By Staff USAtoday.com – August 14, 2020
Oscar winners. Best-selling musical artists. Super Bowl halftime performers. These our Women of the Century in entertainment. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when women gained the right to vote USA TODAY put together a list of 100 Women of the Century, recognizing groundbreaking women who have contributed to their country and communities and helped shape our nation.
We have well known superstars still making waves (Rita Moreno, Whoopi Goldberg, Dolly Parton) and deceased women who paved the way for them (Aretha Franklin, Anna May Wong, Katharine Hepburn). The entertainers on our list pack a punch, and they know it.
Celia Cruz
Salsa artist (1925-2003)
In a male-dominated genre, Celia Cruz became one of salsa’s groundbreaking artists. Born in Havana, she moved to the U.S. in 1961 during the Cuban revolution. “The Queen of Salsa” revolutionized the genre by integrating African elements of her identity into her songs. She won five Grammys, including two Latin Grammys, received honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami, and was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
