Hidden Word Game -- Famous Women Quiz

Answer: Tori Amos

SOLUTION: vicTORIA MOSs

Tori Amos is a classically trained musician who won a full scholarship to the prestigious Peabody Institute when she was only five years old. Six years later she lost that award for, in the words of Rolling Stone magazine, "musical insubordination".

That has not prevented her from forging an eclectic music career in which she has been able to speak her mind, with lyrics that cover an array of subjects from feminism to sexuality to religion. Her works include illustrious albums such as "Little Earthquakes" (1992) and "Boys for Pele" (1996). She has also enjoyed success with the singles "Cornflake Girl" (1994) and "Professional Widow" (1996).

Answer: Amy Tan

SOLUTION: grandmA MY TANgled

An extraordinary author, Amy Tan can boast being the recipient of the National Humanities Medal and the prestigious Carl Sandburg Literary Award. Her most notable works include "The Joy Luck Club" (1989), "The Hundred Secret Senses" (1995), and "Saving Fish from Drowning" (2005).

Displaying her versatility, she has also written two children's books; "The Moon Lady" (1992) and "The Chinese Siamese Cat" (1994). The latter would be adopted by the PBS Kids network and turned into an animated series that ran from 2001-02.

Answer: Madonna

SOLUTION: MAD ON NAtional

The label, "Queen of Pop", does not sit well on an artist the calibre of Madonna as it disguises the musical chameleon that she became over the course of her career. Her 1984 hit "Borderline" was a fusion of pop and post disco dance; then, using dance music, she was able to leech underground sounds into the mainstream. In the 1990's she tapped into modern R&B with the delightful album "Bedtime Stories" (1994), and tried her hand at electronica with "Ray of Light" (1998).

She became a provocateur, using the dawn of the MTV era to create a series of film clips that were stylish, sexy, and controversial. In the process, she laid down the template for the modern female popstar. Her songs, such as "Like a Virgin" (1984), "Papa Don't Preach" (1986), and "Vogue" (1990), became, not only anthems but proof that she would continue to evolve, and refuse to live off her past glories

Answer: Mae West

SOLUTION: drachMAE... WE STalled

Mae West's extraordinary career as an actress, singer, comedian, and playwright spanned several decades. Labelled a sex symbol, she has displayed a sharp mind, a quick wit, and, at times, an acerbic tongue. Her story book is filled with many notable quotations and quips, usually with double entendres, that have turned heads and, sometimes, questions on their heads. She famously said "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it."

Her most prominent films include "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel", both from 1933, and "My Little Chickadee", alongside W.C. Fields, in 1940.

Answer: Kate Winslet

SOLUTION: sharK ATE WIN'S LETTers

English actress Kate Winslett has made a career out of playing complicated women - from a teenage murderess in "Heavenly Creatures" (1994) to the sensitive romantic that was Marianne Dashwood in "Sense and Sensibility" (1995). She refused to become pigeon-holed and became a star as Rose in "Titanic" (1995), played the naïve virgin that was Iris Murdoch ("Iris") in 2001, and collected an Oscar for her performance as Hanna Schmitz in "The Reader" in 2008.

A highly talented actress, she managed to add five BAFTA awards and seven Academy Award nominations to her resume by the year 2024.

Answer: Adele

SOLUTION: mADE LEss

Adele is a British icon, a status she has been able to achieve through sheer talent and the extraordinary number of albums that she has been able to sell.

Her second album, "21", released in 2011, contains two of her signature songs, "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Rolling in the Deep", and remained at the top of the "Billboard Album" charts in the USA for a staggering 24 weeks.

Her success saw Eon Productions call on her to write and perform "Skyfall", the theme for the 2012 James Bond film of the same name. In addition, by the age of 26, she had sold in excess of 100 million records and collected 16 Grammy Awards.

Answer: Eva Mendes

SOLUTION: genEVA, MEN DESperate

Now retired, Eva Mendes was 27 when she appeared as Sara, alongside Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, in "Training Day" in 2001. It was her sixth film role but, more importantly, it was the one that got her noticed. This, in turn, led to prominent roles in more commercially successful films such as "2 Fast, 2 Furious" (2003) and "Hitch" (2005).

The rise in status then saw her alongside Nicholas Cage in "Ghost Rider" (2007), and Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in "The Other Guys" (2010). She soon found herself in dramatic roles such as "Last Night" (2010) and "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012). She met Ryan Gosling during the filming of the latter movie and the pair became a couple. They had two daughters before officially tying the knot in 2022.

Answer: Grace Slick

SOLUTION: wininG RACES, LICKing

Nowadays, Grace Slick is a recognized visual artist, but she had previously come to notice as one of the most prominent figures of the psychedelic music scene of the 1960s.

After leaving her band, The Great Society, she became the frontwoman for Jefferson Airplane. With her she'd brought the song "Somebody to Love", a track written by her brother-in-law Darby. The band released the song in 1967 as the lead single to their album "Surrealistic Pillow"... it would become the band's biggest selling song.

Slick released four solo albums between 1974 and 1984 while also featuring on works by the (now renamed) Jefferson Starship. She returned when the band changed their name (again) to Starship and sang lead vocals on two of their biggest hits, "We Built This City" (1985) and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (1987) before retiring from music in 1990.

Answer: Diana Ross

SOLUTION: inDIANA ROSSdale

Often referred to as the "Queen of Motown", Diana Ross, one time member of the all-female group The Supremes, was labelled as the "Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard Magazine in 1976.

As a solo artist, Ross has sold in excess of 100 million records, including songs such as "Touch Me in the Morning" (1973), "Upside Down" (1980), the monster selling "Endless Love" (1981), and "Chain Reaction" (1985).

Ross also revealed her talents as an actress, receiving an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress in her first film role as Billie Holiday in the 1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues".

Answer: Beyonce

SOLUTION: abBEY ONCE

In a similar manner to Diana Ross rising to stardom as a member of The Supremes, Beyonce would rise to fame as a member of Destiny's Child, also a strong all-female group. She would launch her solo career in a spectacular manner with the release of her 2003 album "Dangerously in Love", one of the best selling albums in the first quarter of the 21st century. The disc would spawn the highly rated singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy".

Not resting on her laurels, she has maintained her success with singles such as "Naughty Girl" (2004), "Irreplaceable" (2006), and "Single Ladies" (2008). Forever exploring, she has since ventured into concept albums which have highlighted the contributions of African-Americans to music and culture, and she has also found her footing as an actress, featuring in "Dreamgirls" (2006) and "Lemonade" (2016), which she also directed.