Queens of Queens Bios
Learn more about the incredible changemakers who are from Queens or have advocated for our diverse communities featured in this year's vision board.
Lady Pink* (1964 -) is an Ecuadorian-American graffiti and mural artist from Astoria, Queens. She has focused her career on using graffiti and murals as acts of rebellion, self-expression, and empowering women. She was nicknamed the “first lady of graffiti” because she was one of the first women active in the early 1980s New York City subway graffiti subculture.
Learn more: ladypinknyc.com | Brooklyn Museum: Feminist Art Base
Cyndi Lauper (1953 -) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist from Ozone Park, Queens. With contagious pop melodies, Lauper has cemented herself as a musical icon. She is not just an icon for women, but also a stalwart advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Lauper founded True Colors United, which implements innovative solutions for youth homelessness by focusing on the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ young people. Her most famous song is “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
Learn more: Songhall.org | Billboard.com
Fran Drescher* (1957 -) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and activist born and raised in Flushing, Queens. Her portrayal of Fran Fine on the TV Show The Nanny shot her to fame, but it’s her latest role as president of SAG-AFTRA that put Fran Drescher back in the spotlight. Drescher was elected in September 2021, and led the union through the 2023 strike.
Learn more: IMDB Profile | CBS News: Who is Fran Drescher? | Today.com: Fran Drescher Shares Experiences
Helen M. Marshall* (1929–2017) was the first African-American Queens Borough President, where she served three terms. She was also the first Director of the Langston Hughes Library in Queens, a teacher and an advocate for her Elmhurst community. She advocated for quality health care, career training programs and economic development. In addition, she helped to promote Queens culture and increase funding for Queens libraries.
Learn more: Office of the Queens Borough President | Queens Name Explorer: Helen M. Marshall Children's Library Discovery Center
Claire Shulman* (1926–2020) was the first woman to serve as Queens Borough President, where she served for 16 years. Previously, she was the first woman in her nursing degree program. During her time as Queens Borough President, she helped secure funding for libraries, cultural institutions and more than 30,000 additional school seats. In addition, she helped revitalize downtown Jamaica and western Queens. She had three children, including Dr. Ellen Baker who became an astronaut.
Learn more: Adelphi.edu News | Queens Name Explorer: Claire Shulman Way
Marie Maynard Daly (1921-2003) was an American biochemist, born in Corona, Queens. She was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the US, overcoming racial and gender barriers in science. She made groundbreaking discoveries on the role of cholesterol, sugars, and proteins in the human body, especially in relation to heart disease and hypertension.
Learn more: Sciencehistory.org | The American Chemical Society | Columbia.edu Black History News
Awkwafina* (1988 -), née Nora Lum, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian raised in Forest Hills, Queens. She broke-out in comedic roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Oceans 8, and won critical acclaim for her dramatic role in The Farewell. She was the first Asian-American to win best actress at the Golden Globes, and she continues to be an advocate for greater inclusivity in Hollywood.
Learn more: IMDB Profile | Biography.com | Awkwafina.com
Grace Lee Boggs* (1915-2015) was a Chinese-American civil rights and labor activist, who spent her childhood in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, Queens. Her support for causes such as the Black Power movement, feminism, and the environment spanned more than 70 years. Throughout her life, Boggs maintained the core belief that if people worked together, they could accomplish positive social change.
Learn more: NPR | Queens Historical Society | AmericansWhoTellTheTruth.org
Betty Friedan (1921-2006) was a journalist, activist, and co-founder of the National Organization for Women. She was based in Queens in the 1940s and worked as a journalist for several labor union publications. Her 1963 best-selling book, The Feminine Mystique, gave voice to millions of American women’s frustrations with their limited gender roles and helped spark widespread public activism for gender equality.
Learn more: National Women's History Museum | History.com
Helen Keller* (1880-1968), once a resident of Forest Hills, Queens, was an American author, political activist and advocate for deaf and blind charities. She was born in 1880 and became deaf and blind as a young child due to an illness. She learned to communicate with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan and became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Keller wrote 12 books including her autobiography, The Story of My Life, available to this day in multiple languages.
Learn more: National Women's History Museum | History.com | Untapped New York: A New Mural Commemorates Helen Keller
Aurora Gareiss* (1909-2000) was a community activist and conservationist who spent much of her adult life in Douglaston, Queens. In 1969, with the help of neighbor Ralph Kamhi, Gareiss co-founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee, saving the land from development and inspiring Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck residents into becoming activists themselves.
Learn more: Queens Name Explorer: Aurora Pond | Udalls Cove Preservation Committee
Lorena Borjas* (1960-2020) was a fierce advocate for the transgender and Latinx communities in Queens. Borjas inspired many people through her advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2015, she founded El Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo, a nonprofit organization that works to defend the rights of transgender and gender non-binary people.
Learn more: Queens Name Explorer: Lorena Borjas Way | Queens Public Television: The Story of Lorena Borjas: The Transgender Latina Activist
*(Lady Pink Photo Source: https://mubi.com/en/cast/lady-pink)
(Francine Joy Drescher Photo Source: By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73465352)
(Helen M. Marshall Photo Source: By Coronagirl1 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64690620)
(Claire Shulman Photo Source: By Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York - LIRR_4041, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18845276)
(Awkwafina Photo Source: By Casi Moss - https://www.flickr.com/photos/158844663@N06/27789229497/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75517167)
(Grace Lee Boggs Photo Source: By Castilibrary8 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117059046)
(Helen Keller Photo Source: By Los Angeles Times; restored by User:Rhododendrites - Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76661021)
(Aurora Gareiss Photo Source: http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/browse/legislative-award-frank-padavan-and-aurora-gareiss)
(Lorena Borjas Photo Source: By Queens Public Television at https://twitter.com/NYCSpeakerCoJo/status/1244648620374310912, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63543955)
