8 Sharp Women Born During the Month of December

2015 is quickly coming to a close, and with the beginning of a new year right around the corner, the time has come to start thinking about resolutions, goal planning, and making your dreams a reality. Continue reading for insight on how these eight ladies have made their dreams come true.

Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945)
Midler’s career began fifty years ago as an extra in the 1966 film, Hawaii. She was born and raised in Honolulu and studied drama at the University of Hawaii. After her brief role in Hawaii, she moved to New York City and quickly entered the theater world, performing in Broadway plays and singing with Barry Manilow at the Ansonia Hotel. Her first album was produced in 1972 and earned her a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

She continued recording albums and had prominent theater roles throughout the 1970’s before starring in her motion picture debut in the 1979 film The Rose, for which she received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe. Throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s Midler had a successful movie career alongside her singing, with both endeavors winning her Grammy’s and Golden Globes. In addition, in 1997, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award which “honors outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.”

Her extensive charitable work includes adopting three sections of roadways through the Adopt-a-Highway program, founding her own non-profit organization (the New York Restoration Project), and opening a public park on the Harlem River with educational programs and facilities for high poverty students. Above all, her multitude of talents has helped her maintain a steady career throughout the years, including stage work.  She is in now in the midst of filming Freak Show, to be released in 2016, with Trudie Styler (the philanthropist, and wife to Sting) making her directorial debut.

Words of Wisdom: “There’s nothing in this world that is more worthy to own than compassion.”

Lucy Liu (born December 2, 1968)
Liu was born and raised in Queens, New York. While on the subway at age nineteen she was discovered by an agent. She made her stage debut in 1992 leading to other small roles in film and television. Her big break was landing a permanent role as Ling Woo in Ally McBeal. She went on to star in the box office hit Charlie’s Angels while continuing to appear in guest roles on TV shows throughout the 2000’s,  and since 2012, she has had a co-starring role on the CBS series Elementary.

Her creative skills don’t stop with acting, however: Liu is a mixed media artist with a resumé of gallery shows all over the world (she originally went under the artistic pseudonym Yu Ling, and her work can be seen here). Another talent of hers: she speaks six languages.

Words of Wisdom: “You can’t look back; you have to keep looking forward.”


Tyra Banks (born December 4, 1973)
Banks was born and raised in Los Angeles by her mother, a NASA photographer and father, a computer consultant. She began modeling at age fifteen, and signed with L.A. Models after being rejected by four other modeling agencies. Her rise to supermodel stardom happened quickly and she became the first African- American covergirl on GQ and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She began a television career with a recurring role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990’s and had notable roles in big screen films throughout the 2000’s.

Banks owns a production company, Bankable Productions, that created The Tyra Banks Show and America’s Next Top Model; her current daytime show The Fab Life (which she says she is leaving in December 2015), is produced by the Tyra Banks Company. Along with her modeling and acting career, Banks has a cosmetics brand, a beauty website, and is the author of the novel Modelland.

Words of Wisdom: “A smile is the most important thing you wear.”

Taylor Swift (born December 13, 1989)
Born in Pennsylvania and named after the singer James Taylor, Swift knew her fate from an early age. She performed in musical theater productions and took acting and singing lessons on Broadway. Her strong musical influences — Shania Twain and Faith Hill — made her pursue a country music career in Nashville. She learned to play the guitar, focused her poetry into songwriting, and got a New York music manager.

Supporting Swift’s music dream, her parents moved the family to Tennessee so she could be closer to the Nashville music scene. She became one of the first signings to Big Machine Records which released her debut album in 2006, and catapulted Swift into both the country and pop music scene with a number of top Billboard hits. Her second album, Reckless, released in 2008, won her four Grammy Awards, making her the youngest artist to ever win Album of the Year. Being raised in the millennial generation, Swift has become a master of social media, often connecting directly with her fans.

Words of Wisdom:“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Because being nice is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”

Christina Aguilera (born December 18, 1980)
Aguilera broke into the spotlight at a young age on The Mickey Mouse Club (alongside other stars such as Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake). She began singing at an early age performing in talent shows, Star Search, and at professional sports events in Pittsburgh.

In 1999, her debut album was released by RCA Records which sky rocketed her into being a famous pop music star of the early 2000’s. Along with three number one hit singles from her first album, she has won five Grammy Awards, has been listed on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of the World, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Most recently she has been a judge on The Voice and had a recurring role on the hit drama series Nashville.

Words of Wisdom: “The roughest road often leads to the top.”

Jane Fonda (born December 21, 1937)
Fonda was born in New York City to an actor father and a socialite mother (who committed suicide when Fonda was twelve). Before she found acting she was a model, appearing on the cover of Vogue twice. She did theatrical performances in the late 1950’s until her film career took off in the 1960’s, a decade in which she averaged two movies a year.

In the early 1990’s, after thirty years of a successful film career, Fonda retired but returned in 2005 with Monster-in-Law. She has had minor film releases since then and acted on Broadway in 2009. In 2012 she joined the cast of the HBO show The Newsroom for three seasons and has been seen most recently in the Netflix original series Grace and Frankie.

Alongside her career in the spotlight, Fonda has a long history of being an outspoken activist, is a breast cancer survivor, and an author of two books:  My Life So Far and Prime Time: Love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, spirit—Making the most of all of your life.

Words of Wisdom: “If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.”


Diane Sawyer (born December 22, 1945)
Born and raised in Kentucky, Sawyer’s poise and grace was acknowledged even when she was a teenager; she won the America’s Junior Miss competition, allowing her to travel the country from 1962-1965, and giving her firsthand experience in public speaking. She majored in English at Wellesley College, and began her career straight after graduation in 1967 as a weather forecaster in Louisville, Kentucky.

Soon growing bored with her first job, she moved to Washington, D.C. in hopes of finding something more exciting. During the Nixon administration, Sawyer got her foot in the door at the White House, and was able to then move up from press aide to literary assistant to President Nixon.

In 1978 she began at CBS News, moving to ABC News in 1989. Though she has anchored 60 Minutes, 20/20, and ABC World News (to name a few) throughout her career, Sawyer stepped off the anchor chair in 2014, and now primarily covers news specials and high profile interviews.

Words of Wisdom: “Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination.”


Tracey Ullman (born December 30, 1959)
This British actress has held many titles in her career including singer, director, author, and businesswoman, but is most prominently recognized as a comedian. She is now known as “the richest female British comedian” and “the second richest British actress.”

Her entertainment talent appeared early when she began performing for her mother who was depressed after losing Ullman’s father to a heart attack. Her impeccable talent to impersonate anyone helped her get a full scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy, a theater and arts training school. With brief stints in a dance troupe, musical theater, and oddball jobs, Ullman finally caught the attention of BBC after her improv act at a London contest, Four in a Million.

She then became a household name in Britain before moving to America in the 1980’s: The Tracey Ullman Show began in 1987 as the first of Fox Television’s original programming. (One of the cartoon shorts added to the show — appearing before and after commercial breaks – later became the highly-rated series The Simpsons.)  By 1990, The Tracey Ullman Show had won ten Emmy Awards. After the cancellation of the program she started another series Tracey Takes On…, which became a hit HBO series winning six Emmy Awards (among others).

Though most of her recognition comes from her comedy sketches, Ullman has appeared in many films, (including last year’s Into the Woods), theater, and TV shows, such as Ally McBeal and How I Met Your Mother. In 2016, BBC One and HBO will broadcast her new comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Sketch Show.

Words of Wisdom: “As soon as you find the key to success, somebody always changes the lock.”

Let these eight living ladies motivate you to work hard, dream big, and accomplish all your goals in 2016!