7 Famous Women in Nashville's History

Tammy Wynette

“The First Lady of Country Music x93

Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5 x93 and Loretta Lynn’s “The Pill x93 made waves of their own within country music, but Tammy Wynette’s songs stuck out in particular for their pro-women messages. Wynette’s 1968 hit “Stand By Your Man x93 initially garnered much feminist criticism, but songs like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E x93 and “I Don’t Wanna Play House x93 are now revered as ahead of their time for an era when domestic harmony often trumped women’s ambitions.
Photo courtesy TammyWynette.com

Diane Nash

“The Activist x93

It’s only fitting that Diane’s last name is Nash — it harks back to the very city she shaped as a leader of the city’s lunch counter sit-ins and other civil rights protests. In 1960, three weeks after she asked then mayor Ben West on the steps of City Hall if he felt it was wrong to discriminate against a person solely on their race, several of the city’s lunch counters began serving African Americans.
Photo courtesy The Tennessean

Cornelia Fort

“The Woman with Wings x93

The sky was the limit—literally—for Nashville native Cornelia Fort (second from left), one of the first female Airforce pilots in American history. While she became the first fatality among those who served in the U.S. Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, she’ll always be remembered as someone who put her country first. The recent Porter Flea market was held at her namesake airpark just east of the city.
Photo courtesy Nashville Public Library, Special Collections Division

Beth Harwell

“The Woman of the House x93

In a time when women are continuing to make strides in all areas of government, Beth Harwell has run the political gamut. She’s been a long-serving member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, became the first woman to fill the role as speaker of the House in 2011 and has been strong advocate for sexual violence laws and victims’ rights.
Photo courtesy Office of the Speaker | bethharwell.org

Anne Dallas Dudley

“The Suffragette x93

Tennessee may have been stubborn in granting women the right to vote—it was the last state in the Union to do so in 1920—but that didn’t intimidate founder and first president of the Nashville Suffrage league, Anne Dallas Dudley. Dudley’s outspoken campaigning tactics rallied up thousands of women, and her efforts were not only instrumental on the local level but on the national level as well.
Photo courtesy TN.gov and Wikipedia Commons

Wilma Rudolph

“The Olympian x93

This pioneer in women’s sports was born in nearby Clarksville and regularly travelled to Nashville as a child to receive treatment for a nearly paralyzing bout of polio. Despite her medical conditions and the adversity she faced as a black female athlete in the 1960s, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games. After her death in 1994, her legacy remains with a local 5K and 10K road races and the Woman’s Sports Foundation Wilma Rudolph Courage Award created in her honor.

Martha Ingram

“The Generous Giver x93

If you’ve gotten a chance to attend a performance at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center or TPAC, you have Martha Ingram to thank. After moving to Nashville from New Orleans, Ingram lead the movement in the 1970s to develop Nashville’s arts programs. She is also heavily involved with local philanthropy, serving on boards for the Nashville Opera, Nashville Ballet and formerly Vanderbilt University’s board of trust.
Photo courtesy The Tennessesan