Some of international  women who were  highly respected worldwide based upon their published work, literary value, courage and sociological endeavors

      1. Margaret Mitchell   2. Margaret Mead      3. Emma Lazarus  

  4. Sarah Bernhardt       5.  Amelia Earhart          6. Simone de Beauvoir

 7. Golda Meir

WHAT IS THEIR SECRET?

What is their secret? That is THE question! It is so exciting, alarming, puzzling, refreshing and confusing (sometimes) to sail deep and far on the ocean of their success, fame, wealth and power and to try to understand how and why they made it so big in life. What did they do? What techniques, strategies, assets, resources, tools, stimuli, people, opportunities and hidden means they used to become so famous and so rich? The answers are as ambiguous and unclear as the questions themselves. In total candor and honesty, few know. To the masses, their secret is not totally revealed. However, we have some ideas, theories, examples, instances and even people to explain and to tell the story of their success. Some of the paramount and most vital reasons, cause and effect of their fame and wealth could and would be summarized a follows:

1-PRIVILEGE STATUS by birth and inheritance. They had NOTHING to do to get to the top. However, they had to STAY THERE. This is the case of Queen Elizabeth, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi et al who inherited their power, wealth and fame from their families.

2-GOOD CONNECTIONS. The world of politics and government affairs offer abundant examples. If you know the man or the woman on the top, YOU GET THERE one day or nearby. Nearby enough to become, a member of the cabinet, an ambassador, a secretary of state, even a cardinal. However, your brains should be fully functional and your shrewd tough cookie maneuvers in sync with your ambition and willingness to go along with the plans and agenda of your boss who is launching your career. And of course, on a quasi  regular basis, you have to kiss and kick asses too. This could be  the case of  Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Monica Crowley and an avalanche of powerful and brilliant women in politics, media and the corporate world.

3-GUTS, DETERMINATION AND TALENT. This is the case of Madonna and alike.

4-INCOMPREHENSIBLE PHENOMENON OR UFP. meaning unidentified flying persons. People who made it  so high, so big and so incomprehensible to a point where no analytical mind or alert intelligence can explain that phenomenon. Forget the masses and their applauses. Voltaire said : "Le peuple, c'est la voix de l'ane". And he was right. This is the case of Oprah Winfrey.

5-GENIUS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE. This would be the case of Madame Currie.

6-UNUSUAL SEX APPEAL, PERSONAL AURA AND A LOT, A LOT, A LOT  OF LUCK. This could be the case of Sarita Montiel, Julia Roberts et al.

7-DUMB LUCK: This could be the case of Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith et compagnie.

8-PASSIONATE TALENT. This could be the case of Edith Piaf, Simone Signoret and Maria Callas.

9-MARRIAGE. Being married to famous, powerful and important men. This could be the case of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Queen Noor (Nour) of Jordan and Princess Di.

10-DARING NUDITY. This could be the case of Brigitte Bardot.

11-UNSURPASSED BEAUTY. This could be the case of Marina Vlady and Maria Felix.

12-FEMME FATALES PERSONA. This could be the case of Marlene Dietrich.

13-SEX AND BODY ENDOWMENT.  This could be the case of  Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield, Pamela Anderson and Jane Russell (at the beginning of her career).

14-COMPASSION AND DIGNITY. This could be the case of Mother Teresa.

15-BEING SILLY AND BEING THERE. This could be the case of Vanna White.

16-LEADERSHIP. This could be the case of Golda Meier, Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria.

17-REMARKABLE AUTHORSHIP. This could be the case of Francoise Sagan, Marquise de Lafayette, Charlotte Bronte, Agatha Christie and Simone de Beauvoir....And of course, there are instances and examples of astonishing successes based upon remarkable deeds, magnificent ideas, principles, un-chartered and daring visions, courage, intelligence and unsurpassed talent. This is the ipso facto case of Margaret Mead, Margaret Mitchell, Golda Meier, Oum Kalthoum, Ida Lupino, Sarah Bernhardt, Amelia Earhart, etc., etc.,  

LORD! SO MANY WOMEN IN THE WORLD AND SO MANY WOMEN'S WORLDS.

Although, the 100 most outstanding and unusual women (from various countries) of the year,  have so many things in common, in reality, they are diametrically and categorically different in many aspects. We can write volumes on the subject. But for now, let's illustrate one colorful difference with a very amusing and entertaining example. An overwhelming majority of American women keeps the price tag attached to a dress they just purchased, for returning the dress is always  on their mind. Many do it on purpose. They use the dress, once or twice and they return it with the tag and the box avec les compliments de la maison. How about the Parisian women? French women have no problem at all. If they cannot afford to buy the dress, they call upon Jean-Pierre, Jean-Claude, Maurice or Jean Luc. And Jean-Pierre, Jean-Claude, Maurice or Jean-Luc will gladly buy the dress for Brigitte, Chantal, Marie Rose or Chou Chou Francoise. So, French women do not need to keep the price tag. How about the Italian coquettes? No problem. They walk into the store, ask the manager if they "can model for the dress", they wear it for the show, walk on the runway and run away with it. And how about the Iranian women? The Iranian middle class loves “Wall Mart” stores. The Iranian high society is very picky and usually buys the very best and the most expensive items, and believe it or not, la crème de la crème of the Iranian society loves to do business with American Jews. Iranian women of the upper middle class and the high society are extremely elegant, love to shop at expensive department stores and are unconcerned with what their men think about their outfits. They buy the most expensive dresses, gowns, shoes and feminine apparels.  If they can afford expensive gowns and dresses, they buy the whole set  in a heart beat. If they cannot afford it, they stand in front of the boutique window (Vitrina) , take a pen and a stack of papers and copy the model. They rush home to ask Myriam or Nour their dressmakers to copy the dress. The elegant Lebanese woman, straight ahead,  buys the dress without making any fuss about it. The Egyptian, Syrian, Palestinian and Iraqi women will use their bazaar and bargaining tactics. The Greek woman upfront, will tell the shop owner, she already knows the prices are way high and  she will not buy the dress unless, he gives her a big discount. Those minor and silly differences in the way people  do business, shop, negotiate deals, bargain and buy stuff could tell us a lot about the psyche and culture of a nation. Consequently, adhering social importance to an individual, assessing and sizing up one's prominence in society could become the product, cause and effect of "the window shopping" factor. Fortunately, this factor was not taken into consideration when we compiled our lists.

FAME IS A MANUFACTURED PRODUCT

 The 2005 list includes famous, powerful, rich, brilliant, highly educated, international celebrities, extremely well-known figures, as well as unknown -even obscure- women. In my book, fame is NOT always the only sign and proof of outstanding accomplishments and remarkable personality. Fame could be a manufactured product, a propaganda and PR proforma, even stroke of luck and fate irony. There are zillions of remarkable women of great depth, substance, astonishing accomplishments, unparalleled creativity, unsurpassed talents  and remarkable deeds who are completely unknown to you, to me and to the masses. The fact that, they are not famous, does not categorically imply that they are NOT outstanding and most unusual. They are simply NOT FAMOUS. The lack of fame does not shrink or diminish their formidable deeds and outstanding personality. And this is why, we have included in this year's list, names of women, who are not as famous as Oprah Winfrey and Madonna. Despite their lack of notoriety and fame, we have included them in our list, for they are truly, among the most unusual and outstanding women of our time. They are all here on the list. Almost 80% of them make tons of money, with the exception of a few ladies who are not on the list of TOP MONEY MAKERS. However, they share one thing in common: TALENT!

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