Nineteen queens of pop, from Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Whitney Houston to Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, with the record-breaking hits, early setbacks and surprising side careers behind their fame.
Few musicians shape pop culture the way its biggest female stars do. This collection brings together nineteen of them across six decades: Barbra Streisand, who conquered Broadway, film and the charts; the 1980s and 1990s icons Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion; and the generation that followed, from Britney Spears and Beyoncé to Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish.
Their records are remarkable side by side. Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time and the only artist with 50 number ones on a single Billboard chart. Whitney Houston scored seven consecutive Hot 100 number ones, Mariah Carey has topped the Hot 100 in four different decades, and Ariana Grande held the top three spots at once, something only The Beatles had done before her.
Yet most of these stars had shaky starts. Madonna arrived in New York with $35 and lost a job over a jelly doughnut, Katy Perry's first album was a gospel record that flopped, Dua Lipa was turned away from her school choir for having a low voice, and Shakira was told by a music teacher that she sounded like a goat. Rihanna was discovered by chance during a producer's holiday in Barbados.
Beyond the music, many of them built second careers as actors, authors, painters, winemakers and business moguls. Choose a star below and discover fifteen facts about her life and career.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Madonna | Bay City, Michigan, debut 1983 | She is the only artist with 50 number ones on a single Billboard chart. |
| Britney Spears | Louisiana, debut 1998 | "Umbrella" was originally offered to her before it became Rihanna's hit. |
| Mariah Carey | New York, debut 1990 | She is the only solo artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. |
| Whitney Houston | Newark, New Jersey, debut 1985 | She scored seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones, a streak still unmatched. |
| Celine Dion | Quebec, Canada, debut 1981 | Caesars Palace counted 1,141 of her Las Vegas performances. |
| Beyoncé | Houston, Texas, debut 1997 | She was the first Black woman to headline Coachella, a show fans call "Beychella". |
| Rihanna | Bridgetown, Barbados, debut 2005 | Barbados declared her an official National Hero in 2021. |
| Lady Gaga | New York, debut 2008 | Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" helped inspire her stage name. |
| Katy Perry | Santa Barbara, California, debut 2001 | She was the first person to reach 100 million followers on Twitter. |
| Taylor Swift | Pennsylvania, debut 2006 | Her Seattle concerts caused measurable seismic shaking. |
| Ariana Grande | Boca Raton, Florida, debut 2011 | In 2019 she held the top three spots on the Hot 100 at once, a feat previously achieved only by The Beatles. |
| Shakira | Barranquilla, Colombia, debut 1991 | A music teacher once rejected her for sounding "like a goat". |
| Jennifer Lopez | The Bronx, New York, debut 1999 | Her green Versace dress prompted Google to create Google Images. |
| Dua Lipa | London, debut 2015 | Her school choir rejected her for having too low a voice. |
| Billie Eilish | Los Angeles, debut 2015 | She is the youngest artist ever to record a James Bond theme. |
| Miley Cyrus | Nashville, Tennessee, debut 2006 | Dolly Parton is her godmother. |
| P!nk | Pennsylvania, debut 2000 | Eight years of competitive gymnastics prepared her to sing live while hanging upside down. |
| Avril Lavigne | Ontario, Canada, debut 2002 | She won a radio contest to sing on stage with Shania Twain at just 15. |
| Barbra Streisand | Brooklyn, New York, debut 1963 | Stage fright kept her off the concert stage for 27 years. |
Best-Selling Female Artist
All time
Madonna is officially the best-selling female recording artist in history, with 50 number ones on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. Madonna
Most Consecutive No. 1s
7 in a row
Between 1985 and 1988 Whitney Houston scored seven straight Billboard Hot 100 number ones, a streak still unmatched. Whitney Houston
Longest Chart Reign
4 decades
Mariah Carey is the only solo artist to top the Hot 100 in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Mariah Carey
Most Las Vegas Shows
1,141
Caesars Palace counted 1,141 performances by Celine Dion across her residencies. Celine Dion
Bay City, Michigan, debut 1983
Madonna arrived in New York with $35 and began her music career behind a drum kit. She became the best-selling female recording artist of all time, won a Golden Globe for Evita and built a fitness empire. A Vatican boycott once cost her a $5 million Pepsi deal.
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Louisiana, debut 1998
Before ...Baby One More Time, Britney was an off-Broadway understudy and briefly a member of the girl group Innosense. She came up with the schoolgirl concept for her famous video herself. Her fragrance line grew into a billion-dollar empire, and one of her songs was even beamed to Mars.
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New York, debut 1990
Mariah Carey's five-octave range and whistle register made her one of the most recognisable voices in pop. She co-wrote 18 of her 19 number-one hits and secretly recorded a grunge album in the 1990s. She owns Marilyn Monroe's white piano and celebrates "anniversaries" instead of birthdays.
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Newark, New Jersey, debut 1985
Nicknamed "Nippy" as a child, Whitney Houston was a fashion model before Clive Davis discovered her in a New York nightclub. Her Super Bowl anthem made chart history, though "I Will Always Love You" was not her first choice for The Bodyguard. She remains the most awarded female artist ever.
