40 Geek Gals and Why We Love Them

Last week I talked about ‘Geek Guys and Why We Love Them’.  So I figure turnabout is fair play and this week we’ll give the geek gals their due.

There are many women that fit the ‘geek’ description.  And in the same vain as with the guys… these geek girls are from the past and present to the real and fictional.  They are or were intelligent, funny, classy, confident and most of all geeky.

I wanted to include some of the women from our past that paved the way for today’s and tomorrow’s geek gals, as well as some of the “geek” next door gals that you could or may even already know.

One thing’s for certain… these ladies  give geek gals a good name.  And in no particular order,

FAMOUS GEEKS

Jody Foster – a child star, award winning actress, producer and director, Foster also graduated magna cum laude from Yale in 1985 with a B.A. in Literature.  She learned to read at the age of three and unlike many child actors didn’t sacrifice her education.  It has been rumored she is a member of MENSA.  Either way, she is a geeky girl in my book.

Daryl Hannah – an actress that played in many of the great geek movies of all time, like Blade Runner and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, is also a geek in real life.  Extremely intelligent, Hannah is a big eco-friendly geek – having won an environmental activism award and a preservation award.

Queen Rania of Jordan – named as the third most beautiful woman in the world in 2005, Queen Rania has launched an attack against child abuse in her country (and being made an honorary colonel in the armed forces, she probably could actually launch an attack). She is a strong proponent of Women’s rights, and along with Melinda Gates has been placed on the Forbe’s top 100 powerful women multiple times. Queen Rania has even created her own YouTube channel to further her cause with the use of technology, and has almost 1 million followers on Twitter, which she has even used to announce the Pope’s arrival. How geeky cool is that?

Danica McKellar – played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years.  Well Danica is all grown-up now and a mathematics author and education advocate.  And as of 2009 is the math correspondent for Brink a program by the Science Channel about upcoming technology.  A girl that is good at math is a geek chick in my book.

Mira Sorvino – is one of the Hollywood celebrities calling for United Nations action in Darfur. She spent a year of study in Beijing while attending Harvard. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and also speaks French.  Brainy gals are so cool!  Sorvino is one geeky girl that has it all.

GEEK GALS FROM THE PAST

Grace Hopper – was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, and she developed the first compiler for a computer programming language. Due to her accomplishments and her naval rank, she is sometimes referred to as “Amazing Grace”.  In the 1970s, she pioneered the implementation of standards for testing computer systems and components, most significantly for early programming languages such as FORTRAN and COBOL. She definitely wins the Ms. Geek award in my book.

Ada Byron Lovelace – during a time when women were not encouraged to partake in intellectual pursuits, she was a metaphysician, an analyst and founder of scientific computing.   Most famous as the “first programmer” since she was writing programs—encoding an algorithm in a form to be processed by a machine—for a machine that Babbage had not yet built.  Ada was possibly the first true “geek” gal.

Marie Curie – a physicist who won two Nobel Prizes (the first person ever to achieve such an honor) for her work in radiation.  She was a Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, the first time a woman had held this position.    Curie was a courageous, ambitious and intelligent woman.  She is still one of the most famous scientists to date and a true geek.

Hedy Lamarr – was not only an acclaimed actress but she was co-inventor of a ‘secret communication system’ to help combat the Nazis in World War II.  The technology that Lamarr helped to invent formed the technological backbone of other wireless communication devices such as, cell phones and fax machines.  She proved that she was more than a pretty face… but also a geek gal.

Sally  Ride-  is a geeky physicist girl that just happens to be the first American woman in space. Not content with chasing astrophysics alone, Sally was also a nationally ranked tennis player. But it was her entry into space in 1983 that earned her a spot in the record books, and Sally had been busy ever since. When she left NASA, she started Sally Ride Science, which creates programs in science with a focus on girls, paving the way for future geek girls of distinction.

