male candidates whose combined vote totaled 3,068 votes.
Equal pay.
In January 1914, Elizabeth acknowledged that the question of equal pay was a controversial one for members of the Scottish and English Teachers' Associations and called for improvements to teachers' salaries during her presidential address at the annual congress. While condemning the low pay of women teachers, she argued that:"If we teachers ask that the salaries of all teachers be now raised to the level of what men teachers think theirs ought to be, we shall alienate the sympathies of a public not yet convinced of the justice of our demand."
Death and legacy.
Elizabeth Fish died in Paisley Infirmary on 21 March 1944 after a fall at home. She was 83.
The next day, her obituary in the Glasgow Herald described her as ‘the champion of women teachers in Scotland’.


Lisa Morgan

Lisa Jayne Morgan (born 28 May 1970) is the former CEO of the largest European video game retailer, The GAME Group plc (GAME). She first joined GAME in 1997, and was promoted to commercial director in January 2000. She was promoted to deputy chief executive designate and deputy group chief executive officer in 2004, and assumed the role of chief executive on 31 October 2006. The Guardian reported in 2008 that Morgan was the highest-paid woman employed by a UK-quoted company in 2007, receiving £4.6 million in salary, including bonuses and share incentives.
She succeeded Martin Long as CEO, who managed to increase the number of GAME stores from 16 in 1994 to 800 in 2004. She resigned from the company in April 2010. When she left GAME it was reported that she received a payoff estimated to be £1.5 million.
Morgan began her career in business as a toy buyer for Tandy in 1989 when she was 19. She remained there until 1993, when she joined Dixons as a senior buyer. She left Dixons in 1997 to join GAME Group.
Morgan is married with two stepchildren. Her hobbies include horse riding and dressage.


Dawn Landes

Dawn Landes (born December 5, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is originally from around Louisville, Kentucky but spent many years living and performing in Brooklyn, New York. As a recording artist she has released five full-length albums: "dawn's music" (2005), "Fireproof" (2008), "Sweetheart Rodeo" (2010), "Bluebird" (2014) and "Meet Me At The River" (2018) as well as five EPs: "Straight Lines" (2006), "Two Three Four" (2006), "Mal Habillée" (2012), "Covers EP" (2014) and "Desert Songs" (2015). In support of her releases, Landes has toured extensively in the US, Europe and around the world, often sharing the stage with artists such as Ray Lamontagne, Feist, Andrew Bird, José González, The Weakerthans, Midlake, Suzanne Vega, and Sufjan Stevens.
As an instrumentalist, she has toured as part of New York City American roots music band Hem. and Sufjan Stevens' touring band (2015-2016). A producer and engineer, she worked at Stratosphere Sound in New York City and at Philip Glass' own personal recording studio. In 2007 Landes helped found Saltlands Studio in Brooklyn, NY. She has collaborated with contemporaries like Justin Townes Earle, Will Oldham and Josh Ritter in the studio. Her songs have been featured in popular films and TV shows, including "The Good Wife", "Bored to Death", "Skins", "House", "Gossip Girl" and "United States of Tara". She composed original scores for two feature films "Blackbird" and "Familiar Strangers" and wrote the end credit song for "Savage Grace" starring Julianne Moore. Landes has appeared with The American Songbook Series, Boston Pops, TED and in 2012 with the NYC Ballet at the Lincoln Center for the Benjamin Millepied ballet "Two Hearts" singing a ballad entitled "The Brown Girl" as part of composer Nico Muhly's score.
In June 2012, she released "Mal Habillée", a collection of original French songs in the style of Ye-Ye. It features guest vocals by Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) and Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) and an interactive ebook with illustrations by the artist Danica Novgorodoff to accompany the text. In February 2014, she released "Bluebird" which features guest appearances by Norah Jones and others "Bluebird" won the 2015 14th Annual Independent Music Awards for '"Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year".
On October 2, 2020, Landes released her latest album, ROW, featuring the music from the upcoming musical of the same name, written with book-writer Daniel Goldstein, under commission from New York Voices. The album project began with a Ted Talk Landes presented in 2015 on the musical's subject, transatlantic rower, Tori Murden McClure. The album features Will Oldham, Rachel Grimes, and Ben Sollee. The show was originally set to premiere in the summer of 2020 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Williamstown Theatre Festival announced a partnership with Audible to release all seven of the productions originally expected to be performed during the 2020 festival.
Landes also performs as a member of all-girl trio The Bandana Splits. Landes was once married to musician Josh Ritter, with whom she also toured. She is now married to songwriter and musician Creighton Irons, with whom she has a daughter, Callan.


List of women in leadership

The following is a list of women in leadership by nationality – women who are well known for their achievements in leadership.


