The Women of the Decade

Science, film, art, politics … It seems no field is free of women who wOw anymore, and this fact thrills us to no end. At the close of this decade, the '00s, we were inspired to think about those women who truly stood out and shined over these past ten years, and invited actress Candice Bergen, gossip queen Liz Smith, "60 Minutes" anchor Lesley Stahl, advertising great Mary Wells and Sesame Street founder Joan Ganz Cooney to tell us what women caught and held their attention. With their help, wOw presents: The Women of the Decade.


Maria Shriver, First Lady of California, Journalist and Author
Maria Shriver is more than just the First Lady of California. She is a Peabody- and Emmy-winning journalist, an advocate of women and a proponent of ending poverty and of increasing community service, as well as a voice for Alzheimer's awareness and research. In 2004, Shriver created the Women's Conference, an annual forum for women to convene and work together to grow and to effect change in the world, which has attracted 14,000 participants each year since then. This year, Shriver published "The Shriver Report: A Women's Nation Changes Everything" - a comprehensive report reflecting the power of women in America.

The 2009 Women of Worth


Oprah Winfrey, Talk-show Host, Producer and Philanthropist
Oprah Winfrey "changed daytime TV, and our entire culture," says Stahl. "She promoted good causes and pumped up book sales. She's also one hell of a businesswoman!" Winfrey was named one of Time's most influential people of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. This year, she announced her plans to give up her daytime talk show and move into a partnership with Discovery Communications. We imagine that anything Winfrey touches will turn to gold.

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Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State
The former First Lady made it clear "'Madame President' is a real possibility," says Lesley Stahl. Hillary Clinton gave her all to her run for the Democratic ticket, and after losing, she came back stronger as ever as Secretary of State. During her first year on the job, Clinton has proven that she'll be a strong, driven and focused secretary. Not that we doubted her for even a minute …

To see the rest of these incredible, inspirational icons, click here

[Photo Credits: The Women's Conference/PR Photos/Shutterstock]