Texas Women's Hall of Fame

The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans or a resident of Texas at the time of the nomination.^[1]

Astronaut Sally Ride

Exhibit location, hours

The Texas Women's Hall of Fame Museum is located inside Blagg-Huey Library on the Denton, Texas campus of Texas Woman's University. It houses a permanent exhibit featuring the accomplishments of each of the honorees.^[1]

Inductees

Texas Women's Hall of Fame

Name	Image	Birth–Death	Year	Area of achievement[2]	Ref(s)
Leta Andrews		(b. 1937)	2023	Athletics	[3]
Val LaMantia			2023	Business entrepreneur who helped found the Syars Scholarship Fund	[4]
Mary Horn		(1945–2023)	2023	Public service	[5]
Opal Lee		(b. 1926)	2023	Activist who worked to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday	[6]
Lavinia Masters			2023	Advocacy/Community Service 1st Surviving African American with a law her Namesake of Texas, HB8: The Lavinia Masters Act (2019)	[7]
Antonietta Quigg		(b. 1968)	2023	Science/Technology	[8]
Charlotte Sharp		(1953–2020)	2023	Philanthropy	[9]
Elizabeth Suarez			2023	Public Service	[10]
Lauren Anderson		(b. 1965)	2021	Ballet dancer and a first black principal dancer with the Houston Ballet	[11]
Charlye O. Farris		(1929–2010)	2021	First African American female lawyer in Texas	[12]
Dawn Ferrell			2021	Major General (ret.) - Texas Air National Guard	[13]
Kendra Scott		(b. 1974)	2021	Business entrepreneur	[14]
Elaine Stolte			2021	Community Service	[15]
Ofelia Vasquez-Philo		(1932–2017)	2021	Civic Leadership	[16]
Simone Biles		(b. 1997)	2018	Olympic gymnast	[17]
Laura Bush		(b. 1946)	2018	First Lady of the United States	[18]
Vikki Carr		(b. 1940)	2018	Entertainer	[18]
Susan Dell			2018	Philanthropy	[18]
Tammie Jo Shults		(b. 1961)	2018	Airline pilot	[18]
Elizabeth Anne Sueltenfuss		(1921–2009)	2018	Catholic nun with a Ph.D. in microbiology. Past president of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.	[18]
Judith Zaffirini		(b. 1946)	2018	Texas state senator	[18]
Emma Carter Browning		(1910–2010)	2016	Aviator	[19]
Susie Hitchcock-Hall		(b. 1944)	2016	Entrepreneur	[19]
Ginger Kerrick		(b. 1970)	2016	NASA Administrator	[19]
Renu Khator		(b. 1955)	2016	Chancellor of the University of Houston System	[19]
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez		(1971–1995)	2016	Musician	[19]
Nandita Berry		(b. 1968)	2014	Texas Secretary of State	[20]
Joanne Herring		(b. 1929)	2014	Houston-area socialite, philanthropist, and businesswoman	[21]
Kim Olson		(b. 1957)	2014	President and CEO of Grace Under Fire	[22]
Anita Perry		(b. 1952)	2014	First Lady of Texas	[22]
Ann Stuart			2014	President and Chancellor of Texas Women's University	[23]
Senfronia Thompson		(b. 1939)	2014	Texas state representative	[24]
Deborah Tucker			2014	Founder of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence	[25]
Carolyn Wright		(b. 1946)	2014	Chief Justice for the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas	[26]
Barbara Smith Conrad		(1937–2017)	2012	Mezzo-soprano	[27]
Anne Corn		(b. 1950)	2012	Professor Emerita at Vanderbilt University, educator in the field of visual impairment	[28]
Nina Godiwalla		(b. 1975)	2012	Author/journalist	[29]
Harriet O'Neill		(b. 1957)	2012	Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas	[30]
Mary Saunders		(b. 1947)	2012	Major General, United States Air Force, highest ranking African American woman in the USAF	[31]
