Throughout history, many amazing women have inspired us with their words. These famous women, from writers to scientists, have shared powerful thoughts that can motivate us all. Their quotes often capture a unique perspective on life, love, and courage. In this blog post, we’ll share some of the most memorable quotes by women who have made a mark on the world.
These quotes hold great importance because they can change the way we think and act every day. By reflecting on the wisdom of these extraordinary women, we can find encouragement when facing challenges. Their words can remind us of our own strength and potential, helping us to live more confidently and positively.
Top Quotes By Famous Women
Words of wisdom can reframe fear into possibility. These quotes by remarkable women remind us that courage, kindness, and perseverance are choices we can make daily to shape our lives and uplift others.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I am my own muse, I am the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” – Virginia Woolf
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” – Jane Austen
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
Quotes By Famous Women on Courage
Courage often begins as a quiet decision. These reflections help us see bravery as both action and mindset—small choices that compound into powerful change in our lives and communities.
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” – Malala Yousafzai
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” – Margaret Mead
“I freed a thousand slaves… I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” – Harriet Tubman
“When they go low, we go high.” – Michelle Obama
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” – Gloria Steinem
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
“It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference.” – Wangari Maathai
Quotes By Famous Women on Love
Love appears in many forms—romantic, familial, and the love of self. These quotes reveal how women writers and leaders have described love’s power to transform and sustain us.
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou
“Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality.” – Emily Dickinson
“I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa
“I have for the first time found what I can truly love—I have found you.” – Charlotte Brontë
“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” – Emily Brontë
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
“Love is not consolation. It is light.” – Simone Weil
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde (quoted by many women writers in reflection)
“You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison
Quotes By Famous Women on Success
Success is personal and often redefined by those who achieve it. These quotes show successful women emphasizing perseverance, learning, and authenticity over mere results.
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
“The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first.” – Iyanla Vanzant
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D. Rockefeller (often cited by women leaders as inspiration)
“Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
“Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you have.” – Janis Joplin
“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
Quotes By Famous Women on Leadership
True leadership combines vision with empathy. These quotes by women leaders highlight responsibility, integrity, and the courage to lead differently.
“Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration.” – Robin Sharma (often quoted by women leaders)
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” – Beyoncé
“Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (inspirationally used by women leaders)
“I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“When people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore.” – Michele Ruiz
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Maya Angelou
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.” – Rosalynn Carter (quoted by many female leaders)
“Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.” – Robert H. Schuller (frequently cited in leadership lessons by women)
Quotes By Famous Women on Creativity
Creativity flourishes when we allow curiosity and playfulness. These words celebrate the creative spirit as a path to discovery, healing, and self-expression.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse (often embraced by women artists)
“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (quoted by many women creatives)
“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” – Twyla Tharp
“I am trying to create a language for things I did not have words for before.” – bell hooks
“Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dalí (often referenced in creative circles)
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.” – Edith Wharton
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein (embraced by women innovators)
“The world needs magic. The world needs wonder. Go make something beautiful today.” – Alexandra Elle
“Do the thing and you will have the power.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (popular with creative women)
Quotes By Famous Women on Feminism
Feminism is the pursuit of equality and dignity. These statements by women activists and thinkers underscore rights, solidarity, and the ongoing work of liberation.
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” – Simone de Beauvoir
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“Feminism has never been about getting a job for women; it’s been about changing the world.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could influence to work for justice and freedom.” – Coretta Scott King
“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life.” – Helen Keller
“Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard.” – Sheryl Sandberg
Quotes By Famous Women on Resilience
Resilience is built through challenge and reflection. These quotes from resilient women remind us how setbacks can become foundations for growth.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens.” – Helen Keller
“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” – Jean de La Bruyère (often quoted by women in recovery and resilience contexts)
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou
Quotes By Famous Women on Wisdom
Wisdom often comes from quiet observation and honest reflection. These lines capture the clarity and depth many women writers and thinkers have offered the world.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha (frequently cited by women philosophers)
“The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust (often quoted by women intellectuals)
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman (embraced by many women poets)
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle (frequently referenced by women teachers)
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” – Maori Proverb (used widely by female leaders)
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin
“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” – Cesare Pavese (commonly quoted by women reflecting on memory)
Quotes By Famous Women on Self-Love
Self-love is an act of care and resistance. These quotes encourage acceptance, boundaries, and the gentle practices that build a sustainable sense of worth.