Dorothy Dietrich

Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope. She was the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic.
The 2006 "Columbia Encyclopedia" included Dietrich among their "eight most noted magicians of the late 20th century", and entertainment writer Samantha Hart in "Hollywood Walk of Fame: 2000 Sensational Stars, Star Makers and Legends", called her a "world-class magician" and "one of the world's leading female magicians". Early on, as a teenager, she already was referred to as "The First Lady of Magic", a reference later copied by others. Dietrich, often called the female Houdini, has duplicated many of Houdini's original escapes, and has gone one step further by doing the Jinxed Bullet Catch Stunt – the one that Houdini backed away from.
Early career.
Dorothy Dietrich is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. In a six-page article about the history of women in magic in the women's magazine, "Bust", which contained only two full-page pictures, one of Adelaide Herrmann and the other of Dietrich, Nichole Summer writes:
Among the books that inspired her as a child was a biography of Houdini, who became a childhood idol, a fact that later influenced her desire to perform magic and escapes.
Early on, she learned her craft mostly from books. In New York, she auditioned for Westchester Department of Parks from an ad in a show business newspaper and was booked on the spot for a full summer of work, was recommended to the school district for the winter months, and re-booked the following summer for an increase in dates and price. Around this same time she earned her performing chops working a dime museum "grind show" Ten-in-One operation in Times Square run by legendary mouse pitchman Tommy Laird with such performers as Earl "Presto" Johnson, Lou Lancaster, Chris Capehart, Dick Brooks and others. Showcasing for the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians at about the same time, well-known magicians Russell Swann and Walter B. Gibson, captivated by her performance style, took her under their wing. Walter Gibson, who was a confidant and biographer of Houdini's, said "What you have is very reminiscent of Houdini, when Houdini came out on stage, the audience automatically fell in love with him. In my long years I've never seen anyone who had that." Dietrich also studied with "Coney Island Fakir" Al Flosso (for the coin routine), a regular performer on the Ed Sullivan television show, Jack London (for the bullet catch) and Lou Lancaster with the Milk Can and the Straitjacket escape, as well as sleight-of-hand magic. "The recognition gradually put Dorothy Dietrich and her magic into resort hotels, nightclubs, school and college auditoriums, trade shows." She became a favorite of several New York booking agents.
Innovative routines.
She developed what is known as a flash act that included doves, a rabbit, a duck and two poodles. Early on she was considered a "leading dove worker". She also developed several routines few women had ever attempted. Sawing men in half, escaping from a straitjacket, sleight of hand with coins via the Misers Dream, The Bullet Catch, and levitating audience members. It was her goal to level the playing field between men and women in the field of magic, and to innovate and break barriers where no women, and in some cases no men, have gone. Until she broke many of these barriers, women were not allowed full membership in organizations such as The Society of American Magicians, which she tried to join. She has pioneered and paved the way for women in the field today.
Dietrich has created special shows for such companies as Maidenform, Pooltrol, Yago Sangria, Manhattan Shirts, as well as fashion and cosmetic companies. She is a regular performer for trade and industrial events.
Television.
On television, Dorothy Dietrich won attention as a woman who, instead of allowing herself to be sawed in half, reversed the traditional illusion and severed into two parts the male hosts of talk shows and network specials. As word got around she was called to do a Bill Cosby special while still in her early teens, but with the help of her sophisticated style and makeup she passed as an adult and was able to work night clubs and banquets in the best hotels and venues. Cosby was so impressed that he recommended her to several agents. At this same time she performed with Loretta Lynn, Dick Van Patten, Henny Youngman, Jonathan Winters, and Tony Randall.
Dietrich was co-editor, contributor and publisher of "Hocus Pocus Magazine" along with magician/mentalist Dick Brooks. In addition to escapes and large-scale stunts, Dietrich has performs illusions with live animals such as doves, rabbits, poodles and ducks. She is also known for sawing men in half. She also does an updated version of the classic Miser's Dream, plucking coins from the air, nose, ears and pockets of a youngster from the audience. She is also known for levitating volunteers from the audience.
The Magic Towne House.
Dietrich was a founder along with Dick Brooks of New York's Magic Towne House a popular magic show spot in New York City, which was the longest-running magic show in New York City history. Always interested in magic history and innovation, Dorothy Dietrich learned that opening a magic show spot in New York City was a dream of legendary magicians Houdini, Thurston, David Copperfield and Doug Henning.
At the same time she wanted a place where best known magicians could be seen, as well as to help to develop future generations of magicians. Along with partner Dick Brooks, she accomplished this goal with The Magic Towne House. Some of the magicians who got their early start at The Magic Towne House are Eric DeCamps, Imam, Jeff McBride, Otto and George, Johnny Ace Palmer, Michael Chaut. Joseph Pepitone, Joe Raven, David Regal, Rocco Silano, Peter Samelson and Meir Yedid. Established performers of the era also performed with them, including Bobby Baxter, Harry Blackstone, Jr., Milbourne Christopher, Daryl, Fantasio, Frank Garcia, Walter B. Gibson, Wesley James, Presto Earl Johnson, Lou Lancaster, Jack London, Bill McQueen, Max Maven (Phil Goldstein), Ben Robinson, James Randi, David Roth, George Schindler, Slydini and others.
Imam would, after several years, break away and form his own competing club downtown in Greenwich Village. Brooks and Dietrich searched out Brother Theodore, whose career had waned, and helped to bring him back to prominence that led to his appearing on The Tom Snyder Tomorrow Show and a series of TV and movie appearances. Upon the closing of the Magic Towne House, Michael Chaut and Peter Samuelson would later develop "Monday Night Magic" along with Frank Brents, Todd Robbins, and Jamy Ian Swiss, which still runs successfully in New York City.
The bullet catch.
In 2008, "Bust" reported about Dietrich's 1988 attempt to catch a bullet in a metal cup in her mouth. She performed it at Donald Trump's Resorts International's 10th anniversary in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was televised on a special called, "Just For The Record, The Best Of Everything." This came about after catching a .22 caliber bullet for the yearly convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Pittsburgh. It was shown on Network TV's "Evening Magazine", and on "The New You Asked For It" with Rich Little as host. She performed it again in Canada on a TV show called "Autobus du Canada" for the highest amount ever paid a magician on Canadian television. It was done under test conditions with the bullets bought by a committee. Brought in under guard, an independent marksman picked and fired the bullet. One of two chosen bullets was fired into a concrete backstop and the second was fired at Dorothy. Dietrich challenged anyone who could prove that the bullet did not leave from the gun by offering a $10,000 reward. Feature stories and articles about her have appeared in major publications such as "The New York Times" and "TV Guide".
Houdini Magical Hall of Fame.
On exhibit for many years at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Canada, until it burned down, was a large two-panel display of Dorothy Dietrich and her accomplishments as "The Female Houdini". A similar display is now shown at Scranton's Houdini Museum.
The Houdini seances.
For many years she held the Houdini seances in New York as a tribute to the legendary magician, continuing a tradition started by Houdini's wife and passed on to Walter B. Gibson. Even though Bess gave up the séances herself, she asked magician Walter B. Gibson to carry on the October 31 tradition. For many years, Gibson, along with several other magicians, held the séances at the Magic Towne House in New York City. Before Gibson died he asked Dietrich to carry on the tradition. Walter was a confidant and biographer of Houdini and also wrote the famous "Shadow" series. Dietrich continues the seances at The Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, each Halloween, the day Houdini died. The seances have been shown on such shows as "", Biography's "Dead Famous-Houdini" and "Exploring the Unknown". The seances at the Houdini Museum in Scranton are often attended by the Houdini family, who are the closest living relatives of Bess Houdini, making this the closest event connected back to the original seances that Bess Houdini held.
The Houdini Museum.
When not traveling, Dietrich heads up to The Houdini Museum, the only building in the world dedicated to Houdini, where she performs on a regular basis when in town. She has been featured on many television shows and channels, including CBC, BBC, CBC, NBC, ABC, Travel Channel, Syfi, and Biography Channel, TV Land, Mysteries At The Museum, etc. She is also a featured performer at the museum's hit show eleven years running Psychic Theater's "Haunted! Psychic Mystery and Seance Evening!" along with Paranormalist Dick Brooks. It is the longest-running seance presentation in history.
Debunker.
Dietrich also crusades against those who falsely claim to speak to dead relatives of vulnerable grieving citizens. Early on, Dietrich realized that there were those who would use magic and various deceptive arts to manipulate and even cheat people out of money. So following in the footsteps of famous debunkers who came before her, such as Houdini, Milbourne Christopher and James Randi, she takes on such a role where possible. She has a $10,000 reward for anyone who says they can contact the spirit of Houdini. One who tried recently was Canadian television "medium" Kim Dennis, who had contacted the Houdini family claiming she was getting messages from Houdini.
A recent article in the "Tennessee Star Journal" stated October 29, 2014, "Houdini exposed numerous phony mediums and inspired other magicians to follow suit. The Amazing Randi, Dietrich, Penn & Teller and Dick Brookz are magicians that have exposed these unscrupulous mediums. According to Dietrich, mediums are thriving today in the U.S. and Europe. Dietrich doesn't mince her words in her criticism of "psychics" Sylvia Brown, Lisa Williams and John Edward, who she cites as examples of mediums that are taking advantage of grieving people who are seeking to communicate one last time with their deceased loved one ... "We had a man come into our museum not long ago who had been to a phony medium," said Dietrich. "They tried to get him to take a substantial amount of money from the bank and bring it to them. They told him the money was cursed and they were going to cleanse the money of the curse." According to Dietrich, the mediums were attempting to scam the man with an old switch con in which they take the money and bundle it up. The mediums then tell the victim of their scam to take the bundle home and put it in his freezer and not to look at the money for 30 days. After 30 days, when he looks in the freezer he will realize they switched the bundles and his bundle contains no money. By then the con artists are long gone with the victim's money. Dietrich attempted to persuade the gentleman to contact the police, but he refused and told her the "psychics" know where he lived."
Traveling Houdini exhibit.
Dietrich also sends out the world's only continuous traveling Houdini exhibit. Besides featuring it as part of her many shows, it has also traveled to corporations, banks, and casinos.
Restoration and upkeep of the Houdini grave site.
On September 27, 2011, a group she formed, that came to be known in the media as The Houdini Commandos, secretly replaced the statuary bust at Houdini's grave site: Machpelah Cemetery (Queens) that had been missing due to vandalism for 36 years. This was reported in a half-page story worldwide in "The New York Times" on October 24, 2011. Her world-famous attraction, Scranton's Houdini Museum that she runs with mystery entertainer Dick Brooks, has been asked by both the family of Houdini and the management of the Machpelah Cemetery (Queens) to take over the upkeep of the grave that has been in disarray for many years. In 2013 she petitioned The Society of American Magicians, magic's most prestigious and wealthiest organization, thanks to Houdini, to help take over the care of the grave site at Machpelah Cemetery (Queens), which they agreed to by unanimous vote. Dietrich commented on this, "I will not live forever, but The Society of American Magicians will!" Because of their work over the years, in 2016 Dietrich and Brooks were given the highest honor that can be bestowed on any magician: The Society of American Magicians rare Presidential Citation for their work in promoting the art of magic.
Dietrich Uncovers Houdini's Long Lost Best Film "The Grim Game".
Long considered by film buffs as lost, Dietrich was aware since her teens that the only copy of Houdini's "The Grim Game" was buried in the apartment of Brooklyn collector Larry Weeks. She had seen it several times along with her partner Dick Brooks and attempted to acquire it from him several times to no avail. Finally with the help of film producer Rick Schmidlin she got him to turn it over to Turner Classic Movies and produce the restoration, who then put up the funding to have it professionally restored and commissioned two new movie scores to be added to the film. Turner flew Dietrich and Brookz to Hollywood to introduce the film as the climax to their week long yearly film festival. As part of the festival Turner asked Dorothy to perform a challenge strait jacket escape for which she got a standing ovation. Larry Weeks, who was ill and 96 years old died about 5 months before the showing in March. As a tribute to Weeks she demonstrated a trick vest of Houdini's that she had acquired from Weeks as a teenager. Dietrich and Brookz are featured on the second title card of the restored film, which was shown on television the following October. "Because of our efforts more people and future magicians will now see Houdini's best work, than saw him in his entire lifetime!" said the two.
HoudiniOpoly.
In 2014 Dorothy Dietrich partnered with Dick Brookz to create a board game based on the Houdini Museum, HoudiniOpoly. It would take over two years to design and research all the facts and graphics that would make up the game. In early 2017 they decided Kickstarter would be the best way to raise funds for the game. Since Kickstarter is an all or nothing proposition, if enough interest was not generated, everyone would get their money back. They felt they would need between ten and fifteen thousand dollars to make it work. They were willing to risk some of their own money in the project, so they set their Kickstarter goal low at eight thousand dollars, for fear of the project not getting completed. The project was a success, garnering over $14,000. Once the basic goal was reached they added "stretch" goals of unique appropriate pawn pieces that ran up to fourteen. They had the help of many friends too numerous to mention here. Most of them are listed on the back of the box. Some of the largest boosters included John Cox (screenwriter) of WildaboutHoudini.com, Joe Notaro of HarryHoudiniCircumstantialEvidence.com, Dean Carnegie of TheMagicDetective.com as well as the game being sanctioned and supported by The Society of American Magicians. It would then take almost another full year before the game was finished, approved and delivered, with a few bumps along the way. The results can be seen at the KickStarter website, as well as on HoudiniOpoly.com.
Television appearances.
Television shows in which she has appeared include:


Mary Thomas (labor leader)

Mary Thomas, known as Queen Mary, (ca. 1848–1905) was one of the leaders of the 1878 "Fireburn" labor riot, or uprising, on the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies.
Mary Thomas was from Antigua and arrived in St. Croix in the 1860s to take work on the plantations in the island. In 1878 she resided at the Sprat Hall plantation. She had three children but never married. Before the uprising, she had been sentenced for theft and for mistreating her children. Historians have suggested that such sentences were used by the authorities to discredit people who opposed the authorities.
After the 1848 emancipation of enslaved Africans in the Danish West Indies, an 1849 labor law fixed salaries and labor conditions for all plantation workers and prohibited bargaining for better wages or work conditions. This made plantation work unattractive, and many workers opted to leave the plantations and the islands to seek better conditions elsewhere. The government reacted to the labor shortage by making it harder to for workers to leave the islands, demanding health certificates and charging fees for passports. When wages were to be negotiated in the fall of 1878, the workers' demands were denied, and new harsh conditions for traveling were imposed. This sparked the so-called Fireburn riots, which have been called the largest labor riot in Danish history, during which more than 50 plantations were burned.
Because of her role as a leader during the uprising, Mary Thomas came to be known as "Queen Mary". The workers chose her and two other women, "Queen Agnes" and "Queen Matilda", as queens to perform ritual and celebratory functions during the uprising. Thomas played a leading role and referred to herself as a "captain" in the rebellion. Allegedly, during one the uprisings Thomas had called for those unwilling to participate to be decapitated.
She was arrested and tried with other leaders of the labor uprising. During the trial of the labor leaders she gave witness testimony against another leader, Thomas Graydon, also known as "Colonel Peter", who was sentenced to death. Mary Thomas was also sentenced to death for arson and looting but had her sentence commuted to life imprisonment. She was transferred to Copenhagen and placed at Women's Prison, Christianshavn, in 1882, but in 1887 she was sent back to Christiansted, St. Croix, to serve the remainder of her sentence.
Legacy.
Thomas obtained semi-mythical status in the Virgin Islands oral tradition, where a popular song commemorates her actions in the uprising:
The Queen Mary Highway on St. Croix is named after her.
In 2018, the artists Jeannette Ehlers and La Vaughn Belle created a monumental public sculpture, "I Am Queen Mary", depicting a 7 meters (23 ft)-tall statue of Mary Thomas seated on a throne wielding a torch and a cane knife. The statue was unveiled in Copenhagen in 2018; it is Denmark's first public monument to a Black woman.
By March 2021 the artists behind the sculpture announced that the temporary artwork had been granted permanence following a decision by the Danish Government, and that they were creating a global crowdfunding campaign with the aim of raising funds to set up Two sister-monuments in Copenhagen and on Saint Croix.
A book titled "Fireburn The Screenplay: A story of passion ignited, based on the history of St. Croix" written by Caribbean-American writer Angela Golden Bryan was published in 2018. The book pays tribute to Queen Mary and other leaders of the revolt.