Nancy W. Dickey		(b. 1950)	2010	Educator	[32]
Erma Johnson Hadley		(1942–2015)	2010	Educator	[33]
Teresa Lozano Long		(1928–2021)	2010	Cultural leader founded Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies	[34]
Judy Castle Scott		(1946–)	2010	American Foundation for the Blind	[35]
Pamela Willeford		(1950–)	2010	United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein	[36]
Elsa Murano		(1959–)	2008	President, Texas A&M University	[37]
Sandra Day O'Connor		(1930–2023)	2008	First female justice on the United States Supreme Court	[38]
Carolyn Peterson		(1938–)	2008	Architect who helped preserve San Antonio Missions	[39]
Louise Hopkins Underwood		(1919–2017)	2008	Patron of the arts	[40]
Huda Zoghbi		(1954–)	2008	Health research	[41]
Amanda Dunbar		(1982–)	2006	Artist	[42]
Kathleen Foster			2006	Children and parents care facilities	[43]
Shirley Neeley		(1935–)	2006	Educator	[44]
Ellen Vitetta		(1942–)	2006	Microbiologist, cancer research	[45]
Susan Combs		(1945–)	2004	Former Texas Comptroller, former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture	[46]
Trinidad Mendenhall		(1950–)	2004	Businesswoman	[47]
Mary Meyers Rosenfield		(1910–2006)	2004	Intellectual disability education	[48]
Sheryl Swoopes		(1971–)	2004	Pro basketball player	[49]
Karen Hughes		(1956–)	2002	Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller, political advisor to George W. Bush	[50]
Mae Jemison		(1956–)	2002	Astronaut	[51]
Angela Murdaugh		(1940–)	2002	Franciscan Sister of Mary	[52]
Ann Williams		(1937–)	2002	Founded Dallas Black Dance Theatre	[53]
Tillie Burgin		(1936–)	2000	Educator, missionary	[54]
Carol Dinkins		(1945–)	2000	Environmentalist	[55]
Anna Maria Farias		(1952–)	2000	Housing, politician appointee under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush	[56]
Juliet V. García		(1949–)	2000	President of Texas Southmost College	[57]
Glenna Goodacre		(1939–2020)	2000	Sculptor who designed the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C.	[58]
Wendy Harpham		(1954–)	2000	Physician	[59]
Jinger L. Heath		(1952–)	2000	Business woman	[60]
Dealey Herndon		(1947–)	2000	Historic preservationist	[61]
Mamie L. McKnight		(1929–2018)	2000	Family, community development	[62]
Jo Stewart Randel		(1915–2002)	2000	Philanthropist	[63]
Judy Rankin		(1945–)	2000	Golf pro	[64]
Norma Lea Beasley		(1931–2012)	1998	Attorney; founded Trinity Abstract & Title Co. in Waxahachie and Safeco Land Title of Dallas; civic leader, philanthropist	[65]
Shirley Thompson Carter		(1935–2001)	1998	Founder Texas Girls' Choir	[66]
Elizabeth Lyons Ghrist		(1930–2024)	1998	Volunteerism	[67]
Kay Granger		(1943–)	1998	Member United States House of Representatives	[68]
Dixie Melillo		(1946–)	1998	Physician, founder of The Rose foundation providing free breast cancer screenings, founder The Rose Scholarship Program	[69]
Diana Natalicio		(1939–2021)	1998	President, University of Texas at El Paso	[70]
Marsha Sharp		(1952–)	1998	Women's basketball coach, Texas Tech University	[71]
Ebby Halliday Acers		(1911–2015)	1996	Realtor; Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Woman in Business Award and the Dallas Brotherhood/Sisterhood Merit Citation Award	[72]
Rita Crocker Clements		(1931–2018)	1996	First Lady of Texas, politician	[73]
Zina Garrison-Jackson		(1963–)	1996	Tennis pro	[74]
Sybil Harrington		(1908–1998)	1996	Patron of the arts	[75]