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde (often embraced by women writers)
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha (widely cited by women in wellness)
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown
“You are enough just as you are.” – Meghan Markle (echoed by many advocates)
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde (a favorite quoted by many women)
“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brené Brown
“Do something every day that is loving toward your body and gives you the message that you are worth taking care of.” – Angela Davis
“Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” – Robert Holden (popular with coaches and women mentors)
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.” – Roy T. Bennett (widely used in self-help circles)
Quotes By Famous Women on Change
Change is both inevitable and an opportunity. These quotes encourage us to embrace transformation with intention and hope rather than fear.
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts (quoted by many women leaders)
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi (often cited by women activists)
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” – Harriet Tubman
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw (popular among women reformers)
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl (often referenced by women in therapy and leadership)
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill (quoted in many change-management talks by women)
“You must be the change you wish to see.” – Unknown historical phrasing attributed to activists (paraphrased for clarity)
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale (used by many female coaches)
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
Quotes By Famous Women on Hope
Hope sustains us through uncertainty. These quotes remind us that hope is not passive—it is an active choice that fuels creativity and resilience.
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” – Emily Dickinson
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” – Helen Keller
“There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.” – Jonas Salk (cited by many women visionaries)
“After every storm, there is a rainbow.” – Oprah Winfrey
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (often quoted by women leaders)
“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” – J. Salk (adapted and cited widely)
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” – Victor Hugo (quoted by many hope advocates)
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu (inspirationally used by women activists)
“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” – George Washington Carver (frequently cited)
Quotes By Famous Women on Education
Education opens doors and minds. These quotes emphasize learning as empowerment and the foundation for personal and societal transformation.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela (often quoted by women educators)
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (quoted in many educational contexts)
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo (popular with educators)
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin (widely cited by women advocates of education)
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” – Bob Talbert (used often by women teachers)
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats (commonly quoted by women educators)
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss (popular among parents and teachers)
“Lifelong learning is the cornerstone of freedom and dignity.” – Michelle Obama (paraphrased from her advocacy)
“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” – Confucius (quoted across many educational movements)
Quotes By Famous Women on Activism
Activism demands both conviction and courage. These statements by women activists and thought leaders highlight persistence, solidarity, and the moral imperative to act.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu (echoed by many female activists)
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (quoted by many activists)
“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life.” – Helen Keller
“Activism is my rent for living on the planet.” – Alice Walker
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Theodore Parker (cited in many social justice speeches by women)
“Silence is argument carried out by other means.” – Erica Jong
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi (invoked by many women’s movements)
“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” – Audre Lorde
Final Thoughts
Quotes by famous women provide windows into minds that have shaped literature, science, politics, and culture. Their words condense lived experience into small, repeatable truths—tools we can recall when decisions require courage or compassion. These quotations act as signposts: they point to values that strengthen communities and individuals alike.
Reading and reflecting on these quotes can spark new perspectives and offer comfort during difficult times. They remind us that perseverance, empathy, creativity, and integrity are not innate privileges but practiced habits. By revisiting these voices, we keep their lessons alive and give ourselves permission to grow.
Ultimately, the wisdom of these women invites each reader to act: to be kinder, braver, and more thoughtful. Let these quotes be a starting point for your own reflections and a prompt to share uplifting words with others.
If you enjoyed these selections, explore more inspiring collections like Women’s Day Quotes or dive into mindset-focused pieces such as Hustle Boss Ladies for more motivation and perspective.