Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life
    2. Money and Work

    Meet the notable woman on the new dollar bills - and the women who should be on the pound note

    And no we're not including the Queen.

    By Marie Claire
    Published 21 April 2016 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    jane austen l
    jane austen l
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    And no we're not including the Queen.

    Women have been given their much-needed recognition after it was announced the new $5, $10 and $20 bills in the United States will feature a bevy of famous women from American history.

    The US Treasury Department announced the news that eight women will feature in the new designs, honouring the female civil rights leaders who shaped the country.

    In perhaps the most symbolic move, Harriet Tubman leads the charge, replacing noted slave-owner Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Harriet famously led slaves to escape through the Underground Railroad in the 1800s, and with the new bill, comes the first woman, and woman of colour, to grace the front of a bill.

    (Image credit: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

    While Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln will remain on the front of $10 and $5, five suffrage leaders including Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth will also be depicted.

    You may like
    • B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    • Knatchbull Daisy Knatchbull on Building Savile Row’s First Women-Only Boutique and Why Agility Is Her Secret Weapon
    • Some of the best female athletes in the world right now, plus the ones to watch, featuring Dina Asher Smith, Faith Kipyegon, Keely Hodgkinson, Serena Williams and Simone Biles 50 Influential Female Athletes To Know, Watch, and Follow—in 2026 and Beyond

    Fear not though men, Martin Luther King Jr. has also been honoured.

    The move comes after increased pressure on the government to represent women more equally, because you know, it is 2016.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    The final redesigns will launch in 2020, just in time for the anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the US.

    But it got us thinking, where are all the women on the pound note?

    Sure, the Queen graces us with her presence, and we've had Florence Nightingale and social reformer Elizabeth Fry, but it's odd how the UK fails to have any other women on our currency. We mean, if America can do we it, so can we.

    What to read next
    • Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
    • Analog Times - Wine and cards game night on luxurious burgundy fabric - TVS The Gambling Industry's Newest Bet? Women
    • Anabela Chan, Melanie Georgacopoulos, Thelma West The Female Visionaries Shaping Fine Jewellery's Most Exciting New Chapter

    Thankfully, Jane Austen was revealed as the new face of the £10 note by the Bank of England in 2013, replacing Charles Darwin, after a campaign by Caroline Criado-Perez called for a woman to be featured. Though we won't have to wait as long to get the new notes - they're being printed from 2017 - we cant help but feel Britain could do a lot better than one woman.

    Other notable women we reckon should feature on our cash are...

    Agatha Christie

    (Image credit: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

    Pretty much the founding mother of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie's work is still read and loved today. She even has Poldark gunning to work in her adaptations.

    Mary Seacole

    (Image credit: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock)

    One of the popular candidates that was considered for the £10 note, Mary was a Jamaican-born nurse who provided care for soldiers in the Crimean War. A fitting successor to previous featured woman Florence Nightingale, we think.

    Ada Lovelace

    (Image credit: REX/Shutterstock)

    Often considered the first ever computer programmer, Ada's notes as a mathematician and writer came to be known as the first ever algorithm intended for use by a machine. With coding all the rage, Ada's face on the note would be a boon to ladies who code.

    Emmeline Pankhurst

    While the US had Susan B. Anthony fighting for their right to vote, Emmeline Pankhurst was leading the movement in the UK, using militant tactics to give women a voice and the right to vote by 1918. She was even played by Meryl Streep in 2015's Suffragette. If that isn't pound-worthy, we don't know what is.

    Rosalind Franklin

    Historically overlooked, Rosalind Franklin was actually the first person to discover the science behind the building blocks of our body - DNA. Her work was credited though to two men, James Watson and Francis Crick, who took credit for her discoveries. Let's face it, her face on the pound note would be a great way to pay her back (ha, get it?)

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    Knatchbull
    Fashion Daisy Knatchbull on Building Savile Row’s First Women-Only Boutique and Why Agility Is Her Secret Weapon
     
     
    Some of the best female athletes in the world right now, plus the ones to watch, featuring Dina Asher Smith, Faith Kipyegon, Keely Hodgkinson, Serena Williams and Simone Biles
    Fitness 50 Influential Female Athletes To Know, Watch, and Follow—in 2026 and Beyond
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
     
     
    Latest in Money and Work
    Analog Times - Wine and cards game night on luxurious burgundy fabric - TVS
    Money and Work The Gambling Industry's Newest Bet? Women
    Well-dressed businesswoman walking on the street of Manhattan, New York and talking on the phone while heading to work during one autumn day.
    Money and Work Is Gen Z Really Lazy at Work, or Just Done with Burnout Culture?
     
     
    Milan, Italy - 20 February 2020: Stylish persons are posing for photographers before Max Mara fashion show on Milan Woman's Fashion Week F/W2020-2021, street style - stock photo
    Money and Work Women Are Delaying This Financial Step, But It Could Be Easier Than You Think.
     Student Loan
    Money and Work I Can’t Keep Up With My Student Loan — Millions of British Graduates Can’t Either
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
     
     
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
    AW26 denim trends listing
    Fashion Autumn's Denim Trends Are Already Surfacing—Here Are the Cuts, Colours and Details to Know Now
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.