Elizabeth Blackwell – while Sally Ride was the first American in Space, Elizabeth Blackwell forged her own path into unknown areas when she became the first woman to graduate from Medical School with a degree. She was a supporter of the women’s right movement of the time, and eventually started a Woman’s Medical College with Florence Nightingale. This gave other women a much better chance at becoming a trained medical care provider, giving us new smart geeky girl doctors that proved again geeky was a woman thing too.

Barbara Askins -  received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. After completing her education, Askins went to work for NASA.  While there she was charged with the task of inventing a way to improve astronomical and geological photos taken from space (which were often fuzzy and lacked definition). The solution she developed would have a greater impact than anyone could have imagined.  Barbara Askins’ invention involved the use of radioactive materials to enhance negatives, which, as it turned out, could also be used to enhance images even after the pictures had been developed. After patenting the invention in 1978, Askins’ method was put to use by NASA with great success.  Geek gal supreme!

Rachel Zimmerman – at the mere age of twelve, is responsible for the invention, BLISSSYMBOL PRINTER.  If you know anyone with physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, you may be familiar with this invention.  A user touches symbols on a special pad and the chosen symbols are transformed into written language on a computer screen.  The freedom she gave so many people who cannot read or write, the ability to communicate, is pure geekdom.

THE EXECUTIVE TYPES

Melinda Gates – perhaps better known as Mrs. Bill Gates, Melinda Gates has gone from managing Microsoft programming efforts (anyone besides me remember Microsoft Bob?) to being a Time person of the year and a well known philanthropist. Melinda graduated as a valedictorian of her class, and she, along with her husband, has been instrumental in making many lives better through the Gates foundation. She is a fine example of a strong geek girl, and it is probably not surprising that she was in the Forbe’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women three years in a row.

Telle Whitney – is President and CEO of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.  She was honored this year for her extensive contributions to women working in technology, both as a role model while she worked in the semiconductor and telecommunications industries and as a leader with the Anita Borg Institute.  She has taken significant strides to help other women in the field of technology.  Whitney definitely gives geek gals a good name.

Madeline Herdrich – Madeline Herdrich serves as Vice President of Mobile and oversees the North American region for Paramount Mobile Entertainment. In this role, Madeline is charged with distribution and marketing of the North American Mobile business – including trailers, ringtones, games and other applications — onto computers, handheld devices like Apple’s iPod and cell phones.  Herdrich has her fingers on the pulse of technology and ranks her among one of the top geek gals.

Marissa  Mayer – is the gatekeeper of the Google goodies at Google. She makes the determination when a Google product is ready to be released on the world at large (whereupon it will no doubt go into a permanent beta). Marissa ven had a hand in creating Google Maps, Google Earth, and iGoogle. So powerful is this geek girl’s control over the Google Masses that she has been listed as one of Fortune’s top 50 powerful women. Now that is some serious Geek power.

Cathy Malmrose – is an Ubuntu geek that has led many others down the golden path where cost is not related to quality. The computer geek stood by her FOSS ideals when she created ZaReason, a company built on the fine line between profit and non-profit. It is her hope that the company can be successful by using volunteer and paid support from both sides, and from what we’ve seen she is hitting her mark.

THEY PLAYED ONE ON TV

Willow Rosenberg -had incredible computing and hacking skills.   She was  rather well known for her sexual preferences as being a lesbian. But when it came to delivering the geek goods, Willow was quite forthcoming. She started out as Buffy’s helper and eventually raised Buffy from the dead in the last season. In the series end super geek witch Willow saved the day, but her hair turned white from the effort.

Dana Scully – the supposed by the book member of the X – Files team, Dana Sculley was so uber geek that her thesis was titled “Einstein’s Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation”. Dana usually tried to explain the mysterious events in a rational way, but as viewers know that was not always possible. Still, her medical school background was put to the test in examining all the dead bodies left in the wake, and despite suffering from implanted chips and pregnancy while being infertile, Dana eventually ended up away from the FBI and living with our man of the hour, Fox Mulder.