JoAnne Akalaitis

JoAnne Akalaitis (born June 29, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois) is an avant-garde Lithuanian-American theatre director and writer. She won five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and was founder in 1970 of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines in New York City.
Life and career.
Akalaitis was a pre-med student at the University of Chicago, and transferred to Stanford University to study philosophy, before leaving for San Francisco at age 22 without a degree. After choosing acting as a career, she studied with the Actor's Workshop in San Francisco, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, The Open Theater Workshop in New York, and acting theorist Jerzy Grotowski in France. Additionally, as a Mabou Mines founder, she conducted workshops in Mabou's acting technique.
In addition to the American Repertory Theater – where she has directed "Endgame", "The Balcony" (by Jean Genet) and "The Birthday Party" (by Harold Pinter) – she has staged works by Euripides, Shakespeare, Strindberg, Schiller, Tennessee Williams, Philip Glass, Janáček, and her own work at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City Opera, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Court Theatre, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Guthrie Theater. She is the former artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival and of the Public Theater (1991–1993), and was artist-in-residence at the Court Theatre in Chicago.
Ms. Akalaitis was the Andrew Mellon co-chair of the Directing Program at Juilliard School, and was the Wallace Benjamin Flint and L. May Hawver Flint Professor of Theater at Bard College until 2012. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts grants, Edwin Booth Award, Rosamund Gilder Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, and Pew Charitable Trusts National Theatre Artist Residency Program grant.
In the early 1980s, Samuel Beckett attempted to shut down a postmodern production of his play, "Endgame", which she was directing.
Akalaitis is a Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities and lives in Manhattan, New York.
Family.
She has two children with her ex-husband, composer Philip Glass: Juliet (b. 1968) and Zachary (b. 1971).


Camilla Kolchinsky

Camilla Kolchinsky (25.12.1937 – 16.02.2016) (Russian: Камилла Кольчинская) was a Jewish conductor who was born in Russia. She was born in Moscow and made her debut as a conductor in Leningrad, now is known as St. Petersburg, while still a student. In 1976 she emigrated to Israel. She had conducted performances of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and according to "Gramophone" was "one of the few Russian women to have made a successful international career as a conductor." At the time of her death she was the emeritus director of the El Camino Youth Orchestra.


Gladys Lanza

Gladys Lanza (1942 – 17 September 2016, Tegucigalpa) was a feminist and human rights activist from Honduras.
Biography.
Lanza was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 1942.
Trade unionism.
Lanza's political activism began as part of the Honduran trade union movement. In the 1990s Lanza was president of the Workers Union of the National Electric Power Company (STENEE), during which time she led the union's resistance to privatisation. Previously, Lanza had been vice-president of the Central Federation of Free Trade Unions of Honduras and secretary for the United Federation of Workers of Honduras. She was also active in the communist party.
She was held political prisoner by the government of Honduras in the 1980s based on bogus evidence. Her name was listed as a target for paramilitary dissidents and in 1991 her house was destroyed by a bomb.
Feminism.
Lanza joined the "Movimiento de Mujeres por la Paz" (Honduran Women's Committee for Peace "Visitación Padilla"), which is collective of women from Honduras who advocate for gender equality, work against gender violence and support women's participation in public life. Involved from its beginning in 1984, she later became its Secretary. It was founded to honour the Honduran feminist Visitación Padilla. The organisation was one of several Honduran feminist groups which opposed the 2009 coup d'etat. She was active in the Platform for Women against Femicides, which was supported by the British government. In 2010 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Honduran government to guarantee the protection of Lanza, due to the continuing persecution.
Sexual harassment case.
In 2009, Lanza and the "Visitación Padilla" took on the case of Lesbia Pacheco, who was sacked from her role in government after rejecting the sexual harassment of a senior official, Juan Carlos Reyes. Investigation into Reyes' charges was 'lost in the system' and in protest "Visitación Padilla" organised a demonstration where Reyes was denounced. Lanza took part in the protest, was charged with defamation and was found guilty. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2015. The sentencing meant she was no longer legally able to work for "Visitación Padilla". After her prosecution feminist groups from within Honduras called for a pardon, using the campaign slogan "We Are All Gladys".
Death.
Lanza died in September 2016, after 10 days in hospital in Tegucigalpa; however, her health had badly deteriorated since her 2015 sentencing. After her death the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders  (IM-Defensoras) published a statement accusing the Honduran government of causing Lanza's death by continuing its "cruel and inhuman treatment to the extent of propitiating her death, by unnecessarily sustaining and prolonging an absurd, groundless court case aimed at inhibiting her right and the right of all Honduran women to defend their rights". This was coupled with calls for the pardoning of the charges that she had been imprisoned for by national and international organisations.
Pardon.
In May 2017 judicial proceedings against Lanza were indefinitely suspended by the Supreme Court of Justice in Honduras.


List of female classical conductors

The following is a sortable list of female classical conductors. Classical conductors work with orchestras, opera companies, ballet companies and choral groups. Conducting orchestras has been called a glass ceiling by the BBC.


