Inspirational women - Lily Cole 1988

About time we paid tribute to a younger woman - Lily Cole the young English model with the flaming red hair and baby doll face who can look like a pre-raphaelite godess. In a sea of beautiful women gracing high fashion magazines she stands out - her face being emblazoned upon the mind long after the magazine is closed. You can sense there is "something more" - that Lily is not just a pretty face. She has remained committed to her ongoing education and is a student of Cambridge University, she is also a fierce defender of environmental causes. And then there is the budding film career - next to be seen in the much anticipated Terry Gilliam film "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." Currently enjoying seeing her in the new Rimmel adds (nice change from Kate Moss).

Inspirational women - Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis 1929-1994

If anyone was ever born with style, elegance & taste it was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. It is said that Jackie was incapable of looking messy, whether she was wearing a designer ball gown or was dressed in jeans & a sweater - she always looked "infuriatingly perfect." She was famous for her simplicity which was & is unbelievably difficult to duplicate despite desperate efforts to do so. Her eye for style told her what most of us know but find it so hard to demonstrate: that "less is more."

In the 50's it was said that women either wanted to be Jackie Onassis or Marilyn Monroe - two women who were worlds apart. Jackie with her priveliged upbringing & elite education which included study at the Sorbonne & a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature, & Marilyn with a checkered past that she tried so hard to forget. Personally I can identify with them both & lie somewhere between the two.

Who could forget though the bravery & strength that Jackie showed after her husband was assasinated right by her side - how poised she remained in her pink Chanel suit splattered with her husbands blood. Anyone else, especially Marilyn, would have crumbled to pieces.

Inspirational Women - Mother Teresa

I remember as a teenager cherishing a picture of Mother Teresa that I had plucked from a Reader's Digest magazine and placed in a photo frame.

I was christened in the Catholic church but attended a Baptist church growing up, the message Mother Teresa imparted, however, negated - and is still able to negate, religious differences and views, her face and words transcend religion and appeal to our humanity.

Her mission to make the world a better place stirred me deeply, it was as if she had placed a light in my heart that made me believe that I too could impart beauty and love into this world and by doing so, impart social change.

Mother Teresa devoted (in every sense of the word) her life to the poor in the slums of Calcutta, India and cared for those that nobody wanted.

Mother Teresa received a number of awards and distinctions throughout her life including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972), the Balzan Prize (1979), the Templeton and Magsaysay awards and the Nobel Peace Prize (1979) but it is not for these awards that she will be remembered but instead for her tireless efforts to do "small things with great love" (Mother Teresa).

"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbour... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
- Mother Teresa

Inspirational women - Juliette Binoche 1964 -

French film actress Juliette Binoche is quite possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen & is my favourite actress. I still recall the first time I saw her, which was in The Unbearable Lightness of Being as Tereza - I fell in love with that character, as I also did with Julie (three colours: Blue); Hana (the English Patient) & Vianne (Chocolat). To me Juliette epitomises beauty of a timeless nature and has aged so gracefully, unlike many of her contemporaries.

Inspirational women - Annie Proulx 1935 -

Annie Proulx, the great American novelist who received the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for The Shipping News. A champion for mature age students everywhere, Annie completed her Bachelor of Arts in History in 1969 at the age of 34. After a period of writing as a journalist and having short works of fiction published in newspapers & magazines, Annie had her fist novel published in 1992. Annie Proulx has written some of my all time favourite tales, which along with The Shipping News includes: Postcards; The Old Ace in the Hole & her short story Brokeback Mountain. Each and every one of her books that I've read have reduced me to tears, and not in a silly sentimental way but as in they have stirred up something deep inside my guts - her storytelling takes you right there, to the source of it all. Thank you for what you do Annie, you're my inspiration.

Inspirational women - Nigella Lawson 1960 -

I absolutely adore Nigella Lawson, not only did she teach me how to cook but she has helped me embrace being a "curvaceous" woman. I love how she formats her cooking books - it's as though she is right there in the kitchen with you, I love how unabashedly excited she gets over food. Nigella makes me want to be a "domestic goddess", she makes me want to be a better wife, step-mother and aunt. I like her recipes even better for the fact that she is not a chef, but that her formal education is in medieval & modern languages. I love that she went to Oxford University - that she uses elaborate adjectives to describe her cooking, making her recipies into delightful tales for the reader to enjoy.

Nigella is also an avid supporter of the Lavender Trust which gives support to young women with breast cancer, she lost her own sister to breast cancer in 1993.

Inspirational Women - Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce

Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce was sworn is as Australia's 25th Governor General on 5 September 2008. Upon my first meeting with Ms Bryce, I was in awe of her exuberance, her charisma, her immaculate presentation, her enquiring eyes.

I did not recognise her and started to enquire as to what her vocation in life was, I said assumingly, "You are a leader, a lawyer perhaps?". To which Ms Bryce so politely said, "Yes I was a lawyer, I am the Governor of Queensland" (this was before being appointed Governor General). To which I replied, "oh of course you are" (I then had images of her face flooding back to me from news stories I had seen her in. Needless to say I was terribly embarrassed).

I have had few people influence me in my life as Ms Bryce has - she has this incredible way of making you feel like you can take on the world. I remember after my first encounter with Ms Bryce walking around for days looking for extra ways to make a difference and feeling empowered, feeling like I could do something great, something wonderful on this earth - truly made me feel like she was pulling the best out of me. What an incredible craft!

I have met Ms Bryce only a few times - the last time we spoke I said to her, "You are such an inspiration to me". And she so graciously said, "Janmaree, you are an inspiration to me". I was lost for words, how could I be an inspiration to this wonderful woman - a true tower of strength to so many, the Governor General of Australia?!

It came as no surprise to me when I read a piece about her that contained these words:

"As a mother and grandmother, Quentin is a role model and mentor to women at every stage of their lives. She values and encourages women’s capacity to form strong and enduring bonds of friendship, intellectual and emotional enrichment, and mutual support in their roles within the family, workplace and community." (www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/content.php?id=40).

Ms Quentin Bryce you are amazing. I thank you for the wonderful light you are to so many. I am blessed to have met you and am forever changed for it.

Inspirational women - Dame Anita Roddick 1942-2007

Anita Roddick founded The Body Shop in 1976 at the age of 34; today it is the 2nd most trusted brand in the UK. During those grassroots days Anita set the foundations for a new way of conducting business, The Body Shop was the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals & was also one of the first to promote fair trade with third world countries. In 1993 Anita spoke of her early days of building up the business:

“The original Body Shop was a series of brilliant accidents. It had a great smell, it had a funky name. It was positioned between two funeral parlours--that always caused controversy. It was incredibly sensuous. It was 1976, the year of the heat wave, so there was a lot of flesh around. We knew about storytelling then, so all the products had stories. We recycled everything, not because we were environmentally friendly, but because we didn’t have enough bottles. It was a good idea. What was unique about it, with no intent at all, no marketing nous, was that it translated across cultures, across geographical barriers and social structures. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, it just happened like that”

In her later years she dedicated more and more of her time to charitable work; this included founding COTE (children on the edge) for orphans, and working for the UN and Greenpeace. Towards the end of her life she also grew to be less materialistic and gave away a great deal of her fortune. Upon her death she left her entire estate to charity.

"Get informed. Get inspired. Get outraged. Get Active"

Anita Roddick

Inspirational women - Florence Nightingale 1820-1910

Florence Nightingale, Nurse, writer and gifted statistician. Florence was born into a wealthy upper class British family in which she was expected to “marry well” & become a “homemaker” & “mother.” In defiance of her parents wishes Florence chose to become a nurse & devote her life to furthering the profession. Florence’s family were devastated, especially her mother, for in those days nursing had a poor reputation, being performed mostly by poorer women, whose duties resembled that of a cook rather than nurse. Florence chose to remain unmarried so she could dedicate herself fully to her work, despite having her share of suitors, including politician and poet Richard Monckton Milnes, the 1st Baron of Houghton. Florence carved out a name for herself in the Crimean war, she made extensive use of statistics and was a pioneer in the area of public health & sanitation. Florence not only had a profound effect upon the education of nurses in Britain but also mentored Linda Richards - America's first trained nurse.

Amongst her many accomplishments, Florence was awarded the Royal Red Cross by Queen Victoria in 1883, and in 1907 she became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit. International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on her birthday, May 12th.

Lo! In that hour of misery

A lady with a lamp I see

Pass through the glimmering gloom,

And flit from room to room.
-Longfellow-