They might not be on the cover of every magazine, but in their own ways, these six actresses changed the world.

Margaret Hughes

Margaret Hughes

Anyone who has seen Shakespeare in Love can tell you that boys used to play all the girls parts on stage. But few people can tell you who Margaret Hughes is. Well she's the one who changed all that. Hughes is generally credited with being the first female actor on the British stage. In 1660 she played the role of Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello. In 1662 King Charles II issued a royal warrant stating that only female actors would play female roles. Hughes continued to inspire strong women for hundreds of years after her stage debut. In 1911 a one act play about Margaret Hughes entitled The First Actress was performed by a group of suffragette actresses in London. In 2000 playwright Jeffrey Hatcher wrote a play called Compleat Female Stage Beauty about the transfer to female actresses playing female roles in which Margaret Hughes is naturally a major character. That play was made into a film called Stage Beauty in 2004 in which Claire Danes played Margaret Hughes.

Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

If you recognize Hattie McDaniel it's probably from her Oscar winning turn as Mammy in Gone With The Wind. The supporting role made her the first African American performer to win an Academy Award. However as far as McDaniel's accomplishments go, it's just the tip of the iceberg. A singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer and television star, McDaniel has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for her contributions to radio, and one for her contributions to film. The daughter of former slaves, McDaniel appeared in numerous successful films and in the late 1930's drew criticism from the black community for taking on the roles of servants. However the role of Scarlett O'Hara's maid in Gone With the Wind was too good to pass up. The gala premiere of the film was held in Atlanta, Georgia. However all the black actors in the film were barred from attending the premiere and excluded from the program as a result of the states racial segregation laws. McDaniel's role specifically also made some white southerners nervous: Mammy was a sassy servant who scolds and scoffs at her employers throughout the film. Nevertheless in 1940 McDaniel was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award and the first to win. She continued to earn criticism from within the black community for playing maids but she asserted that “I'd rather play a maid and make $7000 a week than be one for $7." In 1942 McDaniel purchased a home in Los Angeles, where several other wealthy African Americans also made their homes. However some of the white members of the community attempted to impose racial restrictions. McDaniel organized the black members of the community to take the case to court. Ultimately they were successful and their homes were saved.

Katherine Hepburn

Katherine Hepburn

You've probably seen her in some old black and white movies. Did you know that she holds the record for winning the most Best Actress Oscars (she won four) as well as having two Tony Awards and eight Golden Globes and an Emmy? Hepburn was a rebel in her day. In an era where women where expected to be feminine she was the first woman to wear pants on screen. She disdained make-up and made no effort to hide her strong opinions regardless of whether they were popular. In the 1940's Hepburn spoke up for several Hollywood actors, directors and screenwriters who were blacklisted as communists. Though she had no ties to the communist party herself, her often progressive social views made her a target of speculation. She appeared in nine films with her real life love, Spencer Tracey though the two never tied the knot. Tracey was already married and his wife was a religious Catholic who would not consent to a divorce. Still their 25 year romance lasted until Tracey's death, and is certainly more lasting than most Hollywood marriages! Most of their films together stressed relationships where the balance of power was equal between the man and the woman. This is certainly understandably considering the woman was always played by an intelligent, fiercely independent actress who refused to compromise for anything.

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn and child

You always picture Audrey Hepburn as being as graceful as a swan. There are two possible reasons for that. One is that she was trained as a ballerina before she became an actress. The other is that she was severely malnourished as a child during World War II and her digestive system never fully recovered. As a child in the Netherlands, Hepburn worked as a courier for the Dutch Resistance. After the Allied invasion on D-Day the town where she lived was a target for allied artillery fire. To make matters worse German's blocked the town's supply of food and fuel and Hepburn developed acute anemia, respiratory problems and edema as a result of malnutrition. Her experiences never left her and her final, and perhaps most important role was as a goodwill ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Though she'd worked with the organization since the 1950's when she did radio presentations for them, in her later life she made her involvement a full time job. In the late 1980's she traveled the world visiting Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam, Somalia and numerous nations in Central and South America. Her campaigns involved immunizing populations against disease and meeting with leaders about getting people food and clean water. She also made people aware of the importance of UNICEF's efforts in these nations. In 1992 President George Bush awarded Hepburn the Congressional Medal of Freedom for her humanitarian efforts. In addition, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave her the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her contributions to humanity. Sadly, this was awarded posthumously and her son accepted it on her behalf several months after she died of stomach cancer. Her work continues with the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund which raises funds and supports the well being of organizations whose central mission is the education and well being of children. For more information check out www.audreyhepburn.com.

Mia Farrow

Mia Farrow in Africa.

You might know Mia Farrow from the film Rosemary's Baby. You might also know her as Woody Allen's ex. But like Audrey Hepburn, Farrow's primary occupation is as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador as well as UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth and an advocate for humanitarian efforts in Africa. She has drawn a lot of attention toward the fight to eradicate polio- a disease that she survived as a child. She has traveled to Darfur three times to advocate for refugees, authoring several articles on the crisis there, and once offering to trade her own freedom for that of a rebel leader who was being treated in a UN hospital and was afraid to leave. In 2007 Farrow became strongly involved with the Dream on Darfur campaign which raised public attention to the Chinese support of Sudan. A special focus of this campaign was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As a result of Farrow's urgings, Stephen Spielberg withdrew from his role as an artistic advisor to the Olympic broadcast. During that broadcast Farrow also televised via Internet from a Sudanese refugee camp to highlight the Chinese involvement in the region. In the past two years Farrow has received numerous international humanitarian awards and in 2008 she was selected as one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world. She has fourteen children: four biological, and ten adopted from around the world. Visit her website at www.miafarrow.org to learn how to get involved in Darfur activism, and to see photographs and blog entries from her work in the region.

Gretchen Wyler

Gretchen Wyler

You might not know her name or recognize her picture but Gretchen Wyler appeared the original Broadway productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls, among others. She appeared Sweet Charity in London's West End, and toured the United States with 42nd Street and Mame. She also starred on TV shows including On Our Own and Dallas and appeared as a guest star on shows like Friends, Judging Amy and Providence. Her films include Private Benjamin and The Marrying Man. But in case being a star of stage and screen isn't impressive enough, Gretchen Wyler was a passionate animal rights activist. In 1966, Wyler visited a dog shelter and was horrified by the conditions that she witnessed. She bought that shelter and managed it for ten years. In 1971 Wyler joined a New York City coalition for reforms within the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). A year later she was made the first woman to serve on the board of the ASPCA. However in 1975 Wyler filed a lawsuit against her fellow board members accusing them of “corporate waste and indifference to animal suffering”. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in Wyler's favor though she was dropped from the board of the ASPCA. For twenty years she served as the vice-chairperson for the Fund for Animals. In 1979 Wyler began work on a Resolution of Animal Rights that was authored by a California state senator and passed, making California the first state to adopt such a resolution. Wyler worked with numerous animal advocacy organizations throughout her life and in 1991 she started her own organization: the Ark Trust Inc. You can learn more about her work at and www.gretchenwyler.com and www.arktrust.org .