Outstanding Women from Latvia – Strength, Wisdom, and Inspiration

These are just a few of the many Latvian women whose resilience and dedication continue to inspire. Their stories stand as a testament to the boundless strength and influence of women.

Aspazija

Latvian Literary Legend and Women’s Rights Advocate

Aspazija (real name Elza Rozenberga, 1865–1943) was a pioneer of Latvian modern poetry and drama. Through her works, she addressed themes of women’s emancipation, social morality, and human existence—topics that continue to resonate with readers today.

One of the first Latvian women to actively engage in public and political life, Aspazija challenged societal norms through her plays Vaidelote, The Lost Rights, and The Silver Veil, which questioned the role of women in society and the meaning of individual freedom.

Together with Rainis, Aspazija formed the most influential intellectual duo in Latvian culture, leaving a lasting impact on literature, politics, and the national identity. Her imagery and motifs extend beyond literature, finding life in theatre, music, and the arts.

Fun fact: in Aspazija’s house in Dubulti (Jūrmala), three portraits of her by Kārlis Siliņš are exhibited, each depicting the poet with different eye colours—one with clear blue, another with brown, and the third with green.

Emīlija Benjamiņa

Latvia’s First Publisher and Millionaire

Emīlija Benjamiņa (née Simsone, 1881–1941) was a journalist, publisher of the influential newspaper Jaunākās Ziņas and the lifestyle magazine Atpūta, and one of the most powerful women in Latvia during the interwar period.

A charismatic and enterprising woman, Benjamiņa was known not only for her impact on the press but also for her contributions to culture and philanthropy. She was awarded several honours, including the Order of the Three Stars and the Swedish Order of Vasa’s gold medal.

Her remarkable personality continues to captivate historians and readers alike, with her life story most comprehensively portrayed in Laima Muktupāvela’s novel Mīla. Benjamiņa (Love. Benjamiņa).

Milda Palēviča

Pioneer of Latvian Philosophy

Milda Palēviča (1889–1972) was the first woman in Latvia to earn a doctorate in philosophy, a trailblazer in establishing aesthetics as an academic discipline, and a proponent of liberal feminism. She defended her doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne University in Paris and later taught at the Latvian Conservatory and the Art Academy.

Although Palēviča’s intellectual legacy remains largely unexplored, her recently published diaries offer invaluable insight into her academic journey, as well as her personal and professional struggles. Written over the course of her life, they provide a unique perspective on the evolving values, societies, and relationships of the 20th century.

Valentīna Freimane

Theatre and Film Scholar, Holocaust Survivor

Valentīna Freimane (1922–2018) was a distinguished Latvian theatre and film scholar, renowned for her in-depth research on foreign theatre and cinema, as well as the staging of international repertoire productions in Latvia. She was among the first in Latvia to provide an academic analysis of global theatre and film.

Freimane spent her childhood in Paris and Berlin, but her life took a tragic turn during the Second World War—her parents were executed during the German occupation, while she survived in hiding. After the war, she studied at the Faculty of History at the University of Latvia and later earned a Candidate of Arts degree from the Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow.

She documented her experiences in the deeply personal and historically significant memoir Ardievu, Atlantīda! (Goodbye, Atlantis!) (2010), recounting her privileged childhood in a wealthy Jewish family in Riga and the horrors of the Holocaust. After her death, another book, Antigones likums (Antigone’s Law) (2024), was published, continuing her exploration of historical and human tragedies.

Anna Kopčovska

The First Woman to Cycle Around the World

Anna Kopčovska (c. 1870–1947), better known as Annie Londonderry, was an American traveller and journalist born in Riga. She became the first woman to cycle around the world, defying societal expectations and challenging perceptions of women’s independence and empowerment.

Born into a Jewish family in Riga, she emigrated to the USA with her parents around 1875. In 1894, inspired by Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in Eighty Days, she embarked on a global journey by bicycle. To fund her trip, she secured a sponsorship deal with the Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company and adopted the pseudonym Annie Londonderry.

Her remarkable journey and achievements are the subject of the documentary The New Woman: Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky.

Anna Irbe

The First Latvian Missionary in India

Anna Irbe (1890–1973) was a missionary of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Church of Sweden, serving in South India, in the state of Tamil Nadu, from 1925 to 1951. She was the first Latvian missionary in India and, in 1933, founded the Karunagarapuri Mission, later known as the “Latvian Village in India.”

Ordained as a missionary in 1924, Irbe soon embarked on her journey to India. There, she mastered the Tamil language, taught in schools, visited villages, treated the sick, and trained local evangelists. With unwavering dedication, she established the Karunagarapuri Mission, fully immersing herself in the local culture while rejecting colonial notions of Western superiority. She walked barefoot, spoke Tamil fluently, and lived modestly, just as the local people did.

Beyond her spiritual work, she built an educational and social aid centre, offering shelter for children, a school, and assistance for the poor and sick. Under her leadership, the mission grew rapidly—from just a few dozen children in 1933 to more than 1,400 parishioners by 1940.

Lūcija Garūta

Composer of the Cantata Dievs, Tava zeme deg!

Lūcija Garūta (1902–1977) was an exceptional Latvian composer, pianist, teacher, and poet. She is best known for her cantata Dievs, Tava zeme deg! (God, Your Land is Burning!) (1944), with lyrics by poet Andrejs Eglītis. First performed by the Teodors Reiters Choir during the Second World War, this powerful work holds a significant place in Latvian musical history.

Garūta’s poetry is most often recognised in the context of her solo song lyrics, though some of her poems were also published in periodicals. Her body of work includes around 200 lyrical solo songs, many of which explore themes of homeland, love, and mortality.

Anna Rūmane-Ķeniņa

Writer, Educator, and Public Figure

Anna Rūmane-Ķeniņa (1877–1950) was a distinguished Latvian writer, educator, and public figure who actively championed women’s education and Latvian independence.

Born in Jelgava into a railway worker’s family, she studied at the Jelgava Gymnasium for Women. In 1900, Rūmane-Ķeniņa established a private girls’ school in Riga, which was transformed into a gymnasium in 1907. The school’s faculty included renowned Latvian writers and artists such as Kārlis Skalbe, Antons Austriņš, Vilis Plūdons, and Emīls Dārziņš.

A passionate advocate for women’s rights, Rūmane-Ķeniņa played a key role in promoting cultural exchange and founded the French Alliance in Latvia in 1921. In recognition of her contributions to the promotion of French culture, she was awarded the prestigious Palmes Académiques.

Inese Jaunzeme

The First Olympic Champion in Latvian Sports History

Inese Jaunzeme (1932–2011) was a Latvian track and field athlete and javelin thrower who made history by becoming the first Latvian to win an Olympic gold medal. Her victory at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, with a throw of 53.86 metres, marked a new era in Latvian sport. She later set her personal best of 55.73 metres in 1960. Over her career, Jaunzeme broke the Latvian record five times and was voted Latvia’s most popular athlete in 1956 and 1957.

Following her athletic career, Jaunzeme pursued medicine, earning a doctorate and working as a physician. From 1999 until her passing, she served as President of the Latvian Olympic Club, remaining actively engaged in sports and public life. She was also one of the initiators of Lielā Talka (Latvia’s Big Clean-up), an environmental movement that has grown into a nationwide initiative.