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From the Queen of Soul to behind-the-scenes power players, they're all here.
2/26/2026
American soul singer Aretha Franklin, a star on the Atlantic record label. (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images) Getty Images
When the nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2026 class were announced on Wednesday (Feb. 25), few paid much attention to the fact that women were well-represented among the nominees. Mariah Carey, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, P!nk and Shakira were all nominated, as was the British group Sade, fronted by Sade Adu.
That’s how the Rock Hall has rolled for several years now. Each of the last four induction classes has included at least four women (or groups including women) across the various induction categories.
It was not ever thus. When the inaugural class was inducted in 1986, all 10 performer honorees were men: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis Presley.
The Rock Hall could have brought in some gender diversity that year with its other selections, but they too were all men. The inaugural early influence (now called musical influence) honorees were Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey and Robert Johnson. The inaugural non-performer selections (now called Ahmet Ertegun Award) were Alan Freed, John Hammond and Sam Phillips.
There were likewise no women in the induction classes of 1992, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2016. John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, has made diversifying the roster of inductees along gender, genre and racial lines a priority. As such, it’s likely we’ll never see another all-male induction class.
In honor of this year’s gender-diverse class of nominees, here are 18 women who have made history at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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Aretha Franklin, 1987
Distinction: First woman inducted into the Hall.
Presenter: Keith Richards
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The Supremes, 1988
Distinction: First all-female group to be inducted. The Hall inducted founding members Florence Ballard, Diana Ross and Mary Wilson. Ballard, who died in 1976, holds a sad additional distinction as the first woman to be inducted posthumously.
Presenter: Little Richard
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Bessie Smith, 1989
Distinction: First woman to be inducted as an early/musical influence. Also, the first woman blues singer to be inducted.
Presenter: Anita Baker
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Zola Taylor (The Platters), 1990
Distinction: First woman to be inducted as part of a mixed-gender group or duo.
Presenter: Phil Spector
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Carole King, 1990 & 2021
Distinction: First person (not just the first woman) to be inducted as both a performer and a non-performer. She was inducted as a non-performer, in tandem with Gerry Goffin, her songwriting partner and ex-husband, in 1990. She was inducted as a performer in 2021 in honor of her subsequent career as a recording artist, which crested with her landmark 1971 album Tapestry.
Presenters: Ben E. King (1990); Taylor Swift (2021)
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Tina Turner, 1991
Distinction: First woman to be inducted for fronting a mixed-gender group or duo (Ike & Tina Turner). In 2021, Turner received a second induction for her solo career.
Presenter: Phil Spector
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Dinah Washington, 1993
Distinction: First woman jazz artist to be inducted. Washington performed in a wide variety of styles, including blues, R&B and traditional pop, but jazz was at the core of her musical essence.
Presenter: Natalie Cole
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Donna Jean Godchaux (Grateful Dead), 1994
Distinction: First woman to be inducted as part of a rock band.
Presenter: Bruce Hornsby
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Janis Joplin, 1995
Distinction: First female solo rock star to be inducted.
Presenter: Melissa Etheridge
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Joni Mitchell, 1997
Distinction: First woman who was born outside of the U.S. (Canada, in her case) to be inducted.
Presenter: Shawn Colvin
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Mahalia Jackson, 1997
Distinction: First woman gospel artist to be inducted. She was inducted as an early influence.
Presenter: Mavis Staples
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Stevie Nicks, 1998 & 2019
Distinction: First woman to be inducted twice. She was first inducted in 1998 as a member of Fleetwood Mac and in 2019 as a solo artist. By way of comparison, 25 men have been inducted twice over the years. (One of them, Eric Clapton, has been inducted three times.)
Presenters: Sheryl Crow (1998), Harry Styles (2019)
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Brenda Lee, 2002
Distinction: First woman who had success as a country artist to be inducted. Though best known as a pop singer, Lee had a pair of top five hits on Hot Country Singles, as the chart was then known, in 1973-74.
Presenter: Jewel
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Go-Go’s, 2021
Distinction: First all-woman band whose members played their own instruments to be inducted.
Presenter: Drew Barrymore
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Sylvia Robinson, 2022
Distinction: First woman record executive to be inducted. Robinson, who was the founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records, received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Presenter: no presenter
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Missy Elliott, 2023
Distinction: First woman hip-hop artist to be inducted.
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Suzanne De Passe, 2024
Distinction: First woman TV producer to be inducted. De Passe has won two Primetime Emmys for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and Motown Returns to the Apollo. She was also nominated for The Jacksons: An American Dream and The Temptations, as well as a few non-music projects.
Presenter: Berry Gordy
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Carole Kaye, 2025
Distinction: First woman studio musician to be inducted. The bass guitarist received the musical excellence award.
Presenter: no presenter
English (US)