Raquel Welch - Wonderful Woman No. 135

Raquel Welch - Born 1940
American Actress, Television Personality and Business Woman

Added to the album by Tay, A Wonderful Man

Well I’d like to spin a yarn about how much I admired her perfect timing or on screen poise..but that would be total bollocks... Growing up in the 70s... there was only one woman we all talked about at school. She was such an icon to us... Probably not for the right reasons I suggested her... but to me and countless other men of a certain age… Sex on legs!! ICON!
Tay

A few of the other women in the album have been nominated for similar reasons. In my mind, being beautiful alone isn't qualification enough to this celebration of Wonderful Women, however, as in the cases of the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis - Wonderful Woman No. 111 and Twiggy - Wonderful Woman No. 120, Raquel Welch is much more than just a pretty face and a toned body, her life achievements make her worthy of the title Wonderful Woman.

Raquel's career started as a Weather Forecaster on local television in San Diego, U.S.A. She went on to move to Hollywood, where she had a number of bit-parts in film and on TV before appearing in her most memorable role in 1966, when she starred in One Million Years B.C., launching her iconic image as a cave woman in a fur bikini. In total, Raquel has appeared in almost forty motion pictures, including the 1974 version of The Three Musketeers, for which she was awarded a Golden Globe.

As well as her wonderful career as an Actress, Raquel has founded her own businesses, including a signature line of wigs, a jewellery collection and a skincare range.

As with a number of other women celebrated in this album, though now in her seventies, Raquel is still looking great, her beauty and feminine allure unchanged by the passage of time.

She was, and still is, an iconic beauty but more than that, a great Actress, a successful career woman and most definitely a Wonderful Woman.

There aren't any hard women, only soft men.
Raquel Welch

Joanna Lumley - Wonderful Woman No. 132

Joanna Lumley - Born 1946
British Actress, Model, Television Presenter, Writer and Political Activist

Added to the album by Howie, A Wonderful Man

Like so many of the women in this album, labelling Joanna Lumley as one thing or another is impossible. Her career has been rich and varied, and she has actively campaigned and supported causes in which she believes. I have read several newspaper ariticles about her over the last few day, in preparation for writing this blog post, a phrase that is repeated over and over again is national treasure, for once, I feel this reference is spot on.

Joanna's started her career as a photographic model in the 1960s. At the end of the '60s, she moved on to work in acting, her first role in the film Some Girls Do. She has since appeared in numerous films, including On Her Majesty's Secret Service where she joined the prestigious list of actresses who have played Bond Girls. Predominantly, Joanna's most famous roles have been on television, among her many roles she briefly appeared in Britain's most loved soap Coronation Street, played Purdey in The New Avengers - for which she won a BAFTA award and in 1992, she burst onto television screens as the unforgettable Patsy in Jennifer Saunders' (Wonderful Woman No. 92) Absolutely Fabulous, a role she played for more than a decade and for which she recieved a further two BAFTA awards. She is also credited with numerous theatre roles throughout her lengthy career.

As well as appearing on television as an actress, Joanna has made numerous documentaries from around the globe. She has also written several books, including a number of personal memoirs.

Joanna supports and champions a number of charities and campaigns, she is patron of a number of charities and speaks out about the causes she holds dear. Most famously, Joanna was the face of the campaign to give

Ghurka veterans the right to settle in Great Britain. This particular fight was very personal to Joanna, her grandfather, Colonel Leslie Weir, was a political officer of the British Raj in India, who travelled extensively in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet, was friends with the 13th Dalai Lama and her father, Major James Lumley, was an officer in the Gurkha Rifles, indeed Joanna was born in India due to her father's position and was brought up in Hong Kong and Malaysia because of the Gurkha regiment. After a very public battle with the UK government, during which Joanna spoke passionately and fought tirelessly, the mandate was announced for all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 to be allowed to settle in Britain. Joanna describes this as her most humbling experience and the proudest moment of her life.

Joanna is a particular Wonderful Woman, one we can celebrate like many of the others, for her fantastic career which is still going though now in it's sixth decade, for her zest for life and individuality but also one who has took her fame and notoriety and used it for the good of others, who has stood firm on causes she is really passionate about... and that, is truly wonderful

If you're an enthusiast and you love the world like I do, it comes naturally. But I think charity must become more fun to give, more interactive and imaginative.
Joanna Lumley

Dolly Parton - Wonderful Woman No. 129

Dolly Parton - Born 1946
American Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Actress and Business Woman

Added to the album by Vicky, A Wonderful Woman

Really, who could fail to love Dolly Parton?
Hadley Freeman, The Guardian

As in the last blog post, Judi Dench - Wonderful Woman No. 128, today we celebrate another Wonderful Woman who has had a wonderfully long and interesting career. For someone of my generation, it is hard to imagine the world before Dolly Parton.

