They don't necessarily have to be 'gorgeous'.
Tomoe Gozen [gozen = honorific, "lady"]. Woman warrior of medieval Japan. According to the medieval epic
Heike Monogatori Tomoe was "match for god or devil" and in one long battle "when all the others had been slain, among the last seven rode Tomoe."
Rosalind Franklin. I always admire women in science, because not only do they have to fight to get appointments, they also have to fight sexual discrimination. Rosalind Franklin's experimental work in DNA structure was used by Watson and Crick without her approval and not credited to her.
http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/franklin.html
Hypatia of Alexandria. Mathematician, astronomer, and Platonic philosopher. According to the Byzantine encyclopedia The Suda, her father Theon was the last head of the Museum at Alexandria. She was both female and pagan in an increasingly Christian environment. Shortly before her death, Cyril was made the Christian bishop of Alexandria, and a conflict arose between Cyril and the prefect Orestes. Orestes was disliked by some Christians and was a friend of Hypatia, and rumors started that Hypatia was to blame for the conflict. Cyril probably objected to Hypatia on a number of counts: She represented heretical teachings, had been a supporter of the Library of Alexandria which Cyril's predecessor had probably helped burn, she taught experimental science and pagan religion. She was an associate of Orestes. And she was a woman who didn't know her place. Cyril's preaching against Hypatia is said to have been what incited a mob led by fanatical Christian monks in the spring of 415 C.E to seize Hypatia on the street, beat her and drag her body to a church where they murdered her, mutilated her flesh with sharp tiles and burned her remains. Cyril lived a long life and was made a saint.
