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1909 Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlof

1926 Grazia Deledda

1928 Sigrid Undset

1938 Pearl Buck

1945 Gabriela Mistral

1966 Nelly Sachs

1991 Nadine Gordimer

1993 Toni Morrison

1996 Wislawa Szymborska.. all won nobel prizes in literature.

i also think Shirin Ebadi would be a good idea. she was the first muslim woman to win the nobel prize.. she won it in peace.

For your second woman...although not in the literary field...I would choose Madonna. I know, I know - but hear me out. She has been an icon in the music industry - the first of her kind. You would be able to find limitless information on her, and she would be a wonderfully start contrast to Bhutto.

I'm no fan of her or her music - but her influence and place in history cannot be denied. As well, I'm sure few will select her, so your work will not be compared to others...

How about some kind of female artist like Eva Hesse, Louise Bourgeois, Linda Benghlis or RoseMarie Trockel. They were all highly influential in the artworld though it was predominantly orientated to the masculine. They challenged that.

Oprah and Jhumpa Lahari, she's a Arab-American and shortlisted Nobel Peace Prize for literature. Amy Tan Asian-American author, Doris Lessing, Nobel Peace Prize Literature winner.

Hope that helps!

Clara Schumann, the wife of Robert Schumann who was a romantic era composer.

Clara, herself also composed and broke the mold for women stage performers. She showed her talent off on stage and was fearless despite criticism from many at that time that the home was the only proper place for a woman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Schumann

Good luck on your report!

If you can go with a non-literary person, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Else, I highly recommend Betty Friedan.

Virginia Wolf, Eugenia Whealty, Flannery O'Connor, Sylvia Plath... all literary. ( I am a terrible speller, so double check my spelling).

So many, to pick just one.

God bless!

Paris Hilton :p