Dolly grew up in Tennessee, USA, she was from a poor family, raised in a one-room cabin. Dolly was determined to make something of her life and to make money. She performed from early childhood and made her television debut at the age of nine. She recorded her first single Puppy Love at the age of thirteen. She has since recorded more than forty studio albums, with releases in every decade from the 60s to now. The country star is responsible for penning some of the world's most recognisable tracks such as I Will Always Love You, Jolene and My Tennessee Mountain Home. She has received countless awards and accolades, and is one of the few artists who has managed to transcend the label of being a country artist, not just in the USA but globally too.

Dolly has also forged a career in film and television. On television she has made countless appearances and hosted her own shows, she was also characterised as one of Jim Henson's Muppets by the name of Polly Darton. She has starred in thirteen films, including Steel Magnolias, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and the brilliant 9-5, which also gained her a Golden Globe nomination and for which she also wrote the fantastic theme tune.

Dolly has invested much of her earnings into businesses in the American state where she grew up, most notably she is the co-owner of The Dollywood Company. Dollywood is the 24th-most-popular theme park in America. It is a family friendly tourist attraction but also hosts a number of events, including an annual 'Gay Day,' gay rights being one of the many causes Dolly supports. As well as numerous business ventures, Dolly is also the founder of the charity the Dollywood Foundation, the foundation includes a literacy programme which sends a book to every child enrolled once a month, the program distributes more than 2.5 million free books to children annually, education being another of the causes Dolly champions, there are many more.

Dolly Parton is not just a cheery personality with catchy songs, she is real, strong, emotional, Wonderful Woman. A woman who has done so much for others as well as striving to create a better life for herself. She's best known for her blonde hair and her sassy quips but she's really a savvy business woman, a great songwriter, an awesome performer and a true philanthropist.

I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde.
Dolly Parton

Lulu - Wonderful Woman No. 124

Lulu - Born 1948
British Singer, Songwriter, Actress and Television Personality

Added to the album by Tay, A Wonderful Man

With the obvious acception of my Great Aunt, Barbara Jackson - Wonderful Woman No. 17, there are few women in the album I can lay claim to having met in person. Lulu though, I did once have the pleasure of meeting, she came backstage to a show I was in years ago and was seemingly humble, lovely and was terribly complimentary about my performance. For that brief meeting alone, she will always be wonderful to me.

She's Lulu and I love her. There, I said it...
I could prattle on all night but suffice to say Lulu deserves a place in 'Wonderful Women'.
Annonymous, A Wonderful Lulu Fan

I've been lucky enough to receive some unique insights from the genuine Lulu fan quoted above (who asked to remain nameless). Often when women have been nominated to the album, little explanation is given and so it has been a great pleasure to have direct access to someone who can really explain and emphasis exactly how this Woman is Wondeful. One of the things I love the most about having created this celebration of women, is people contributing suggestions of women who have meant something to them, who have inspired them, represented them or touched them for another reason.

Remarkably, Lulu's singing career began when she was in her pre-teens. She was signed to her first record label while still only fifteen and throughout the sixties had a string of chart hits, including possibly her most famous record Shout! In a singing career that has spanned six decades, Lulu has recorded over twenty studio albums and has had singles chart success in every decade since she started, including a UK Number 1 with Take That in 1993, where she competently covered Loleatta Holloway - Wonderful Woman No. 93's vocal on Dan Hartman's disco classic Relight My Fire.

In 1969, Lulu represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Boom Bang-a-Bang. She was tied in first place, a victory for the UK and an excellent win for Lulu, especially as she claimed never to have liked the song.

It seemed like Lulu owned Saturday nights. She must have made countless appearances on Summertime Special and the like.
Anon

As well as an outstanding recording career, Lulu appeared on and presented a number of television shows, including her own shows Lulu's Back In Town, Happening For Lulu, Lulu and It's Lulu. She has also proved herself to be a fine Actress, appearing in seven feature films, including the outstanding To Sir, With Love (featuring brilliant Sidney Poitier, if I were ever to write about Wonderful Men, he would be high on the list of inclusions).