Iggy Azalea

Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known by her stage name Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper, singer, songwriter, and model. At the age of 16, Azalea moved to the United States from Sydney, Australia, to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognition after releasing the music videos for her songs "Pussy" and "Two Times" on YouTube, both of which gained rapid popularity. Azalea signed a recording contract with American rapper T.I.'s label Grand Hustle shortly afterward and released her debut mixtape, "Ignorant Art" (2011).
Azalea's debut studio album, "The New Classic" (2014), peaked among the top five on several charts worldwide, but received mixed reviews from within the industry. The album eventually topped the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making Azalea the first non-American female rapper to reach the top of the chart. "The New Classic" was preceded by Azalea's debut single "Work" and chart-topping single "Fancy", which hit the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100. Azalea was featured on Ariana Grande's single "Problem," which peaked at number two behind "Fancy." With these hits, Azalea joined the ranks of The Beatles as the only act to rank at number one and two simultaneously with their first two Hot 100 entries. In addition, she achieved three top ten hits simultaneously on the Hot 100 with the aforementioned songs and the album's fifth single, "Black Widow," which debuted later that year.
After her debut album, Azalea released a slew of singles to build anticipation for her intended second album, "Digital Distortion." However, a series of conflicts with her label, as well as personal conflicts, resulted in the project being cancelled. Consequently, Azalea switched labels, releasing the EP "Survive the Summer" (2018) under Island Records. Further disagreements led to Azalea becoming an independent artist and creating her own label, Bad Dreams, through a distribution deal with Empire. Her second album, "In My Defense", was released in 2019, followed by another EP, "Wicked Lips", that same year.
Since her debut, Azalea has sold 48 million records worldwide, with 22 million singles in the United States alone. Azalea's accolades include two American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a People's Choice Award, four Teen Choice Awards and four Grammy Award nominations. Azalea's official YouTube channel has accumulated 3.2 billion views, with 14 music videos receiving over 100 million views on Vevo.
Early life.
Amethyst Amelia Kelly was born in Sydney and grew up in Mullumbimby, New South Wales. Her father, Brendan Kelly, was an Irish-Australian painter and comic artist, while her mother, Tanya, cleaned holiday houses and hotels. Azalea lived in a house that her father built by hand from mud-bricks, surrounded by of land. She has two siblings named Mathias and Emerald Kelly. According to Azalea, she has some Aboriginal (Indigenous Australian) ancestry: "My family came to Australia on the First Fleet. My family's been in that country for a long time, over 100 years. If your family's lived in Australia for a long time, everyone has a little bit of [Aboriginal blood]. I know my family does because we have an eye condition that only Aboriginal people have." Azalea has also said that her father "made her look at [art] as a teenager," which has always influenced her life and work. She began rapping at age 14. Before embarking on a solo career, Azalea formed a group with two other girls from her neighborhood: "I was like, I could be the rapper. This could be like TLC. I'll be Left Eye." Azalea eventually decided to disband the group because the other girls were not taking it seriously: "I take everything I do serious [sic]. I'm too competitive."
In pursuit of her desire to move to America, Azalea dropped out of high school. She worked and saved the money she earned by cleaning hotel rooms and holiday houses with her mother. She claims to have hated school, which, apart from art class, only made her miserable. She also said she had no friends and was teased for her homemade outfits. Azalea traveled to the United States in 2006, shortly before she turned 16. She told her parents she was going "on a holiday" with a friend, but eventually decided to stay and shortly afterward told them she was not coming back home: "I was drawn to America because I felt like an outsider in my own country, I was in love with hip hop, and America is the birthplace of that, so I figured the closer I was to the music, the happier I'd be. I was right." She recalled, "My mum was crying, saying, 'Just be safe.' I was thinking, 'I'm going by myself. I'm fucking crazy!'." After she arrived in the US, she received her General Educational Development (GED), and resided in the country on a visa waiver for six years, returning to Australia every three months to renew it. Azalea worked in the US illegally until February 2013 when she was granted a five-year O visa. She chose the name Iggy after her dog. In 2018, Azalea was approved as a permanent U.S. resident.
Career.
2006–2012: Career beginnings, "Glory", and "Ignorant Art".
When she first arrived in the United States in 2006, she stayed in Miami, Florida, and afterward lived briefly in Houston, Texas. Azalea settled for a few years in Atlanta, Georgia, working with a member of the rap collective Dungeon Family named Backbone. During that period, she met future collaborators FKi and Natalie Sims. She said people would laugh at her because "they thought my raps sucked," but having grown up getting laughed at, she was able to shrug it off. Meanwhile, she had met someone from Interscope Records who encouraged her move to Los Angeles during the summer of 2010. Interscope would eventually go on to manage her for a brief period of time. It was during this time that she adopted her stage name, which she created from the name of her childhood dog, Iggy, and the street she grew up on, Azalea Street, where her family lives to this day. She also started making stop motion animated videos with freestyle rap because she felt like she had found her sound.
On 27 September 2011, Azalea released her first full-length project, a mixtape titled "Ignorant Art", saying she made it "with the intent to make people question and redefine old ideals." Her song "Pussy" was included on the mixtape, alongside guest appearances from YG, Joe Moses, Chevy Jones, and Problem. In November 2011, she released a music video for her song "My World," directed by Alex/2tone. The video features a cameo appearance from character actor and former wrestler Tiny Lister, which earned her more attention due to its rising popularity online. "It's supposed to have like, all the ridiculousness of a big-budget '90s video, but then chopped and screwed," said Azalea, of the video. In December 2011, Azalea revealed she would release her debut studio album, "The New Classic", as soon as she signed a major record label deal: "Once that's sorted out and I establish an overall sound and direction for the album, I will be able to know what artists would make for a dynamic collaboration." On 11 January 2012, Azalea released the music video for "The Last Song," her third video from "Ignorant Art". In an interview with "Billboard", released on 27 January, Azalea hinted at an Interscope Records signing, while also revealing hopes of releasing "The New Classic" in June, and for her debut single to precede it in March.
Azalea reached out to rapper T.I., for the direction of her debut album. T.I. was set to executive produce "The New Classic", soon after a phone call the two had. At the time, Azalea was eyeing a summer release for "The New Classic": "Hopefully if all goes to plan, my album will be out in June and I'll have it recorded by the end of the month." However, after Interscope did not allow T.I. to be an ongoing part of her deal, Azalea opted not to sign with the major label and stay independently signed to Grand Hustle Records, until the release of her first album, which had then been postponed. In early 2012, Azalea was featured on the cover of "XXL", as part of its annual "Top 10 Freshman List," along with fellow up-and-coming rappers French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly, Danny Brown, Hopsin, and Roscoe Dash. On 1 March 2012, T.I. announced he signed Azalea to Grand Hustle Records, along with rappers Chip and Trae tha Truth. On 26 March 2012, Azalea posted "Murda Bizness", the intended lead single for "The New Classic", on her YouTube account. The song was produced by Bei Maejor and features a verse from her Grand Hustle label-boss T.I.
In April 2012, via her Twitter feed, Azalea announced plans to release an extended play (EP) entitled "Glory", later in May: "I'm just onto something right now, the last two weeks and it's glory. Azaleans need something new." Also in April, Azalea starred alongside Grammy-nominated producer Diplo and FKi in the world's first fully interactive shoppable music video for Canadian fashion retailer, SSENSE. In May 2012, it was confirmed by T.I. on MTV's HipHopPov that Azalea had not yet secured distribution for her deal with Grand Hustle Records, and was described by T.I. as a "free agent." It was later revealed in the interview that she was in negotiation with labels other than Interscope, possibly Def Jam Recordings (wherein Bu Thiam, whom of which originally placed a bid to sign her is VP of A&R). Azalea was also featured on Steve Aoki and Angger Dimas' collaborative electronic track "Beat Down," which was released on 31 May 2012.
