Notable Women From Alberta Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jann Arden

Jann Arden Anne Richards was born on March 27th, 1962 in Calgary, Alberta. She was 'discovered' as a vocalist in 1985, but would not release her first album until 1993's "Time for Mercy". Her second album, 1994's "Living Under June" would include her most successful single, reaching Number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (and Number 1 in both Canada and Australia).

In addition to her recording career (over a dozen studio albums), Arden has also acted in many Canadian television productions, including the comedy series "Jann" (premiered 2019), loosely based on events in her own life. She has won multiple Juno Awards for her music, and multiple Canadian Screen Awards. In 2017 she was awarded the Order of Canada for 'achievements as a singer-songwriter and broadcaster, and for her extensive charitable work', and in 2020 she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Answer: Muriel Stanley Venne

Muriel Stanley Venne (née Muriel Esther Kopp) was born in 1937 in Lamont, Alberta. Coming from a large Métis family (one of ten children), Muriel Stanley Venne experienced hardship early on in life, surviving tuberculosis as a teen, and then marrying young (17) into an abusive relationship. Her experiences gave her a voice to advocate for other Indigenous women in similar circumstances.

Her work with the Métis Association of Alberta brought the attention of Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, who appointed Stanley Venne to the Alberta Human Rights Commission in 1973. And in 1994, she founded the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW), an organization that "recognizes the role, value, and achievement of Aboriginal women in society and raises awareness about the challenges and obstacles they face" (from the IAAW website). In 2005, Muriel Stanley Venne became the first Métis person to be made a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2019 she was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence.

Answer: Violet King Henry

Violet Pauline King was born on October 18th, 1929 in Calgary, Alberta. Her parents originally came to Canada from Oklahoma in 1911 as part of the 'Great Migration' of African Americans from the Southern states. From as early as her high school days, King sought opportunities for leadership, and received recognition for her excellence and activity with student government. Upon her graduation from the University of Alberta's law program in 1953 and her admission to the Alberta bar in 1954, King became Canada's first black woman lawyer.

After a couple of years of practicing law in Alberta, King moved to Ottawa and worked with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In 1963, she relocated to the United States where she worked with the YW/YMCA, eventually being appointed Executive Director of the national Council of YMCA's Organizational Development Group. It was in the U.S. that King met her husband and added the 'Henry' to her name (in 1965). In 1982, King Henry passed away after a battle with cancer.

Answer: Evangeline Lilly

Nicole Evangeline Lilly was born on August 3rd, 1979 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, although she spent much of her early years in British Columbia, graduating from high school in Abbotsford.

She was discovered by the Ford Modelling Agency, and soon began taking on small television roles, until the opportunity came to audition for "LOST" (2004-2010). Her unexpected casting as Kate in the popular show vaulted Lilly into stardom, bringing opportunities for such high-profile films as "The Hurt Locker" (2008), the second and third installments of "The Hobbit" movies (2013 and 2014), and a number of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the superhero Wasp (since 2015). Lilly's children's series debuted in 2013, with the first book entitled "The Squickerwonkers".

Answer: Heather Marks

Heather Marks was born on July 25th, 1988 in Calgary, Alberta. At just the age of 12, she was discovered at the Calgary Woman's Show by the owner of Mode Models, Kelly Streit. Just three years later, at the tender age of 15, Marks made her debut on the runway in 2003 at the Givenchy Spring 2003 couture show and quickly achieved in-demand supermodel status with over 110 shows in the next two years.