Kay Bailey Hutchison		(1943–)	1996	United States Senator	[76]
Helen Oujesky		(1930–2010)	1996	Professor of microbiology	[77]
Ruby Lee Piester		(1915–2003)	1996	Child welfare	[78]
Sonja Eva Singletary		(1952–2015)	1996	Breast surgeon	[79]
Dian Graves Stai		(1940–)	1996	Businesswoman	[80]
Rosa Ramírez Guerrero		(1934–)	1994	Founder, International Folklorico Dance Group	[81]
Vassar Miller		(1924–1998)	1994	Writer, poet	[82]
Irma Rangel		(1931–2003)	1994	State legislator	[83]
Mary Beth Rogers		(1940–)	1994	Politician, civic worker	[84]
Bess Whitehead Scott		(1890–1997)	1994	Communications, journalist, editor, poet, writer	[85]
Francie Larrieu Smith		(1952–)	1994	Olympic athlete, track and field	[86]
Hallie Stillwell		(1897–1997)	1994	Pioneer rancher, educator, author	[87]
Alvia Wardlaw		(1947–)	1994	Educator, curator of African American history	[88]
Martha Wong		(1939–)	1994	First Asian American woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives	[89]
Eleanor Anne Young		(1925–2007)	1994	Scientist, nutritionist educator	[90]
Linda Louise Craft		(1938–1993)	1993	Master Professional rank LPGA golfer	[91]
Ernestine Glossbrenner		(1932–2012)	1993	Educator	[92]
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald		(1942–)	1993	African American jurist	[93]
Eleanor Montague		(1926–2018)	1993	Pioneered radiation for treatment of breast cancer	[94]
Aaronetta Pierce		(1943–)	1993	African American patron of the arts and museums	[95]
Gloria G. Rodriguez		(1948–)	1993	Children and families advocate	[96]
Annette Strauss		(1924–1998)	1993	Philanthropist and Mayor of Dallas	[97]
Barbara Bush		(1925–2018)	1989	First Lady of the United States	[98]
Judith Craven		(1946–)	1989	Physician, medical field educator	[99]
Gussie Nell Davis		(1906–1993)	1989	Founded the Kilgore Rangerettes	[100]
Margaret Swan Forbes		(1919–2010)	1989	Synchronized swimming	[101]
L. Ruth Guy		(1913–2006)	1989	Professor emeritus in the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School	[102]
Terry Hershey		(1923–2017)	1989	Environmentalist	[103]
Lucia Rede Madrid		(1913–2006)	1989	Educator	[104]
Jane Wetzel		(1931–)	1989	Advocate for youth rehabilitation	[105]
Nancy Brinker		(1946–)	1988	Co-founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure	[106]
Margaret Pease Harper		(1911–1991)	1988	Patron of the arts	[107]
Ninfa Laurenzo		(1924–2001)	1988	Restaurant entrepreneur	[108]
Lane Murray		(1921–2009)	1988	Correctional educator	[109]
Louise Ritter		(1958– )	1988	Olympic gold medalist	[110]
Ruth Taubert Seeger		(1924–2014)	1988	Deaf athlete, medalist, coach	[111]
Bert Kruger Smith		(1915–2004)	1988	Civic involvement	[112]
Eleanor Tinsley		(1926–2009)	1988	Community involvement, Eleanor Tinsley Elementary School named for her	[113]
Lucy G. Acosta		(1926–2008)	1987	Activist and humanitarian	[114]
Ruth Sharp Altshuler		(1924–2017)	1987	Philanthropist	[115]
Margaret Harris Amsler		(1908–2002)	1987	Attorney	[116]
Johnnie Benson		(1929–)	1987	Health care in nursing homes	[117]
Tommie Clack		(1882–1989)	1987	Pioneer	[118]
Kim Dawson		(1924–2010)	1987	Business woman	[119]
Lillian Dunlap		(1922–2003)	1987	Brigadier General, United States Army	[120]
Elithe Hamilton Kirkland		(1907–1992)	1987	Writer	[121]
Donna Lopiano		(1946–)	1987	Sports management consultant	[122]
Katie Sherrod		(1946–)	1987	Journalist	[123]
Donnya Stephens		(1941–2021)	1987	Educator	[124]
Dora Dougherty Strother		(1921–2013)	1987	Aviation	[125]