On 24 June 2012, Azalea released "Millionaire Misfits," the second offering from her EP "Glory"; the first being "Murda Bizness." On 21 July, the official music video for "Murda Bizness" was released online. "Glory", although not released in May, as it was originally scheduled, was released 30 July 2012. Azalea was also one of the acts on MTV's 2012 Closer to My Dreams Tour, along with Tyga and Kirko Bangz. On 28 September 2012, Azalea announced she would be releasing her second mixtape on 11 October 2012. Titling it "TrapGold", the mixtape was produced entirely by Diplo and FKi. She later premiered teaser visuals for the track "Bac 2 Tha Future (My Time)," On 9 October 2012, Azalea made her US national television debut, appearing alongside T.I., B.o.B and other Grand Hustle artists in a cypher at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. Later that month, she embarked on yet another North American mini-concert tour with Roc Nation singer-songwriter Rita Ora, on her Ora Tour. Azalea then headlined a tour in Europe to support "TrapGold". On 16 December 2012, Azalea performed live alongside Natasha Bedingfield and Bootsy Collins, covering Deee-Lite's 1990 hit disco song "Groove Is in the Heart", on the annual television series "VH1 Divas".
2013–2014: Breakthrough and "The New Classic".
In January and February 2013, Azalea worked on tour while still working on her upcoming singles and summer release of "The New Classic." She was the opening act for Rita Ora's Radioactive Tour, in the United Kingdom. As part of her set for Ora's Radioactive Tour, Azalea premiered her commercial debut single "Work," which also serves as the lead single for her debut album. The single premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra on 11 February 2013. On 13 February 2013, it was announced Azalea had signed a record deal with Mercury Records. The music video for her debut single "Work," was directed by Jonas & François and released 13 March 2013. In March 2013, Azalea also joined renowned rapper Nas, on the European leg of his Life Is Good Tour.
On 15 April 2013, Vevo announced Azalea as its second LIFT artist of 2013 and that she would film live festival performances, fashion and style pieces and behind-the-scenes interviews as part of the eight-week-long campaign. It was also revealed that the music video for her second single, "Bounce," would premiere on Vevo at the end of the month. On 16 March 2013, it was announced that Azalea would perform in the benefit concert "Chime for Change," scheduled to take place on 1 June in London, alongside Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and others. On 23 April 2013, Azalea announced that she had signed a solo record deal with Island Def Jam. On 26 April 2013, "Bounce" premiered on BBC Radio 1. She also noted that the third international single taken from her debut album would be entitled "Change Your Life" and feature a verse from T.I.. Azalea also confirmed that she was not signed to Grand Hustle Records; however, heavily affiliated with the label.
On 25 May 2013, Azalea performed an acclaimed carnival themed set on the "In New Music We Trust" stage as part of Radio 1's Big Weekend in Derry, Northern Ireland. The setlist contained songs from previous EPs and album material such as "Bounce" and "Work." The show was the start of a short set of UK pre-album promotional appearances. In June 2013, Azalea confirmed that the album was nearly finished and that the release was expected in September 2013. On 29 July 2013, Azalea revealed she will be opening for Beyoncé on the 17-date Australia leg of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in October and November. The third single from "The New Classic", titled "Change Your Life," was premiered by BBC Radio 1Xtra's MistaJam, on 19 August 2013. On 3 October 2013, Azalea made her first appearance on BET's "106 & Park", where she was interviewed and performed "Change Your Life," alongside T.I.
Azalea's debut album was slated for an October 2013 release, but in an interview with Australia's "Herald Sun" she revealed that due to other commitments such as supporting Beyoncé on her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, her record label would not allow her to release "The New Classic" until March 2014. She said: "The official date? Fucked if I know! It's done, it's so depressing to say this but it's the beginning of March, it's so far away but I just have to accept that." She explained the reasons behind the delay: "It was supposed to be October but obviously I'm going on tour with Beyoncé and they said I'm not allowed to put an album out while I'm on tour because I'll be trapped in Australia and I won't be able to do any TV appearances and I thought that's fair enough, that's three weeks and then they said 'You can't put an album out around Christmas time, that's a bad time' and I said 'What about January?' 'Well nobody gets back off holidays and then it's the BRIT Awards, you can't release an album, it's terrible for marketing' which brings me to February." On 10 November 2013, Azalea performed "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards.
On 5 December 2013, an unfinished song by Azalea titled "Leave It," allegedly produced by DJ Mustard, was leaked. Azalea later revealed the song was in fact produced by The Invisible Men and The Arcade, whom she collaborated with on the entire album. In February 2014, Azalea announced that she would be releasing a new single titled "Fancy," featuring English singer-songwriter Charli XCX. The song was premiered on BBC Radio 1 Xtra at 7 pm GMT on 6 February 2014. After the song's premiere, it was revealed "Fancy" was the song that had leaked titled "Leave It." On 17 February 2014, the song was serviced to urban contemporary radio in the United Kingdom as the album's fourth single. The music video for "Fancy," inspired by the 1995 American comedy film "Clueless" was released on 4 March. "Fancy" went on to become Azalea's most successful single to date, becoming her first single to chart on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. It also reached number-one on "Billboard"'s Hot Rap Songs chart, as well as number-one the US Dance Club Play chart.
After much delay and speculation, "The New Classic" was finally released on 21 April 2014. Upon its release, the album debuted at number-three on the "Billboard" 200 chart, with first-week sales of 52,000 copies in the United States. "The New Classic" was the highest-charting female rap album since Nicki Minaj's "" (2012). "The New Classic" also attained the highest number for a female rapper's debut album since Minaj's "Pink Friday" (2010), which had entered at number-two with 375,000 copies sold. Azalea was then featured on American singer Ariana Grande's single "Problem," which was released on 28 April 2014. The song was released as the lead single from Grande's second studio album. Shortly after, Azalea also appeared on Jennifer Lopez's single "Booty."
On 28 May 2014, "The New Classic"s fourth single "Fancy," reached number-one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, with Azalea being the fourth solo female rapper ever to top the Hot 100. On the same day, "Problem" rose to number-two on the Hot 100, with Azalea becoming the only artist since the Beatles, to rank at numbers one and two simultaneously, with their first two respective Hot 100 entries. "Fancy" also topped the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. On 24 June 2014, Azalea's song "Black Widow," featuring Rita Ora, was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio, as her debut album's fifth single in the US. It eventually peaked at number three on the "Billboard" Hot 100. A reissue of "The New Classic", titled "Reclassified", was released in November 2014; featuring five new songs, including new singles "Beg for It" and "Trouble."
On 10 December 2014, when reflecting on the year she'd had and the struggles she faced in the years before, Azalea announced plans of an arena tour for 2015 and a second studio album via her Twitter account. The same day, she revealed the title of the tour, The Great Escape Tour, and the concept behind it, which is Azalea picturing herself as "a musical escape artist for people." Azalea also stated that the name of the tour went along with the title of her upcoming second studio album, which would also be promoted on the tour.
2015–2018: Career setbacks and "Survive the Summer".
Azalea declared she had started to work on her second studio album in January 2015. On 4 May 2015, she released a duet with Britney Spears titled "Pretty Girls." On 29 May 2015, it was reported that The Great Escape Tour had been canceled and there would be a new tour planned around Azalea's new album to be released in 2016. Azalea later clarified she "had a different creative change of heart" and would also be taking a break to figure out the progression she wanted for her sound and visuals. In June, when asked details on her new music, she explained she had scrapped six months of work to start from scratch. On 30 August, Azalea performed "Cool for the Summer" with Demi Lovato at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, after a collaboration between the two was announced for Lovato's fifth studio album, "Confident" (2015).