Now in her sixties, Lulu continues to perform and be ever-present and popular in the public eye, I have written many times about how wonderful it is to see women with lengthy and successful careers. Lulu is a great ambassador for women in music, a true star and what a voice!

You have to be driven and very, very focused and hard work cannot frighten you. If you can develop those characteristics then you can stay in your job for a very long time.
Lulu

Helen Skelton - Wonderful Woman No. 119

Helen Skelton - Born 1983
British Television Personality

I feel the need to apologise that it has been some time since I last updated the blog. I have many Wonderful Women to write about and feel guilty for the delay. It's been a busy month and work, sunshine and trying to be a Wonderful Woman myself have all got in the way!

I am pleased to be writing today about a young, Wonderful Woman, who I believe to be an excellent role model to girls in Britain, at a time where they often seem to be force-fed a constant stream of access to women with little talent, intelligence or even good manners. In contrast, Helen Skelton is a shining example of all of these things.

In 2008, Helen became a presenter on one of British television's longest running and most loved children's shows, Blue Peter. Like other great presenters of the show before her, Helen threw herself into the role, bringing a wide-range of subject matter, innovative ideas, news, creativity and global awareness into the lives of the average British youngster.

She has an unaffected enthusiasm... It’s clear why Blue Peter producers chose her to inspire their young viewers.
Jolyon Attwooll, The Daily Telegraph

Helen has become a dedicated and high-profile charity fundraiser, taking on some extraordinary challenges in order to raise money for the causes she believes in. In 2009, she completed the 78-mile Namibian Ultra Marathon, only the second woman ever to have done so. A year later, Helen took on and conquered the mammouth task of kayaking the entire length of the Amazon River, paddling solo for 2,010 miles in order to raise money for Sports Relief. Last year, she braved walking across a tightrope between chimneys at Battersea Power Station, 66 metres high, raising more than £250,000 for BBC's Comic Relief. Her latest challenge took place earlier this year, where she became the first person to reach the South Pole by bicycle, she covered 329 miles by kite ski, 103 by bike, and 68 by cross-country ski, in doing so she became the first person to claim a world record for the fastest 100km by kite ski, in seven hours 28 minutes.

For all her achievements and successes, Helen still manages to maintain the appearance of your average northern, girl-next-door, down-to-earth, friendly and thoughtful. If we are looking for a Wonderful Woman to inspire the women of tomorrow, here is the perfect person for the job.

You should always encourage people. The worst that can happen is that they fail.
Helen Skelton

Nigella Lawson - Wonderful Woman No. 101

Nigella Lawson - Born 1960
British Cookery Writer, Television Personality and Business Woman

Added to the album by Sarah, A Wonderful Woman

Filth on a plate. Love her.
Lee, A Wonderful Man

Similarly to Courtney Love (Wonderful Woman No. 13), when Nigella's name was suggested as an addition to the Wonderful Woman album there was some protest to her inclusion.

The person who made the comment has since removed it from the internet, though she made some good points that were interesting to read. I think what is wonderful about all of the women in this album is that they have meant something to someone else. We are all influenced, inspired and in admiration of different people at different times in our lives. This album is really a celebration of those women who have been able to somehow positively impact on

someone else.

Her recipes are fantastic - I know my onions on that score. Plus, she's over 50 and looks like that! Bring on the butter!
Sarah

Despite not being a trained chef, Nigella has published nine cook books to date, many of which have received literary awards in culinary categories. Since 2000, Nigella has appeared on television in the United Kingdom presenting cookery programmes. She has also appeared on television in Australia and America. Her presenting style is provocative and often comments are as much about her seductive presenting style as they are about her food.

In addition to her writing and television career, Nigella founded her own cookware range Living Kitchen which is hugely successful, with an estimated market value of £7 Million.

Though she has her critics, Nigella is a hard-working woman who has forged out success for herself. She is passionate about her business and works with her own style and panache, I'd say that qualifies her to be included here.

I'm not someone who's endlessly patient and wonderful.
Nigella Lawson

Nina Hagen - Wonderful Woman No. 91

Nina Hagen - Born 1955
German Singer, Songwriter and Actress

Added to the album by Sandy, A Wonderful Woman

A reoccurring theme in this album is women who are completely unique, incomparable with any other female, women who have carved an entirely new way of existing out for themselves. Since reading more about and listening to the music of Nina Hagen following Sandy's suggestion, it is clear that Nina Hagen is another prime example of women who have not followed the female protocol, who are themselves and like no-one else. And again, I find myself acknowledging how truly wonderful the ability to do this is.

