Sheila Kuehl
Kuehl was elected to the California State Assembly in 1994, becoming the first openly gay person elected to the California legislature. While running for office Kuehl found she was able to offset some negative stereotypes people had about lesbians thanks to their familiarity with her role as Zelda. She told an interviewer "When people know gay people personally, they tend to feel differently about the whole community. And all of a sudden, here's a person that they knew very well that they found out was lesbian."
Sheila Michaels
Michaels was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality, and began popularizing the term Ms. from 1961, when she saw it in a newspaper. In 1969, Michaels appeared on the New York City radio station WBAI, where she introduced the term. In doing so, she caught the attention of Gloria Steinem, who in 1972 named her magazine "Ms." In 1975, Michaels went to Laos, working with children injured during the Vietnam War.