In a world that too often tells women how they should be, there’s nothing more exhilarating than knowing that there are actually women who lived and carved out their own paths.
There’s something undeniably magnetic about a woman who stands strong in her own shoes—brave, passionate, independent. I think there’s a special kind of magic in words that capture this spirit—words that have been spoken, written, or lived out by women who know the art of standing tall in the face of it all.
Table of Contents
Historical Figures
Eleanor Roosevelt
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
- “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
- “Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
- “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
- “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
- “I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.”
- “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Harriet Tubman
- “I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”
- “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
- “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”
Marie Curie
- “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.”
- “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.”
- “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
Susan B. Anthony
- “Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.”
- “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.”
Rosa Parks
- “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear: knowing what must be done does away with fear.”
- “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.”
- “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
- “To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.”
Queen Elizabeth I
- “I know I have the body of a weak and feeable woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.”
- “Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak, you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind.”
- “I do not want a husband who honours me as a queen, if he does not love me as a woman.”
- “I have already joined myself in marriage to a husband, namely the kingdom of England.”
Coco Chanel
- “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”
- “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
- “I decided who I wanted to be, and that is who I am.”
- “My life didn’t please me, so I created my life.”
- “Women must tell men always that they are the strong ones. They are the big, the strong, the wonderful. In truth, women are the strong ones. It is just my opinion, I am not a professor.”
Contemporary Influencers
Oprah Winfrey
- “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
- “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.”
- “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.”
- “You don’t become what you want, you become what you believe.”
- “I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’”
- “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
- “You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.”
Malala Yousafzai
- “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
- “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
- “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.”
- “I don’t want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up.”
Michelle Obama
- “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
- “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”
- “Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.”
- “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
- “When they go low, we go high.”
- “I’ve learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values—and follow my own moral compass—then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.”
- “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
- “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”
- “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
- “I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.”
- “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
Jacinda Ardern
- “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.”
- “It takes courage and strength to be empathetic, and I’m very proudly an empathetic and compassionate leader.”
Celebrities
Taylor Swift
- “Just be yourself; there is no one better.”
- “You are not the opinion of somebody who doesn’t know you.”
- “I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway.”
- “I want to love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I want to wear pink and tell you how I feel about politics. And I don’t think those things have to cancel each other out.”
- “I think the tiniest little thing can change the course of your day, which can change the course of your year, which can change who you are.”
Emma Watson
- “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.”
- “I’ve found that if ultimately, if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.”
- “I’m excited about the aging process. I’m more interested in women who aren’t perfect. They’re more compelling.”
- “I feel like young girls are told that they have to be a princess and fragile. It’s bullshit. I identify much more with being a warrior—a fighter.”
- “The less you reveal, the more people can wonder.”
- “I don’t want other people to decide who I am. I want to decide that for myself.”
- “I am willing to be seen. I am willing to speak up. I am willing to keep going. I am willing to listen to what others have to say. I am willing to go forward even at the risk of criticism.”
- “Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.”
Fictional Characters from Books and Movies
Hermione Granger (“Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling)
- “I’m hoping to do some good in the world!”
- “Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.”
- “It’s sort of exciting, isn’t it? Breaking the rules.”
- “The truth is that you don’t think a girl would have been clever enough!”
Katniss Everdeen (“Hunger Games” series by Suzanne Collins)
- “I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.”
- “Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.”
- “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!”
- “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
Elizabeth Bennet (“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen)
- “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
- “Do anything rather than marry without affection.”
- “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.”
- “I am determined that nothing but the deepest love could ever induce me into matrimony.”
Jo March (“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott)
- “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”
- “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
- “I like good strong words that mean something.”
- “I want to do something splendid…something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead.”
- “I intend to make my own way in the world.”
Proverbs, Sayings, and Others
- “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- “Behind every great man, there’s a great woman.” — Unknown
- “Here’s to strong women—may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.” — Unknown
- “Women hold up half the sky.” — Mao Zedong
- “Empowered women empower women.” — Unknown
- “She believed she could, so she did.” — Unknown
- “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd. She is herself.” — Loretta Young
- “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else.” — Maya Angelou
- “Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” — Nora Ephron
- “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anaïs Nin
- “You can tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up, instead of tearing each other down.” — Unknown
- “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” — Gina Carey
- “The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.” — R.H. Sin
- “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” — Brigham Young
- “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” — Spanish Proverb
- “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” — Hillary Clinton
- “I am not a difficult woman at all. I am simply a strong woman and know my worth.” — Angelina Jolie
- “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” — Stephanie Bennett-Henry
- “She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear.” — Atticus
- “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” — Mary Shelley
- “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” — G.D. Anderson
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ve found pieces of wisdom that spark a sense of strength and independence in you. These words from remarkable women remind us that no matter the circumstances, we have the inner power to rise and shape our own lives.
Carry their words with you as a source of strength and affirmation that you, too, can face anything with determination and grace. After all, like these incredible women, you are writing your own powerful story every day.