Nina was born in the former communist East Germany, from which she escaped following the dramatic expulsion of her step-father in 1976. Indeed, some of her early recordings make reference to the communist regime and sterility of living within.

In the 1970s, Nina fronted the German punk group Automobil. After two albums with the band, she went solo under the moniker Spliff and then later using her own name. Nina has released 16 studio albums, the latest in 2011. In addition, she released two E.P.s and a number of compilations. Her performance style has always been edgy and provocative, in the late 1970s she was heavily critised for a televised performance in which she demonstrated female masturbation (though fully clothed), her performances are highly charged, aggressive and filled with a message of female sexual liberation.

In addition to her music career, Nina has appeared in a number of feature films and has presented television shows both in Germany and other countries, including Britain.

A woman with her own style, her own attitude and her own way of living... definitely wonderful.

You have to see my show to believe that I'm the only unique Nina Hagen on this planet.
Nina Hagen

Thora Hird - Wonderful Woman No. 85

Thora Hird - 1911-2003
British Actress, Writer and Television Personality

Added to the album by Howie, A Wonderful Man

Icon
Lee, A Wonderful Man

There are some actresses who you forget are actresses at all, whose very being is imprinted on the public consciousness. Thora Hird is one such woman and one who genuinely earned the status of National Treasure in the United Kingdom.

Perhaps best remembered as Edie in Last of the Summer Wine, Thora seemed best in the roles she aged into. In the blog entry on Maggie Smith (Wonderful Woman No. 62), I wrote of Alan Bennett's fantastic Talking Heads series, Thora was another actress to perform one of the seminal monologues. Her performance in Cream Cracker Under The Settee is filled with pathos, I remember watching it with both laughter and tears, again forgetting that this was an actress but in true belief that the woman I saw really was alone after a fall.

She made you believe. She got inside the skin of the character and made it real. A wonderful talent.

[Thora's] Warmth, humanity and remarkable professional longevity made her a true candidate for that overworked epithet "much-loved".
The Daily Telegraph

From a theatrical family, Thora first appeared on stage in her Lancastrian home-town Morecambe aged just two months old. She performed on stage and in feature films such as Once A Sinner, The Entertainer and Some Will, Some Won't. Her true platform though was British television, where she appeared regularly from the 1960s to the last years of her life, in programmes such as Meet the Wife, Dinner Ladies and, of course, Last of the Summer Wine. She was a winner of both BAFTA and Emmy awards and was a subject of the cultural television programme The South Bank Show.

Thora also presented television programmes and was the author of several books.

She was a supporter and spokesperson for the charity Help The Aged and dedicated time to many other charitable causes too. She also always loved to meet and talk to fans, saying she enjoyed that they felt they knew her because she was so often in their living rooms on the television.

This droll-faced Northern girl, who in the course of a long and happy life took her place among the best we have.
Alan Bennett

A great representation of northern women, a superb actress and a genuine, funny and humble wonderful woman.

There's nothing I like better than having a good laugh, apart from making other people laugh with me.
Thora Hird

Kylie & Dannii Minogue - Wonderful Women No. 72 Collectively

Kylie Minogue - Born 1968
Australian Singer, Songwriter and Actress

Dannii Minogue - Born 1971
Australian Singer, Songwriter, Actress and Television Personality

Sisters

Added to the album by Alison, a wonderful woman

I have to admit, there are some women in the album who I am not sure of when they are suggested and truth be told, when Alison's suggestion of the Minogue sisters came in, I did doubt their wonderfulness in my mind. It is not for me to judge who other people are awestruck by, indeed, some of my own entries have been criticised and sniggered at. The point of the album though, is women who have been an influence in the lives of the people who suggest them and so the antipodean siblings are as welcome as anyone else.

And the more I have thought about it, the more I feel that they really do deserve to be in the album after all.

I remember the first time I saw Kylie, I was still at primary school when the Australian soup opera Neighbours began to be broadcast on British television. Kylie played the part of Charlene Ramsey, a young female mechanic, feisty and the love interest of Scott Robinson (played by Jason Donovan, one of the first boys I fell in love with). Not long after Charlene started to be a regular feature at tea-time in our house, I went out and got a ridiculous perm in an attempt to emulate Kylie's look... I think I have now already proved that at least one of the sisters was an influence in my own early life.

