Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald

Even as a teenager, Zelda Sayre was in-your-face, smoking and drinking alcohol, dancing the charleston, and wearing a tight flesh-colored bathing suit in 1916 so folks would think she was naked. After her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald, she got even more outrageous. She was thrown out of all the best hotels, jumped into the fountain in Union Square in New York City, and was even reputed to have once taken a ballet leap all the way down a flight of marble stairs at a party when she felt her husband was ignoring her!

When asked to contribute to a book of favorite recipes of famous women, Zelda wrote: "See if there is any bacon, and if there is, ask the cook which pan to fry it in. Then ask if there are any eggs, and if so try and persuade the cook to poach two of them. It is better not to attempt toast, as it burns very easily. Also, in the case of bacon, do not turn the fire too high, or you will have to get out of the house for a week. Serve preferably on china plates, though gold or wood will do if handy." The lesson: in-your-face women may not want to do anything that's not in-your-face.