In October 2015, Azalea revealed the initial title of her second album to be "Digital Distortion". A buzz track off the album, "Azillion", was made available for free streaming on SoundCloud on 9 January 2016. The project's lead single, "Team," was released on 18 March 2016 along with a dance video. An accompanying music video premiered on 31 March. In March 2016, Azalea revealed she had started a production company, having "bought the rights to a couple of books that I really like, and also some television shows from Australia that I really believed in and was a fan of when I was a kid, and I had some ideas to rework [them]." In July 2016, she announced that her company, Azalea Street Productions, had signed a deal to create original content for NBCUniversal. In February 2017, it was announced the company optioned the book "Bad Girls Gone" for a film that Azalea would produce but nothing materialized.
On 12 June 2016, Seven Network revealed that Azalea had signed on to be a judge replacing Chris Isaak on "The X Factor Australia" for its eighth season, broadcast from October to November 2016. In September 2016, Azalea explained she was delaying the release of her album to 2017, despite it initially being set for July 2016, after ending the relationship with her fiancé Nick Young, stating: "[I] just needed to have some me time to get my life in order and process the changes that are happening in my private life." She also mentioned wanting to record new songs that reflected her mindset: "when I wrote [my album] I was about to get married ... I don't want to go and promote my album and get asked about my relationship that has just crumbled." Azalea released two singles, "Mo Bounce" and "Switch," on 24 March 2017 and 19 May 2017 respectively. The latter track features Brazilian singer Anitta. Azalea promoted "Switch" through a performance on the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards.
On 7 November 2017, Azalea stated that she was not allowed to release music until January 2018, as she signed with a new label. She additionally announced the new title of her second album, "Surviving the Summer", and released four new tracks for free download via WeTransfer. The media has dubbed the songs as a four-track mixtape or EP called "4 My Ratz". In January 2018, Azalea announced the title of the lead single from "Surviving the Summer", "Savior" featuring Quavo, which was released on 2 February 2018.
On 8 June 2018, the rapper revealed that "Survive the Summer" would be an EP. She also stated that the reason behind the postponed release date—originally for 2 June, then 30 June release—was the change of president of her record label, Island Records. On 5 July, Azalea released two tracks from the EP: "Tokyo Snow Trip" and "Kream," the latter featuring Tyga. "Survive the Summer" was released on 3 August 2018, and debuted at number 144 on the "Billboard" 200.
On 3 November 2018, Azalea tweeted that she had left Island Records, which she had signed to in 2017, and established her own record label, which was then named New Classic Records. Two weeks later, she announced she had signed a $2.7 million dollar distribution deal with an unidentified company. She stated that she would be an independent artist, be able to sign other artists, and own all her masters, with the exception of her music licensed under Universal. On 20 November 2018, it was announced that she had signed a partnership deal with Empire Distribution. She would later rename her record label Bad Dreams in January 2019.
2019: "In My Defense" and "Wicked Lips".
Azalea announced in early February 2019 that she had completed work on her second studio album, "In My Defense". She further stated her plans to release it in the spring of that year. On 27 February, Azalea announced that "Sally Walker" would be the first single off of the album. On the same day, her previous single, "Kream," was certified gold for selling 500,000 copies in the US. At the end of March 2019, 14 days after Azalea's new single was released, "Sally Walker" had accumulated over 38 million views on YouTube had a combined total sales of over 82,000 copies sold on all platforms and had debuted on "Billboard"s Hot 100 Chart at number 62, making it the highest-charting single from Azalea on the "Billboard" charts since "Team" released in 2016, which had charted at number 42. Azalea promoted the song with a performance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" during his Las Vegas shows. On 3 May 2019, Azalea released the album's official second single, "Started," along with its official music video. Shortly afterward, a collaboration with VVAVES titled "Boys Like You" was released. On 24 June 2019, Azalea announced via Twitter that her album "In My Defense" would be released on 19 July 2019. Pre-orders for the album began on 28 June 2019. Azalea appeared on the cover of "Cosmopolitan" in August.
On 27 September 2019, Azalea announced she would be releasing a new extended play. In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Azalea stated she was not sure if she would tour to promote the record but that she plans to begin recording new material in September, with hopes of putting it out next year. She later announced on her Twitter that she planned on releasing a new extended play on 15 November 2019 entitled "Wicked Lips" following the release of its lead single, "Lola." Following a few minor delays, the EP was released on 2 December. The EP was written primarily by Azalea with Noah Cyrus co-writing "The Girls," which featured Pabllo Vittar.
2020–present: "End of an Era".
In the summer of 2020, Azalea announced her third studio album, "End of an Era". On 20 August 2020, Azalea released the original lead single, "Dance Like Nobody's Watching", a collaboration with Tinashe. Following its underperformance, Azalea scrapped the song from her record and released her new single "Sip It" with Tyga in April 2021.
Artistry.
Musical style and influences.
Although Azalea is Australian, she raps with a Southern U.S. accent. When she first moved to America, she was involved in the Southern hip hop scene of Miami and later Atlanta, which made it easy for her to cultivate the Southern influence in her music: "I lived in the South for five years; you pick up things from your surroundings and teachers. The people who taught me to rap are all from the South and so was the music I had listened to as a teen." While Azalea's debut extended play, "Glory", was intended to focus on hardcore rap, the EP also touched up on other genres including electronic dance music. Music critics have defined her singles "Fancy" and "Team" as electro-hop.
At the age of 11, Azalea was infatuated with hip hop when she heard Tupac Shakur's "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)": "It was the song that made me fall in love with music and also what sparked my Tupac fascination. That would later make me pick up my own pen and write songs." In her early interviews, Azalea regularly mentioned Shakur's influence: "I was sickly obsessed. I had every picture of Tupac ever printed on my wall." She has credited Beyoncé as an influence and Missy Elliott as the female rapper who she is influenced by and admires the most. Outside of music, her fashion sense is influenced by Grace Kelly, Lil' Kim, Gwen Stefani, the Spice Girls, Fran Drescher, Eve, Trina, Fergie, and Christina Aguilera.
Music videos.
Azalea is often noted for her cinema-quality music videos which are often comedic and contain satire. Azalea has paid homage to a number of cult films from the 1990s and early 2000s in her music videos, among the most notable examples being "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1997) in "Work" (2013), "Showgirls" (1995) in "Change Your Life" (2013), "Clueless" (1995) in "Fancy" (2014), "Kill Bill" (2003) in "Black Widow" (2014), "Earth Girls Are Easy" (1988) in "Pretty Girls" (2015), and "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" (1997) in "Fuck It Up" (2019), among others. Alongside those film references, eras of cinema are referenced in several other videos including the Bollywood-themed video for "Bounce" (2013) and the 1980s cop comedy-inspired video for "Trouble" (2015). Additionally, the video for "Murda Bizness" (2012) is reminiscent of the pageant culture shown in reality series "Toddlers & Tiaras".
Azalea has also been credited as a director for some of her music videos and often mentions the importance she attributes to them: "For me, visuals are as important as the music, I just love escapism and giving people something to escape to. To me, that's what art is."
Public image.
After initially resisting suggestions to try modeling, Azalea signed with talent agency Wilhelmina Models in 2012. She featured in promotional ads for Los Angeles-based lifestyle brand Dim Mak's 2012 fall/winter collection. Also in 2012, Azalea was the face of Levi's "Go Forth" campaign. Azalea also appeared in House of Holland's first eyewear collection campaign. In July 2014, MTV announced that Azalea would be the host of the revived "House of Style". Azalea appeared in the seventh installment of "The Fast and the Furious" film series, "Furious 7", released in 2015. In August 2014, the "New York Post"s Page Six reported that Azalea had formed a footwear collaboration with Steve Madden. Their shoe collection was unveiled in February 2015. In October 2014, Azalea and her boyfriend Nick Young were announced as the new faces of Forever 21's 2014 holiday campaign. In April 2015, she signed on to be the 100th-birthday ambassador of Australian underwear and clothing company Bonds. In 2018, Azalea was announced as Monster Products's new spokesperson and starred in their Super Bowl LII commercial.