A few years later, rival Australian soap Home and Away began to appear on a rival British television station. And soon after Kylie's younger sister Dannii starred in the show.

Both of the sisters went on to have pop careers in the 1990s... I'll be honest, I owned records by both.

Kylie's pop career was more long lived than Dannii's, she has notched up eleven studio albums and four compilations (compared to Dannii's five - still not to be sniffed at). Kylie is renowned for her ostentatious stage tours, which are a spectacle of lights, music, performance and glamour, an experience rather than a pop concert.

The first time we met, I remember we all thought that she was incredibly different to anyone we had met before.
Pete Waterman, Producer

Dannii's pop career was at it's height in the 1990s. She has released a number of records since, particularly with dance music producers. In 2007, she became a judge on the British television show The X-Factor. This role really cemented her as a television personality and has lead to other television work, including being part of the judging panel for Australia's Got Talent.

I've finally been accepted as me. It's a fantastic opportunity, for once, not to be compared with Kylie. At last, I've found my own slot.
Dannii Minogue

Both sisters are considered style icons. Have appeared on stage, screen and television and are successful on both sides of the globe.

Not to mention, they actually seem like nice people.

And another great reason to include them, is the simple fact that they are sisters... sisters can be truly wonderful creatures, I know I have one of my very own.

Mary Berry - Wonderful Woman No. 67

Mary Berry - Born 1935
British Cookery Writer, Television Personality and Business Woman

Added to the album by a wonderful man called Howie

I love receiving suggestions of women to add to the album. Sometimes, like in the case of Mary Berry, I do not really know very much about the woman suggested until I do my research for the blog. It really is a pleasure to learn about women I personally would never have thought to have added to the album, so I should say thank you to Howie and to all those who suggest new additions.

My only knowledge of Mary until she was suggested by Howie, was that she is a judge on the television cookery contest The Great British Bake-Off, I have since learned that she has had a career in cookery over six decades.

During the 1960s and '70s, Mary was Cookery Editor for Housewife magazine and then for Ideal Home. She has produced over forty cookbooks, all of which concentrate on wholesome home cooking and baking. She has appeared on British television for many years, hosting her own shows and making appearances on programmes such as Saturday Kitchen. She also occasionally appears on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

In 2009, Mary was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Guild of Food Writers.

In addition to her television and writing work, Mary has her own brand of salad dressings and sauces, Mary Berry & Daughter. The products were originally sold at Mary's aga workshops but are now available across the United Kingdom.

Another hard-working woman, successful in her field and a worthy addition as a wonderful woman.

What would strawberries be without cream!
Mary Berry

May I also take this opportunity to say HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! to you all x

Angela Hartnett - Wonderful Woman No. 65

Angela Hartnett - Born 1968
British Chef, Culinary Writer, Television Personality and Restaurant Owner

Added to the album by a wonderful man called Howie

In the United Kingdom, only 20% of chefs working in professional kitchens are women. As we have learned from previous women in the album, making it in a male dominated world is not easy and those that do are quite remarkable. I could not imagine a more testosterone-filled, macho atmosphere than the kitchen of Gordon Ramsey but that is exactly where Angela Hartnett learnt her craft and made her name.

The hardest thing for us was the number of people who came and left. Less than one in 10 actually stayed. But Angela Hartnett is a grafter, she just battened down the hatches and got on with it. She's a true-grit chef.
Marcus Wareing, Chef and fellow former junior to Gordon Ramsey

Under Ramsey, Angela worked six days a week, often sixteen to seventeen hours per day. She worked closely with him as a soux chef and then helped launch a restaurant in Dubai.

(Angela is) warm and natural with everybody she meets ...she has no airs and graces.
Gordon Ramsey

After mastering the kitchen and learning to become business savvy from Ramsey, Angela went on to open her own restaurants and has published the book Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Family Cooking. She also regularly appears on British television, a rarity for female chefs.

Angela has been acknowledged with several awards, including a Michelin Star for her first restaurant.

She is clearly a wonderful chef, a great business woman and has taken on a male dominated industry and come out fighting, making her an excellent addition to the album.

I think that sometimes women make food with a bit more feeling.
Angela Hartnett