This book celebrates seven larger-than-life women who influenced not only their professions - politics, journalism, anthropology, acting, sports, dance, and music - but the way women saw themselves and their options in life.

Susan Ware recovers the public and private people behind the legends in compelling life stories. She looks at how these women created their personae, and how they kept themselves in the public eye for so long. Ware also speaks to how these women balanced their personal lives with their considerable careers, choosing lovers and mates and deciding whether to have children. In the choices they made and their outcomes are lessons with deep resonance for every woman today.