Controversy.
Accusations of cultural appropriation.
In 2012, Azalea caused controversy for her song "D.R.U.G.S," a remix of Kendrick Lamar's "Look Out for Detox," having adapted one of its lyrics to "When the relay starts, I'm a runaway slave / Master," leading her to release a letter online apologizing, stating that it was a "tacky and careless thing to say." According to the British newspaper, "The Guardian", there have been "accusations of racism against Azalea focused on her... insensitivity to the complexities of race relations and cultural appropriation." "Salon" writer Brittney Cooper critiqued Azalea's "co-optation and appropriation of sonic Southern Blackness, particularly the sonic Blackness of Southern Black women." Her use of an African-American English accent has been compared to blackface and part of a "broad, vague area of white people pretending to be black: those who do it culturally, rather than cosmetically." but also conversely as "wilful ignorance." Both supporters and critics of Azalea's rise to fame within the hip hop industry noted that it was important to be inclusive while acknowledging and respecting the role of African-Americans in pioneering hip hop. After being asked to analyze and compare her speaking and rapping voice, linguistics professor David Crystal said Azalea might be doing it unconsciously to accommodate to the American rapping style, adding: "There are hardly any echoes of [Azalea's] original Australian accent in her speaking voice—just the odd word (e.g. "own", "believe") and inflection. She has developed a mixed accent (like so many people have these days) as a result of her traveling around." When asked about the validity to the criticisms leveled against her, Azalea stated: "Do you not like me because I rap with an American accent and I'm not American? Well, that's valid on some level because that's your opinion and I can't change that," continuing, "But I'm not trying to sound black—I just grew up in a country where on TV and in music and film, everyone was American or any Australian person in them put on an American accent. So I never saw it as strange at all."
Comments on racism.
In 2018, Azalea claimed that the history of racism in the United States causes its audiences to dismiss her, and claimed that she, "grew up in a situation that didn't involve any privilege and I worked really hard," later reiterating on U.S. race relations: "I make 'black' music. I don't want people to think it's not something I care about. I want to make music for girls in the gym." She stated, "It's important for music to reflect what is going on socially and for there to be those kinds of voices within the industry. But I want to be that person you can listen to for four minutes and not think about that stuff at all, and it's important to have that too [...] I'm not here to offer that commentary, but that doesn't mean I don't care." In 2016, she lamented, "Many people think I still live in that bubble and that I don't understand that the United States is set up in a way that doesn't benefit minorities. I've lived here for 10 years now, and I don't want it to be that way either. I'm marrying a black man and my children will be half black— of course I care about these things." She further dismissed the legitimacy of the racial controversy, citing sexism as the true cause of criticism. In a feature covering Azalea's career, Clove Hope wrote, "Rather than seeing race as an issue, Iggy focused on the trend of women in rap being over-policed and accused of not writing their own rhymes, while in the process overlooking how artists like herself and Macklemore hold a broader industry advantage, even as they feel like outcasts in their field."
In 2014, journalist Natalie Morin tracked down a history of homophobic and racist statements and sentiments from Azalea's social media accounts, which Azalea deleted, acknowledged and claimed were before her rise to fame.
In 2016, Azalea was planning to release her second album titled, "Digital Distortion", explaining its concept: addressing the criticisms against her: "some of them were fair and some of them, I think, were unfair. I just think it's interesting that we live in this age of digital distortion where we're all distorting each other and distorting ourselves and our perception of who we all are, and none of it is really accurate anymore." She later credited the support she received from fellow rappers as giving her motivation facing the controversial claims in the media: "I grew up loving Missy Elliot, loving Lil' Kim or Trina and so I'm lucky I have those women I really idolized support me. So, I get a little bit confident in that, knowing the people I look up to appreciate what I'm doing."
Personal life.
In March 2015, while talking about her body shape with "Vogue", Azalea revealed she had undergone breast augmentation, saying, "I did change something: Four months ago, I got bigger boobs! I'd thought about it my entire life," adding she was sick of having to sew padding into her stage costumes and wanted to be able to wear lingerie without wiring. After initially resolving never to discuss it publicly as she didn't want other girls to feel bad about their bodies, she concluded, "But then, I decided I wasn't into secret-keeping." In August 2015, she talked about having a nose job with "Seventeen" magazine, adding, "Your perception of yourself can change a lot over time, so I think it's important to wait and make sure it's the right choice. Plastic surgery is an emotional journey. ... There are things that I didn't like about myself that I changed through surgery. There are other things I dislike but I've learned to accept. It's important to remember you can't change everything. You can never be perfect."
In March 2018, Azalea was approved for permanent residence in the United States.
Relationships.
In late 2011, Azalea began dating American rapper A$AP Rocky, whom she met through American record producer Chase N. Cashe. She confirmed that they were dating in a January 2012 interview with "Vibe" and, around this time, got the title of Rocky's breakout mixtape "Live. Love. A$AP" tattooed on her fingers. She claimed she and Rocky both had tattoos dedicated to the relationship, but his tattoos were not visible. In July 2012, Rocky stated they were no longer dating, with Azalea later removing her tattoo after years with the word A$AP crossed.
She began a relationship with Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Nick Young in November 2013. Azalea and Young were featured in the March 2014 issue of "GQ" magazine. They lived together in Tarzana, California. On 1 June 2015, they announced their engagement. On 19 June 2016, Azalea announced that she and Young had split after a video leaked on the internet showing Young bragging about cheating on Azalea.
In late 2018, Azalea began dating American rapper Playboi Carti. In June 2020, Azalea confirmed she had given birth to a son with Playboi Carti named Onyx Kelly. In October she released a statement saying "I'm raising my son alone & I'm not in a relationship."
Awards and nominations.
Iggy Azalea has been nominated for numerous major music awards. Azalea was the first female and first non-American rapper to be featured on "XXL"'s "Top 10 Freshman List." In 2014, she received two American Music Awards in the Rap/Hip-Hop categories, along with four more nominations, and one MTV Video Music Award for her collaboration with Ariana Grande, along with seven more nominations, making her the most nominated artist at these respective award show editions. She has also won three Teen Choice Awards and one MTV Europe Music Award. Azalea won the 2014 ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist and the 2015 People's Choice Award for Favorite Hip-Hop Artist.
In November 2014, she was placed at number-one on the "Maxim" Hot 100 list in Australia because "few Aussies, female or otherwise, have had a bigger 2014 than Iggy." Azalea also ranked at number 46 on the 2014 edition of the AMID (Australasian Music Industry Directory) Power 50, a list that compiles the most influential figures in the Australasian music world. Azalea received four nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Fancy" and Best Rap Album for "The New Classic". Azalea joined the list of the 9th Annual "Billboard" Women in Music honorees as a chart-topper. In late 2014, it was announced she was placed at number-one on "Billboard" Year-End's Top New Artists chart. In 2015, Azalea also led the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations with five. She received twelve nominations at the 2015 "Billboard" Music Awards. In 2016, Azalea was presented with the Woman of the Year award by "GQ Australia". In 2020, Iggy Azalea was listed at number 50 in "Rolling Stone Australia"s "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.