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"No one sex can govern alone. I believe that one of the reasons why civilisation has failed so lamentably is that it had one-sided government" was said by which of the following women?

Nancy Astor. Born in May 1879, Nancy Astor died in May 1964. In December 1919, she became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons and fought for further advances in women's suffrage and equal rights in the Civil Service. She was also quoted as having said: "We are not asking for superiority for we have always had that; all we ask is equality"; and, "Women have got to make the world safe for men since men have made it so darned unsafe for women"; and, "I can imagine nothing worse than a man-governed world, except a woman-governed world"; and, "In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance, he laid the blame on a woman"; and, "I married beneath me - all women do"!

Which of the following women said, "I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste"?

Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball was born in 1911 and began her career as a model. She starred in over sixty films in the 1930s and 1940s and went on to radio and television. Her best loved show, 'I Love Lucy' premiered in 1951 and yet remains popular. Lucille Ball's last public appearance was at the 1989 Academy Awards and she died later that year. Some more of her quotes include: "I'm not funny. What I am is brave"; and, "Ability is of little account without opportunity"; and, "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age"; and, "Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else - hard work and realising what is opportunity and what isn't".

"I don't think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness - to save oneself trouble" was said by which of the following women?

Agatha Christie. Born Mary Clarissa Agatha Miller in Devon, England in 1890, Agatha Christie wrote over eighty novels, known the world over, along with thirty odd short story collections and six romance novels (under the pen-name Mary Westmacott). She was made an honorary Dame in the United Kingdom in 1971 and died in 1976. Other quotes from the Dame include; "Curious things, habits. People themselves never knew they had them"; and, "If one sticks too rigidly to one's principles, one would hardly see anybody."

Which of the following women said, "I've no time for broads who want to rule the world alone. Without men, who'd do up the zipper on the back of your dress"?

Bette Davis. Bette Davis was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in 1908, the eldest daughter of a lawyer. She made nearly ninety movies throughout her career, and won two Oscars. In 1987 she suffered a stroke, and in 1989 she died from cancer in France. Some quotable quotes include: "The male ego with few exceptions is elephantine to start with"; and, "To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given the chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life"; and, "Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work".

"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace" was said by which of the following women?

Amelia Earhart. Amelia Earhart was born in Kansas, in the USA. In 1921 she made her first solo flight and in 1928 she became the first woman to fly the Atlantic, setting a trans-Atlantic record in 1932. In 1937 she took off on a world trip but disappeared after leaving New Guinea. Her husband posthumously published her autobiography, "Last Flight" in 1938. Some other quotes from Amelia Earhart include; "Flying may not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price"; and, "I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others"; and, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself".

"Take your work seriously, but never yourself" was said by which of the following women?

Margot Fonteyn. Born in Surrey, England, Dame Margot Fonteyn joined the Royal Ballet in 1934. She was partnered with Nureyev in the 1960s and managed to extend her performing career. She was made a Dame in 1956. Another of her quotes; "If I have learned anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?"

Which of the following women said, "Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure, is to betray it"?

Germaine Greer. Feminist, writer and lecturer, Germaine Greer was born in Melbourne, Australia. She lectured at Warwick University and wrote a highly controversial yet successful book "The Female Eunuch" in 1970 which attacked male-dominated society. Since 1989 she has lectured at Cambridge. Other quotes from Germaine include: "Human beings have an inalienable right to invent themselves"; and, "Loneliness is never more cruel than when it is felt in close propinquity with someone who has ceased to communicate"; and, "The only causes of regret are laziness, outbursts of temper, hurting others, prejudice, jealousy and envy."

"I never realized until lately that women were supposed to be the inferior sex" was said by which of the following women?

Katharine Hepburn. Born in 1907, Katharine Hepburn was one of six children. In 1928, she set her sights on an acting career, and the rest, as they say, is history! She earned her first Academy Award in 1933 and her off-screen romance with Spencer Tracy only added to the calibre of the nine odd films they starred in together. Her third Academy Award was earned in 1968 and in 1981 she earned a fourth, at the age of 74 for her performance in "On Golden Pond". She died in 2003. Some quotes from the inimitable Katherine Hepburn include; "Life is to be lived"; and, "If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself"; and, "If you give an audience a chance they will do half your acting for you"; and, "Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four"; and also, "When I started out, I didn't have any desire to be an actress or to learn how to act. I just wanted to be famous!"

Which of the following women said about their spouse; " ... because I wouldn't trust him. He can't even boil water."

Iman. The complete quote that Iman gave on her husband, David Bowie, was; "He doesn't cook or shop or do anything. Not because he's a rock star, but because I wouldn't trust him. He can't even boil water." Another quote given regarding staying home to care for their baby was; "The cinema will be a happy memory for the next couple of years." Iman, full name Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid was born in Somalia in 1955. Interestingly, Iman's mother said she gave her daughter a man's name with the hope that it would better prepare her for the challenges she would face as a female in Muslim East Africa!

"I used to believe that anything was better than nothing. Now I know that sometimes nothing is better" was said by which of the following women?

Glenda Jackson. Actress and politician, Glenda Jackson was born in England in 1936 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company before appearing in many films and became a Labour MP in 1992, and was appointed Transport Minister. In 1999 she resigned from government to run as Lord Mayor of London, but she was not elected. Another quote from Glenda Jackson is: "The most important thing in acting is to be able to laugh and cry. If I have to cry, I think of my sex life. If I have to laugh, I think of my sex life."

Which of the following women said, "One cannot consent to creep when one has an impulse to soar"?

Helen Keller. Helen Keller, born in 1880, had a fever before she was two years of age which left her blind and deaf. Her life's work was social reform, eliminating the institutionalisation of the disabled. She founded the Helen Keller Endowment Fund for the American Foundation for the Blind and received numerous awards, including the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal in 1936, a distinguished service medal from the American Association of Workers for the Blind in 1951, the French Legion of Honour in 1952 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. Some other quotes from Helen Keller include; "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature"; and, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us"; and, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart." She died in 1968 and is buried in Washington DC.

"Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent" was said by which of the following women?

Sophia Loren. Born Sophia Villani Acicolone, in September 1934, Sophia Loren was an illegitimate child who grew up in war-torn Italy in abject poverty. She was one of the first foreign-language actors to ever attain a level of international success and was given an honorary Academy Award in 1991 for being one of the genuine treasures of world cinema. Other quotes from Sophia include; "Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got"; and, "A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view!"

Which of the following women said, "At work, you think of the children you've left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself, your heart is rent"?

Golda Meir. Born Golda Mabovitch, in 1898, the Zionist and labor leader served as Israel's Foreign Minister from 1956 to 1966 and in 1969 she became Israel's fourth Prime Minister. She died in Jerusalem in 1978. Other quotes from Golda Meir include: "It's no accident many accuse me of conducting public affairs with my heart instead of my head. Well, what if I do? Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either"; and, "I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively"; and, "To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be."

"I can stand out the war with any man" was said by which of the following women?

Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy in 1820. In 1844 she decided to work in the hospital system. She saw herself as mother to the men she saved and referred to them as 'my children'. She never fully recovered from the strain of the Crimea and after 1861 she was bedridden until her death in August 1910. Some quotes attributed to Florence Nightingale include: "I stand at the altar of the murdered men, and, while I live, I fight their cause", she said this in 1856; and, "You ask me why I do not write something ... I think one's feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results."

Which of the following women said, "Oh, how my heart leaped with joy as I handed the money to mother and told her that I had saved enough to pay it off"?

Annie Oakley. Born in August 1860 in Ohio, Annie Oakley was the fifth daughter of a Quaker family. The given quote refers to the mortgage on the family farm, due to Annie's success at hunting small game and the sale of same! When Annie Oakley died in November 1926, Americans across the US went into mourning. Whether or not she was the best lady shot in the US, she was certainly thought to be best!

"In Los Angeles everyone has perfect teeth. It's crocodile land" was said by which of the following women?

Gwyneth Paltrow. Gwyneth Paltrow was born in 1972 in Los Angeles and moved to New York at the age of eleven. In 1998, Gwyneth won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in 'Shakespeare in Love', making her one of Hollywood's most sought-after female performers. Another quote from Gwyneth, was "I love men, even though they're lying, cheating, scumbags!"

"I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door" was said by which of the following women?

Joan Rivers. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933, Joan is an award-winning talk show host, actress and comedian. Other quotable quotes from Joan include: "I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes - and six months later you have to start all over again"; and, "I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking"; and, "Thank God we're living in a country where the sky's the limit, the stores are open late and you can shop in bed thanks to television"; and, "I don't exercise. If God wanted me to bend over, he'd have put diamonds on the floor."

Which of the following women said, "The beginning is always today"?

Mary Shelley. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in London, England in 1797 and died aged fifty-four. Her literary works included some mildly successful novels that are little known today, and, what she once called her hideous progeny, "Frankenstein". Some other quotes from Mary Shelley include: "Nothing contributes so much to tranquilise the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye"; and, "Teach him to think for himself? Oh, my God, teach him rather to think like other people!"

"I suppose when they reach a certain age some men are afraid to grow up. It seems the older the men get, the younger their new wives get" was said by which of the following women?

Elizabeth Taylor. Born in 1932 in London, England, Elizabeth Taylor is an Academy Award winning actress whose private life reads somewhat like a soap opera! Some other quotes from Elizabeth include: "I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too - for being married so many times"; and, "Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses"; and, "The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues."

Which of the following women said, "The modern rule is that every woman should be her own chaperone"?

Amy Vanderbilt. Born in New York in 1908, Amy Vanderbilt was an authority on etiquette, writing not only a book on etiquette, but a syndicated etiquette column for over twenty years. She died in 1974. Some other quotes from Amy Vanderbilt include: "Good manners have much to do with the emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them"; and, "I am a journalist in the field of etiquette. I try to find out what the most genteel people regularly do, what traditions they have discarded, what compromises they have made"; and, "We must learn which ceremonies may be breached occasionally at our convenience and which ones may never be if we are to live pleasantly with our fellow man."

"Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly" was said by which of the following women?

Mae West. Born Mary Jane West in August 1893 in New York, Mae West joined a vaudeville company where she met Frank Wallace, who was her on-stage partner and her husband (they married when she was only 16), she did not divorce Wallace until 1942. She suffered a stroke in 1980 and died with no regrets about her life, saying; "I freely chose the kind of life I led because I was convinced that a woman has as much right as a man to live the way she does if she does no actual harm to society." Some more of Mae's quotes include: "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it"; and, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"; and, "When women go wrong, men go right after them"; and, "I've been in more laps than a napkin"; and, "Don't marry a man to reform him - that's what reform schools are for!"

Which of the following women said, "Listening is more than just a very rewarding habit. After a while you discover what a world of information you can gain from hearing what others say"?

Loretta Young. Born Gretchen Michaela Young, on January 6, 1913, in Salt Lake City, Utah. By the time she was four, she was appearing as an extra in silent films. She made nearly one hundred films, but in 1953, she announced her retirement and never returned to the big screen! Other quotes from Loretta Young include: "If you use disappointments as sort of mid-semester exams, for learning, you will learn that every disappointment you overcome makes you stronger - and wiser. The greatest success stories have been lived by those who had to grow strong and wise in that very way"; and, "I don't know many ambition-ridden people who really enjoy themselves. Even success doesn't seem to still the insatiable, gnawing hunger of their ambition. Ambition is a good gift, but it cannot be all. It is a gift to cherish only in balance with God's other gifts, whether they are tangible or intangible"; and, "If you're interested, you're interesting. All the most popular people are good listeners".

"Being horrible in a big film is a quicker nosedive than doing an obscure film and making no money" was said by which of the following women?

Renee Zellweger. Born in 1969 in Texas, Renee began acting in college and continues to win acclaim, earning a couple of Golden Globe Awards along with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Another quote from Renee is: "This (pointing to her behind) is still very, very big!"

Because there's no Q, U or X in this quiz I've got two 'out of the box' questions for you on quotes from women on the subject of humour. The first one is this. Who said, "When humour goes, there goes civilisation"?

Erma Bombeck. Jennifer Jones said: "If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of humour!" Ellie Katz said; "Warning: Humour may be hazardous to your illness!" And, "Humour has been the balm of my life, but it's been reserved for those close to me, not part of the public Lana" was said by Lana Turner.

Because there's no Q, U or X in this quiz, this is the second 'out of the box' question for you on quotes from women on the subject of humour. Who said, "If someone had told me years ago that sharing a sense of humour was so vital to partnerships, I could have avoided a lot of sex"?

Kate Beckinsale. Agnes Repplier said, "Humour distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their earthly pedestals." Mary Hirsch said, "Humour is a rubber sword - it allows you to make a point without drawing blood." And, "Happiness for the average person may be said to flow largely from common sense - adapting oneself to circumstances - and a sense of humour", was said by Beatrice Lillie, an English comedienne.