Apart from runway shows, Marks was also a popular choice for magazines and other advertisements. "She has appeared on the covers of magazines such as the German, Korean, Latinoamerican, Mexican and Spanish editions of Vogue, the Croatian, Canadian, and Italian editions of Elle in addition to Harper's Bazaar, Dazed, French, Velvet, Flair, Fashion, BLACK and Mixte." (Source: Wikipedia)

Answer: Joni Mitchell

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell (née Anderson) was born on November 7th, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta. As her father was in the air force, she moved around a lot until after World War II, when the family settled in Saskatchewan. Mitchell's teenage years were spent in Saskatoon, and it was there that she had her first gigs as a performing musician. In the mid-1960s, Mitchell began to write her own songs, and in 1968 she released her debut album, "Song to a Seagull", although it was first released as simply "Joni Mitchell". Her fourth studio album, "Blue" was released in 1971, and is one of her most critically acclaimed albums. In 2020, "Rolling Stone" magazine placed it at Number 3 on their list of the '500 Greatest Albums of All Time'.

Among her many career accolades, Joni Mitchell won multiple Grammy and Juno Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1981. A couple of Canada's highest honours were bestowed upon Mitchell in the form of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (in 1996), and being named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2002.

Answer: Stephanie Labbé

Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé was born on October 10th, 1986 in Edmonton, Alberta. She began playing for national-level teams while still in her teens, making one appearance with the U19 national women's team in 2004, before beginning her post-secondary education. During her time with the University of Connecticut (Huskies), Labbé earned the distinction of 'Big East Goalkeeper of the Year' for the 2007-08 season. She also made another appearance with the U20 Canadian national team in 2006, appearing in four matches. While still in university, she also began playing for the New England Mutiny (Ludlow, MA) of the United Women's Soccer League.

Labbé joined the senior women's Canadian national team in 2008 as she completed her schooling, and worked her way up to the starting goaltender position. She backstopped the team during their 2016 bronze medal performance at the Olympics in Rio, helped get them to the knockout stage of the 2019 Women's World Cup (knocked out by Sweden), and redeemed herself (and the team) by defeating Sweden at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by penalty kicks and winning the gold medal!

Answer: Natalya Neidhart

Natalie Katherine Neidhart was born on May 27th, 1982 in Calgary, Alberta. Both her father (Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart) and maternal grandfather (Stu Hart) were professional wrestlers, making Natalie Neidhart a third generation professional - and the first third generation FEMALE professional wrestler in the world.

With that kind of pedigree, it is not surprising that she joined the family business, especially when the extended family are also professional wrestlers. Neidhart received professional training from her uncles in the Hart family, in addition to her amateur training and with other disciplines (Jiu-Jitsu, mixed martial arts, dance, and gymnastics). Neidhart's two championship wins came in 2010 (Divas Championship) and 2017 (SmackDown Women's Championship), making her the first woman to earn both titles. She was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame both as an individual, and as a member of the Hart wrestling family.

Answer: Joyce Fairbairn

Joyce Fairbairn was born on November 6th, 1939 in Lethbridge, Alberta. Before entering politics in her own right, Fairbairn worked as a journalist with the Parliamentary Press Gallery for eight years. This was followed up with a position as Prime Minister Pierre Truedeau's legislative assistant (1970-81) and communications coordinator (1981-84).

Fairbairn was appointed to the Senate on June 29th, 1984, serving in various capacities until her retirement in 2013. Most prominently, she served on Prime Minister Jean Chretien's Cabinet as Government Leader in the Senate and Minister with special responsibility for Literacy from 1993 to 1997). Fairbairn was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015.

Answer: Rosella Bjornson

Rosella Marie Bjornson was born on July 13th, 1947 in Lethbridge, Alberta. She would receive pilot training while still a teen (1964), and by 1967 had earned her commercial rating and was participating in flying competitions. In1969 she had become an instructor with the Winnipeg Flying Club.

Despite her successes, the industry was not keen to hire a female pilot, and it was not until 1973 that she was hired by Transair as a first officer, making her "the first female to be hired as First Officer in North America on scheduled jet equipment, and the first female to be hired by a commercial airline in Canada". (Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame website) Bjornson continued to progress as a more-than-capable pilot, and in 1990 she achieved more firsts: "the first female Captain with Canadian Airlines International and the first woman to be promoted to Captain with a major Canadian air carrier". (same source)

Rosella Bjornson was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997, and to the Women in Aviation, International Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2018, she was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence.