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Joan of Arc (1412-1431) -

The patron saint of France, Joan of Arc was a soldier born as a peasant in eastern France. At a young age, she led the army through several important victories during the Hundred Years' War.

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Coco Chanel (1883-1971) -

The legendary designer changed the face of fashion forever. She's also the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine's most influential people of the 20th-century list.

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Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) -

The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, whom he beheaded, there was much dispute over who Henry's rightful heir was. When Elizabeth was finally crowned queen at the age of 25, she went on to reign for 44 years.

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Greta Garbo (1905-1990) -

The actresses of Old Hollywood were known for their multiple marriages, but Swedish-American star Greta Garbo bucked that trend.

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Oprah Winfrey -

While the media mogul has been in a relationship with Stedman Graham since 1986, she has actually never been legally married.

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Jane Austen (1775-1817) -

The beloved author received one proposal at the age of 27. She accepted it at first, but rejected it within 24 hours. Austen then wrote a letter to her niece saying "anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection." 

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Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) -

Best known for writing 'Little Women' (1868), she once explained her reason for not marrying as being because: "I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man's soul put by some freak of nature into a woman's body ... because I have fallen in love with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man."

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Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) -

Susan B. Anthony was an American social reformer who was involved in the abolitionist and suffrage movements. The 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote, is also called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.

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Diane Keaton -

While she has starred in several famous romantic comedies, Diane Keaton hasn't opted for marriage in real life.

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Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) -

Founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale never married, as she believed God had her "clearly marked out ... to be a single woman."

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Clara Barton (1821-1912) -

Clara Barton was another notable nurse who opted not to marry. Also a teacher and a humanitarian, she founded the American Red Cross.

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Harper Lee (1926-2016) -

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the American classic 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1960) never married.

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Condoleeza Rice -

Rice was the first ever African-American female Secretary of State, and the second African-American Secretary of State. When asked why she had never married, she answered that "the fact is I’ve never found anybody that I want to spend my life with."

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Jackie "Moms" Mabley (1894-1975) -

Jackie "Moms" Mabley was a comedian and one of the most successful black vaudeville entertainers. Though she had four children, she never married, and she came out as a lesbian at the age of 27 in 1921.

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Janet Reno (1938-2016) -

Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Janet Reno became the first female Attorney General. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving Attorney General behind only William Wirt (1817-1829).

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Emily Carr (1871-1945) -

Carr was a Canadian writer and artist, influenced by the indigenous cultures of Alaska and British Columbia. She was closely associated with the famed Group of Seven artists.

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Shonda Rhimes -

With three daughters and a television empire known as Shondaland, Rhimes has been very open about her lifelong disinterest in marriage.

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Christabel Pankhurst (1880-1958) -

The English suffragette co-founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WPSU) in 1903. She dedicated her life to women's voting rights and gender equality.

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Octavia Butler (1947-2006) -

Butler was an African-American writer and the only science fiction writer to receive a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

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Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) -

One of the few female Impressionist painters, Cassatt decided early in life that marriage wouldn't be compatible with her career.

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Charity Bryant (1777-1851) and Sylvia Drake (1784-1868) -

These two seamstresses met in Massachusetts in 1806 and started a tailoring business. They also apprenticed other young women. An incredibly close duo, historians believe they're one of the first records of a same-sex partnership.

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Pauli Murray (1910-1985) -

Murray was an activist for civil rights and women’s rights, a lawyer, teacher, poet, and priest. In 1977, she became the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

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St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) -

St. Hildegard of Bingen was a German abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, and polymath during the Middle Ages. She is also considered by scholars as the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

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Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) -

Martineau was an English social theorist, often seen as the first female sociologist. Through subsequent writings, she introduced Britain to the abolitionist cause.

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Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879-1961) -

Born to freed slaves in Virginia, Burroughs was an African-American educator, religious leader, and civil rights activist. In 1909, she founded the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., which today is called the Nannie Helen Burroughs School.

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Catharine Beecher (1800-1878) -

The sister of abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe, she was once engaged to Alexander M. Fisher, a professor at Yale University, who died at sea before they could marry. After his death, she dedicated her life to teaching, and established several women’s colleges in the American Midwest.

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Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995) -

Kuhn was an American activist known for founding the Gray Panthers movement. She founded the movement after she was forced to retire from her job at the then-mandatory age of 65.

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Charlotte Whitton (1896-1975) -

Whitton was a Canadian social reformer, feminist, and the first female mayor of Ottawa. She served as mayor from 1951 to 1956, and again from 1960 to 1964.

Sources: (The Washington Post) (HuffPost) (Bustle) (Unmarried Equality)

See also: Famous women who lost their husbands

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