Women of the Year Turns 20: A Look Back at the Honorees
Glamour's event honoring amazing women has a major birthday this year. Here, some of our 200-plus winners—and their timeless life and love advice for you.
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Photo: Patrick Demarchelier1/431990: Madonna
Our very first Woman of the Year cover girl: Madonna, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier.
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Photo: Patrick Durand/Corbis2/431990: Ling Chai
Young honoree Ling Chai helped lead China's 1989 student protests.
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Photo: Getty Images3/431990: Wendy Kopp and Elizabeth Glaser
Women of the Year had its kickoff ceremony at NYC's Rainbow Room. Among the winners: Teach for America's Wendy Kopp and AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser, who died of the disease four years later.
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Photo: Everett Collection4/431991: Jodie Foster
Hello, Clarice: Kudos went to Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Bettman/Corbis5/431991: Anita Hill
We honored Anita Hill just weeks after she testified to Congress about sexual harassment.
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Photo: Patrice Rossi6/431991: Ann Richards and Major Marie T. Rossi
We cheered for Texas governor Ann Richards and saluted late Army Major Marie T. Rossi, one of the 40,000-plus women deployed in the first Gulf War.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Getty Images7/431992: Carol Moseley Braun
When a record number of women were elected to Congress, launching the "Year of the Woman," Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American female senator, picked up an award.
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Photo: AFP/Getty Images8/431992: Hillary Clinton
"Dare to compete." —Hillary Clinton, 1992 winner (we honored her again in 2008 for her presidential run)
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: AFP/Getty Images9/431993: Nora Ephron, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Janet Reno
Winner Nora Ephron's instant classic Sleepless in Seattle was chick-flick gold. We also honored the U.S.'s second female Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and first female attorney general, Janet Reno.
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Photo: Gary Prior/Allsport/Getty Images10/431994: Martina Navratilova
Score! Wimbledon record-holder Martina Navratilova got our award, as did New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Cori Wells Braun/Corbis11/431995: Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright was U.S. ambassador to the U.N. when she won.
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Photo: Steve Starr/Corbis12/431995: Susan Sarandon
"There are times you're going to feel shaky—that's what girlfriends are for." —Susan Sarandon, 1995 winner
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Everett Collection13/431995: Glenn Close
At the 95 ceremony, actress Glenn Close admitted she was awed by the "extraordinary company of women" who were her fellow winners.
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Photo: Corbis14/431996: Rosie O'Donnell
Winner Rosie O'Donnell had TV's hottest new talk show.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Gary Spector15/431996: Susan Molinari
U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari, the top-ranking female Republican in the House, was the first woman to wear pants on the House floor.
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Photo: Marion Curtis/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images16/431997: Emme
She made curvy cool: Emme, the original plus-size supermodel.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Columbia TriStar Television/Everett Collection17/431997: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus was Seinfeld's Elaine.
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Photo: Getty Images18/431997: Bobbi Brown
Wisdom from honoree Bobbi Brown: "In a perfect world, mothers would tell their daughters how beautiful their strong noses [and] curly hair are."
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Jeff Scheid/Getty Images19/431998: Mariah Carey and Picabo Street
"What I've learned," honoree Mariah Carey told us, "is that I can trust my instincts." Another winner: skier Picabo Street.
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Photo: Michael O'Neill/Corbis Outline20/431999: Barbara Walters
TV's first female network news anchor, Barbara Walters, picked up a lifetime achievement award.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Getty Images21/431999: Jennifer Lopez
"You cannot doubt yourself…You just have to know who you are and what you stand for." —Jennifer Lopez, 1999 winner
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Photo: AFP/Getty Images22/431999: J.K. Rowling and Evelyn Lauder
Even Muggles loved the magic in honoree J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter books. Also honored: cancer research crusader Evelyn Lauder.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Mark Abrahams23/432000: Julianne Moore
Honoree Julianne Moore: crusader for reproductive rights.
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Photo: Reuters/Corbis24/432000: Sheryl Crow and Andrea Jung
We saluted rocker Sheryl Crow and applauded Avon's first female CEO, Andrea Jung.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Getty Images25/432001: Debra Messing
"How the hell did I get up here?" joked Will & Grace's Debra Messing, when accepting her statue. "I guess that's what a good hair colorist will do."
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Photo: Matthew Peyton/Getty Images26/432002: Oral Lee Brown
We honored Oral Lee Brown, who'd funded 19 kids' college educations.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage27/432002: The Female Cast of SNL
Jimmy Fallon gave the award to Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and the rest of the female SNL cast, calling them "the funniest people I know."
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Photo: Craig Blankenhor/Corbis28/432002: Katie Couric
"It's not how you deal with success that's the measure of a woman. It's how you deal with the setbacks." —Katie Couric, 2002 winner (and 1992 and 2006!)
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Frank Trapper/Corbis29/432003: Britney Spears
A great year for Britney Spears: Her In the Zone album debuted at number one.
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Photo: Jonathan Skow30/432003: PFC Jessica Lynch and Spec. Shoshana Johnson
Seven months after their release from enemy captivity in Iraq, we reunited PFC Jessica Lynch and Spec. Shoshana Johnson.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Warner Bros./Everett Collection31/432003: Ellen DeGeneres
"Find out who you are and be that person." —Ellen DeGeneres, 2003 winner
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Photo: Getty Images32/432004: Alicia Keys, Judy Blume and Kate Winslet
"Damn, I'm too cool to cry!" said weepy winner Alicia Keys, who was celebrated alongside young adult author Judy Blume and actress Kate Winslet.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Frank Bruns/Pool/Corbis33/432005: Venus Williams
"Never let anyone tell you you can't do it." —Venus Williams, 2005 winner
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Photo: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images34/432005: Mukhtar Mai
Pakistan's Mukhtar Mai sought justice from her rapists and now helps educate her country's kids.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Getty Images35/432005: The Heroines of Hurricane Katrina, Petra Nemcova and Catherine Zeta-Jones
We lauded the heroines of Hurricane Katrina, as well as tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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Photo: Getty Images36/432006: Somaly Mam and Queen Latifah
Sex trafficking crusader Somaly Mam inspired fellow winner Queen Latifah, left, and presenter Barbara Walters to each give $150,000.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Sante D'Orazio37/432006: Sandra Bullock
"Be original, be original, be original." —Sandra Bullock, 2006 winner
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Photo: Everett Collection38/432007: Abigail Breslin and Shonda Rhimes
Little Miss Sunshine star Abigail Breslin was our first Girl of the Year. Fellow winner: Grey's Anatomy's creator Shonda Rhimes.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Getty Images39/432008: Nujood Ali
Honoree and ex-child bride Nujood Ali of Yemen got a standing ovation at NYC's Carnegie Hall—and a meeting with Hillary Clinton the next day!
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Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage40/432007: Nancy Pelosi
Stephen Colbert applauded "most glamorous Speaker" Nancy Pelosi.
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Matthias Vriens-McGrath41/432009: Rihanna
At the ceremony, Rihanna gave props to the women of her year: "My Gran-Gran and my mom."
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Photo: Johnathan Ernst/Reuters/Corbis42/432009: Michelle Obama
"Don't look at the bankbook. Look at the heart, the soul." —First Lady Michelle Obama, 2009 winner, on finding a life partner
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Health-FitnessThe Best Probiotics, According to Registered Dietitians
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Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images43/432009: Susan Rice and Maya Angelou
Amb. Susan Rice won, as did Maya Angelou, who said: "Glamour is profound. [It's saying] I take responsibility for myself."