Mary Nan West		(1925–2001)	1987	Rancher	[126]
Anne Armstrong		(1927–2008)	1986	American woman ambassador to Great Britain and the Court of St. James's	[127]
Mary Kay Ash		(1918–2001)	1986	Founder Mary Kay Cosmetics	[128]
Caro Crawford Brown		(1908–2001)	1986	Journalist, investigated political corruption of George Berham Parr	[129]
Alicia R. Chacón		(1938–)	1986	Mexican-American member of El Paso city council, regional director of Small Business Administration under Jimmy Carter	[130]
Jody Conradt		(1941–)	1986	Women's basketball coach at University of Texas at Austin	[131][132]
Margaret Cousins		(1905–1996)	1986	Managing editor of McCall's Magazine, senior editor of Doubleday and Co., 1986 Women in Communications Lifetime Achievement Award. Poet, essayist, short story writer, author of children's books	[133]
Wilhelmina Ruth Delco		(1929–)	1986	Texas state legislator	[134]
Frances Goff		(1916–1994)	1986	Volunteerism	[135]
Mary Lavinia Griffith		(1906–1993)	1986	Rancher	[136]
May Owen		(1892–1988)	1986	First woman president of Texas Medical Association	[137]
Sally Ride		(1951–2012)	1986	Astronaut, first American woman in space	[138]
Ada Simond		(1903–1989)	1986	African American civic involvement	[139]
Hermine Tobolowsky		(1921–1995)	1986	Proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment	[140]
Benjy Frances Brooks		(1918–1998)	1985	First Texas pediatric surgeon	[141]
Patricia Happ Buffler		(1938–2013)	1985	Epidemiology Research	[142]
Liz Carpenter		(1920–2010)	1985	Political speechwriter, media consultant, great-great-granddaughter of Empresario Sterling C. Robertson	[143]
Grace Woodruff Cartwright		(1908–2003)	1985	Agriculture, helped form the Brazos Valley Association	[144]
Helen Farabee		(1934–1988)	1985	Mental health and human services advocate	[145]
María Elena Flood		(1934–)	1985	Educator	[146]
Willie Lee Glass		(1910–1999)	1985	Civic involvement and leadership	[147]
Lydia Mendoza		(1916–2007)	1985	Tejano musician	[148]
Jenny Lind Porter		(1927–2020)	1985	Poet Laureate of Texas	[149]
Louise Raggio		(1919–2011)	1985	Attorney, first female director of the Texas State Bar	[150]
Ann Richards		(1933–2006)	1985	Governor of Texas	[151]
Edna Gardner Whyte		(1902–1992)	1985	Aviation pioneer	[152]
Christia Adair		(1893–1989)	1984	African American suffragist and civil rights activist	[153]
Kate Atkinson Bell		(1907–2003)	1984	Educator	[154]
Vivian Castleberry		(1922–2017)	1984	Journalist, editor, author, activist	[155]
Lila May Banks Cockrell		(1922–2019)	1984	Businesswoman, former mayor of San Antonio	[156]
Clotilde Pérez García		(1917–2003)	1984	Author, medical professional	[157]
Jeane Porter Hester		(1929–2018)	1984	Scientist, physician	[158]
Oveta Culp Hobby		(1905–1995)	1984	Newspaper publisher, first commanding officer of Women's Army Corps, first secretary of Department of Health, Education, and Welfare	[159]
Mary Evelyn Blagg Huey		(1922–2017)	1984	President Texas Woman's University	[160]
Sarah Tilghman Hughes		(1896–1985)	1984	Texas state legislator, United States district judge, administered November 22, 1963, oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Air Force One	[161]
Lady Bird Johnson		(1912–2007)	1984	First Lady of the United States	[162]
Barbara Jordan		(1936–1996)	1984	Politician	[163]
Amy Freeman Lee		(1909–1997)	1984	Artist, writer	[164]

See also

• Awards and decorations of the Texas government