Lt. Col Samantha Carter – was the geek girl that you could take home to meet mom and take with you on an adventure. Her quick wit and unique approach to problem solving saved more lives than you can count. As time went on, she proved to be the go to solution for Colonel Jack O’Neill. But just when she made this Galaxy safe, Carter jumped through a Stargate and went to help out in the Pegasus Galaxy. Of course, sitting behind a command was not in the cards for such an action geek girl, and soon Carter was given the command of the General George Hammond Daedalus Class Starship.

Dr. Christina Yang – geek girls are not just cool in the spotlight – sometimes they use their powers to help every day. Christina Yang is that type of Geek.  A talented surgeon who has proven to have the most medical knowledge at the start of her time at Seattle Grace. Despite the best of efforts, Christina is just not a people person by nature, and this is evidenced in her bed-side manner.  She still does not like to be touched, and she would probably be happier working with technology than people.  But Grey’s Anatomy wouldn’t be the same without her.  A classic geek indeed.

Winifred Burkle – known as ‘Fred’ to those around her, was a geek girl that was tricked by a jealous professor and sent to the Pylea dimension, where Demons ruled and humans were their servants. Unlike others that suffered her same fate, Fred managed to come back, and helps Angel with the good fight. Eventually the pot smoking physics geek girl ends up dying on the show. As she lay dying, she asks why her stuffed rabbit Feigenbaum was not there. Her last words were, “Why can’t I stay”, showing that she was never afraid, even when death was at hand.

Hermoine Granger – was Muggle born, not a pure wizard, but her mother and father, both dentists, were proud of their odd daughter. She excelled at academics, and through her constant overachievement she showed how hard work and study could be used for immediate application. When Harry gets into trouble or needs a particular solution to a problem, Hermione had the answers. She made geek witch cool.

Uhura – referred to as simply Uhura in Star Trek, TOS, Nyota Uhura had a name which meant “Star Freedom”. The beautiful and talented Geek lady was almost always able to find a way to make the communication system work for Kirk. She was no doubt the voice of the Enterprise as it went through its missions. Uhura proved to be invaluable in the adventures that awaited them, even stepping from behind the communications gear and showing that she knows a thing or two about transporters along the way. Uhura proved that geek was not only cool; it could also be very refined and capable.

Capt. Kathryn Janeway – is a geek girl hailing from Bloomington, Indiana that went on to captain her own starship. Originally chasing down Marquis bad guys, Janeway eventually sets her sights on not only getting her crew back home from the other side of the universe, she also decides to take out the Borg as she does it. Proving to be a serious force to be reckoned with, Janeway shows exactly how strong and determined a Geek Girl can be.

Chloe – knows computers, and there appears to be no feat that the gear head could not accomplish within a network. When Jack Bauer needs help, Chloe is his go-to girl. Whether it was live video that needed to be fed to a cell phone or bypassing an intricate security system, Chloe was unmatched at CTU in her ability to deliver (and quickly – after all, it all happened in only 24 hours).  Chloe is the geek girl I would want backing me up.

Temperance “Bones” Brennan – got her nicknames (“Bones”) from her work as a talented forensic anthropologist, but her irrepressible character is quite memorable. She is an avid hunter (having licenses to hunt in four states), studies Karate, and somehow has a history with being a trained amateur high  wire performer. But when the going gets tough, it is Brennan’s intricate geeky knowledge coupled with a can do attitude that keeps things moving, allowing her to focus on the facts.

CARTOON GEEK GIRLS

Lisa Simpson – the saxophone playing geek girl that serves to be Bart’s sister and occasional bane of existence, is a chick who usually knows who she is and where she wants to go. Speaking with wisdom beyond her eight years, Lisa can often be found championing causes that may have been unnoticed by the rest of her family. She is smart and capable, but unlike her infamous brother Bart you get the sense that she in fact actually does care what people think.  Lisa for President!

Meg Griffin – having a father like Peter Griffin, it should come to no surprise that Meg is a disturbed geeky girl that tries, and fails, to fit in with the “cool crowd”. While Meg is often the butt of jokes when it comes to being unattractive or overweight, she somehow manages to rise above it all and be true to her own nature. Unfortunately, her true nature all too often involves wearing a beanie hat and engaging in behavior that is self-destructive.  She brings a quirky geekness to Family Guy.

