Most Famous Female Firsts

James Brown might have sung that it's a man's, man's, man's world, but we disagree. We ascribe more to the Aretha Franklin outlook on life, that sisters are doin' it for themselves. In honor of Women's History Month, check out 18 fabulous females who paved the way for womankind.

Mariah Carey
Famous First: First female artist to debut a single at #1 on the charts
Year: 1995

Oprah Winfrey
Famous First: First woman to own and produce her own talk show
Year: 1986
Barbra Streisand
Famous Firsts: First woman to produce, direct, write and star in a major motion picture ("Yentl"); first female composer to win the Best Song Oscar for "Evergreen" ("A Star is Born")
Year: 1983 and 1977
Beyonce
Famous First: First female artist to be awarded the International Artist Award at the American Music Awards
Year: 2007
Barbara Walters
Famous First: First female co-anchor of network evening news
Year: 1976
Whoopi Goldberg
Famous First: First woman to host the Oscars solo
Year: 1994
Jennifer Lopez
Famous First: First female spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club of America
Year: 2010
Kathryn Bigelow
Famous First: First woman to win Best Director at the Oscars
Year: 2010
Chris Evert
Famous First: First female tennis player to earn $1 million in career prize money; first tennis player, male or female, to win 1,000 singles matches
Year: 1976 and 1984, respectively
JK Rowling
Famous First: First female billionaire book author
Year: 2004
Queen Latifah
Famous First: First female rapper to win a Grammy
Year: 1995
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Famous First: First female athlete to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, aside from the swimsuit edition
Year: 1987
Sandra Day O'Connor
Famous First: First female Supreme Court justice
Year: 1981
Tina Turner
Famous First: First woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone
Year: 1967
Danica Patrick
Famous First: First woman to win a major closed-course auto race
Year: 2008
Lucille Ball
Famous First: First woman in television to head a major studio
Year: 1962
Candice Bergen
Famous First: First female host of "Saturday Night Live"
Year: 1975
Helen Hayes
Famous First: First woman to win the EGOT
Year: 1976