Who better to
help celebrate our 10th birthday than the people we admire most?
Read on to meet the women we love.

When Xena, amazonian righter of wrongs, is fed up with sexism, racism, or any other -ism for that matter, she takes action, kung-fu style. Both whip-smart and whip-ready, the leather clad Xena trumps injustice with a cry of "Yi-yi-yi!" and a targeted toss of her Frisbeelike metal blade - but only after reason and heartfelt communication have failed. It's a part that Lucy Lawless performs with enthusiasm as star of the highly rated syndicated TV series  Xena: Warrior Princess. A groundbreaking idol, Xena boldly karate-chops away at stereotypes no heroine has felled before. Unlike Charlie's Angels, Xena fights men, yet refuses to flirt; takes many paramours, yet stays more deeply committed to her female friends. Lawless herself appreciates the freedom of the role, one that shows children everywhere that "women can be as badass as any man ever was." "I suppose the show could be called feminist in that it's about women who do not see themselves as at all limited by their femininity," she told  Ms. magazine. Not that being self-possessed was ever an issue for Lawless, 28, a single mom who traveled the world before returning home to New Zealand and getting the part of a feminist with sex appeal  plus a sense of humor. "Everything about the show is sexy because it has this energy, charisma, self-confidence," she says - self-confidence that transcends even the most irritating of superhero side effects, like her costume. "It makes you crotchety to be trussed up like a chicken," Lawless complains. "I think that's why Xena's such a grump."