Velma Dinkley – from Scooby Doo, single-handedly made the term, Jinkies, a common expression of enlightenment. From her oversized orange sweater to her Mary Janes, Velma,  shows that geek girls have what it takes when it comes to fitting the clues and solving the puzzle. Velma has played the damsel in distress, but she is just as likely to attack the villain directly. Velma is a strong glass wearing, case solving geek girl.

Daria – escaping from Highland (and, consequently, Beavis and Butthead), Daria was a pessimistic, overly sardonic, and very smart girl that somehow took her droll observations about life and made us feel better for them. Her caustic approach served her well, showing us that geek commentary was not always in ones and zeroes.

THE GEEK (GIRL) NEXT DOOR

Amy Vernon – is among the top 30 submitters of all time on Digg.com and the highest ranking female ever (no small feat).  She is the Queen of Social Media (as well as bacon), a freelance writer, editor and social media consultant.  And can be found on Twitter @AmyVernon.  She is self-taught in html, css and other web designs.  Amy is a huge Sci-Fi fan and you can often times find her writing about many of her favorites shows on her blog, TvTyrant. Amy is the complete geek girl package.

Justine Ezarik – is better known as iJustine. She is a video blogger, internet personality, Apple geek, youtuber, designer, and a tech addict!   She became known for her “300-page iPhone bill”, which followed the first month of service after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. The viral video earned her international attention and celebrity. The bad publicity that AT&T earned as a result of her video -  featuring her reviewing the bill and similar stories coincided with the announcement that detailed billing would become optional for iPhone users. As of June 1, 2009, she had over a half a million Twitter followers, and nearly 100,000 subscribers to the iJustine YouTube channel.  You can find her at iJustine.tv.  And an interesting tidbit – her signature phrase is “I am the Internet.”

Bridget Ayers – is the President of The Get Smart Web Consulting.  Where she helps her clients create a comprehensive online presence to bring their businesses to a targeted audience, clients with brand identity, technology integration, online networking and marketing, web traffic analysis, search engine promotion, and content optimization.  With almost 17,000 Twitter followers @BridgetAyers makes the most use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Morgan Webb – is most guys dream girl with her vast knowledge of computers and video games. She started out as a contributor for TechTV’s popular show Screen Savers, and eventually wound up hosting a video game program called X-Play (which has since become one of the highest rated shows on the network).  She’s a frequent co-host on G4’s Attack of the Show.  You can find this geeky chick @Morganwebb.

Jen Hinton – is a lifecaster, blogger, vlogger, a daily host of her own talk radio show Chicks Who Chat and if that weren’t enough she also co-hosts along with her husband an online TV show Geek said… Chic said.  She and her husband recently founded GeekChicMedia.  On Twitter she is @KeepItClassyJen… and she IS one classy geek gal.

Susie Sahim – a web illustrator and web designer for Google this cute geek gal is a huge Zelda fan.  In fact, she is planning her wedding for next year with a Zelda themed wedding.  Come on… how could a gal be more geekier?  She is also one of the people behind many of the Google doodles.  Susie is a top-notch geek girl.

Veronica Belmont – is co-host of Revision3′s tech-centric show, Tekzilla, and Qore on the PlayStation Network.  A gamer and social media junkie with over 1.3 million Twitter followers, @Veronica also co-hosts a fiction and fantasy themed book club called The Sword and Laser.  An incredibally geeky chick in my book.

Jolie O’Dell – is a tech journalist at ReadWriteWeb.  She blogs, vlogs and is an all-around tech junkie. She is  @jolieodell on Twitter.  O’Dell refers to herself as a Geek catalyst.  So geeks and geek lovers are definitely drawn to Jolie for a good reason.

So there you have it…

These 40 geek girls barely touch the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many more fabulous geek gals out there, but these brainy and confident women epitomize geekiness.  Maybe one of your favorites is listed here?… if not, please share your favorite geek gal with us.