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Quebec, Canada, debut 1981
The youngest of 14 children, Celine Dion won Eurovision representing Switzerland and sang for Pope John Paul II at 16. Her manager René Angélil mortgaged his home to fund her debut. She first turned down "My Heart Will Go On", and the released vocal began as a demo.
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Houston, Texas, debut 1997
Beyoncé's father trained her to sing while running on a treadmill, and a defeat on Star Search shaped her work ethic. She popularised the word "bootylicious" and has a horse fly named after her. She keeps a temperature-controlled digital vault of her whole life.
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Bridgetown, Barbados, debut 2005
Rihanna was an army cadet before a producer discovered her by chance during a holiday in Barbados. Jay-Z kept her in his office until 3 am to sign her first deal, and "Umbrella" was originally written for Britney Spears. Her childhood street is now called Rihanna Drive.
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New York, debut 2008
Lady Gaga played piano by ear at four and appeared in The Sopranos as a teenager before leaving NYU for underground stages. She wrote songs for other pop stars and later won honours in both film and music. She is godmother to Elton John's sons and founded a youth mental-health organisation with her mother.
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Santa Barbara, California, debut 2001
Katy Perry's career began with a failed gospel album under her birth name, and her parents banned Lucky Charms cereal. "Left Shark" stole the show at her Super Bowl halftime performance. In 2023 she sold her music rights for $225 million.
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Pennsylvania, debut 2006
Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm and was named after a folk singer. She wrote the standard edition of Speak Now entirely on her own, and her open letter changed Apple Music's trial policy. A newly discovered millipede species carries her name.
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Boca Raton, Florida, debut 2011
Ariana Grande made her Broadway debut at 15 and adopted her signature ponytail to hide hair damage. She organised the One Love Manchester benefit concert and released two record-breaking albums in under six months. Playing Glinda in Wicked fulfilled a childhood dream.
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Barranquilla, Colombia, debut 1991
Shakira's name means "grateful" in Arabic, and her first song was about her father's sunglasses. She studied ancient history at UCLA and founded the Pies Descalzos education foundation in 1997. "Waka Waka" was the official song of the 2010 World Cup.
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The Bronx, New York, debut 1999
Jennifer Lopez got her break as a "Fly Girl" dancer on In Living Color and became the first Latina actress to earn $1 million for a film. She once had the number-one film and number-one album in the same week. Her debut album On the 6 was named after her subway line from the Bronx.
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London, debut 2015
Dua Lipa's first name means "love" in Albanian; she moved to Kosovo at 11 and returned to London alone at 15. Covers posted on SoundCloud and YouTube led to her first record deal, and "One Kiss" was the UK's biggest-selling single of 2018. She made her film debut as Mermaid Barbie.
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Los Angeles, debut 2015
Billie Eilish was homeschooled alongside her brother and creative partner Finneas, and "Ocean Eyes" was first meant for a dance class. She swept all four general-field Grammys and has spoken openly about Tourette syndrome and synesthesia. An Australian pedestrian signal inspired the rhythm of "Bad Guy".
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Nashville, Tennessee, debut 2006
Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, Miley auditioned for the best friend's role before landing Hannah Montana. "Party in the U.S.A." was written by Jessie J and passed on to her. "Flowers" broke Spotify records and won her first Grammy Awards.
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Pennsylvania, debut 2000
Born Alecia Beth Moore, P!nk worked fast-food jobs and started out in the R&B group Choice. Her husband proposed to her during a motocross race, and she has written hits for other stars. Away from music she is a hands-on winemaker.
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Ontario, Canada, debut 2002
Avril Lavigne taught herself guitar playing country music in her basement and signed a $1.25 million record deal at 16. She co-wrote Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" and recorded the chorus of "Girlfriend" in eight languages. Her battle with Lyme disease inspired her charity work.
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Brooklyn, New York, debut 1963
Barbra Streisand dropped an "a" from her name to stand out and sang in her high-school choir with Neil Diamond. She is one of the few EGOT winners and the first woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Director. Her attempt to hide photos of her home gave the internet the "Streisand Effect".
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. How much money did Madonna reportedly have when she moved to New York?
2. Which country did Celine Dion represent when she won Eurovision?
3. Which song was originally written for Britney Spears before Rihanna made it a hit?
4. Where did Taylor Swift grow up?
5. What did a music teacher say Shakira sounded like?
6. What did Beyoncé's father make her do while practising singing?
7. Which Billie Eilish record was set with "No Time to Die"?
8. Which term was named after an attempt by Barbra Streisand to hide photos of her home?
Madonna is officially the best-selling female recording artist in history. She also holds a record that may never be broken: 50 number-one hits on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart.
Whitney Houston scored seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1985 and 1988, a streak that remains unmatched.
Katy Perry began with a gospel album under her birth name, Lady Gaga appeared in The Sopranos as a teenager, Rihanna was an army cadet in Barbados, and Britney Spears was briefly an off-Broadway understudy before her pop breakthrough.
Barbra Streisand is one of the few artists to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. She was also the first woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Director.
Several did. Britney Spears passed on Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and "Umbrella", which became Rihanna's signature hit, Celine Dion first turned down "My Heart Will Go On", and Madonna said no to roles in The Matrix and Batman Returns.
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