Famous former Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

Giovanna Melandri, Italy

The Italian minister of youth and sports, Giovanna Melandri was born in Born in New York where she was a member of Girl Scouts USA. In New York she graduated from university in Business Administration.

Giovanna moved to Rome sixteen years ago. She is one of the founders of "Emily", an association set up in 1998 to train and develop more women in the political world. She was appointed Minister of Culture in 2006 by the D’Alema Government.

This picture shows the minister (second from right) with WAGGGS’ UN team, Rome.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Iceland

The award winning singer/songwriter is a former member of Bandalag Íslenskra Skáta, the Icelandic Girl Guides and Boy Scouts. Björk grew up in Rejkjavik together with seven siblings. She is best known for her expressive range and an interest in many kinds of music including pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient music, electronica, folk, and classical music. Björk was asked by Lars van Trier to play the main role and to compose the music for his movie Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Other famous singers who were Girl Guides or Girl Scouts include Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Dionne Warwick and opera singer Jessye Norman.

Emma Thompson, England

Emma appeared in many movies like Howards End, Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility and the Harry Potter series. She is the only person to have won Academy awards for both acting and writing. She won Best Actress for Howards End (1992), and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Through organizations like the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, girls and young women can gain the confidence to be equal partners and to make informed, responsible choices about their lives.
Emma Thomson, actress, United Kingdom

Other actors who were former Girl Guides or Girl Scouts include Carrie Fisher, Susan Lucci Kathleen Turner, Debbie Reynolds and Mary Tyler Moore.

Roberta Bondar, Canada

Roberta is a space explorer. She began her astronaut training in 1984, and was designated in 1990 a prime Payload Specialist for the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission (IML-1).

For me Guides was extremely important. I took my Brownie wings that we got when we flew from Brownies to Girl Guides, into space with me. My first set of wings: you don’t know you important that was to me.
Roberta Bondar, space explorer, Canada

A number of astronauts and space explorers are former Girl Guides or Girl Scouts naming Eileen Collins, the first Woman Space Shuttle Commander, Jan N. Davis, Anna L. Fisher, Millie Hughes Fulford, Tamara Jernigan, Judy Resnick, Rhea Seddon, Kathryn C. Thornton, Mae Jamison and Kathryn Sullivan.

Asha-Rose Migiro, Tanzania

The former Girl Guide became the first black woman and first African Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations. She was appointed by General-Secretary Ban Ki-Moon at the beginning of 2007.

Before her appointment the mother of two daughters was Tanzania’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania. Prior to this post, she was the Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children.

Margarita Zavala, Mexico

Chairman of the Mexican National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), Margarita was a member of Guías de Mexico.

Margarita graduated as a lawyer in 1990. She wrote a thesis on the National Commission of Human Rights in 1992. After graduating she taught Human Rights and other legal subjects at different Universities.

Margarita is married to the Mexican President Felipe Calderón and has three children. She visited WAGGGS’ World Bureau and Pax Lodge in London, England in January 2007.

WAGGGS plays an important role in communicating with parents, with other organizations and on the global stage about issues which affect girls and young women. WAGGGS taught me important lessons about my community, conflict resolution, and it inspired me to go into politics.
Margarita Zavala, Chairman of the Mexican National System for the Integral Development of the Family and First Lady of Mexico

HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal, Jordan

Her Royal Highness Princess Basma was a member of the Jordanian Girl Guides and has always been a great supporter of the Movement. The sister of late King Hussein bin Talal and mother of four hosted the WAGGGS World Conference in 2005 in Jordan.

For almost thirty years Her Royal Highness worked nationally, regionally and internationally to promote a range of global issues, most notably in the areas of human development, gender equity, and the well-being and development of children.

The Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Movement binds together 10 million girls and young women from 144 countries in a voluntary commitment. Through its activities such as educational programmes, international exchanges and its support of community projects, it inspires the determination and commitment to face the very real challenges of the present and wonderful opportunities of the future that will help enhance global cooperation and a better quality of life.
HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan

Susie Maroney, Australia

Susie was born in 1974 in Sydney and was marathon swimmer for 18 years until 2003. In her 18 year long career she broke six world records. She was first recognised as a long-distance swimmer in 1989 when she achieved third place in the Australian Marathon Swimming Championships at 14 years. In 1990, Susie broke the speed record for swimming the English Channel, being the youngest person to cross the Channel at that time.

At age 22, Susie was the first person to swim the 180km (112 mile) Florida Straits from Cuba to the United States (12 May 1997). She also swam a record 197 km (122 mile) from Mexico to Cuba, covering the longest distance ever swum without flippers in open sea, in 38 hours and 33 minutes (1 June 1998).

My happy times as a Guide would not have been possible without the wonderful and generous volunteer Leaders that we had in our area. I will be forever grateful for their time and enthusiasm in making a time in my childhood very special and rewarding.
Suzie Maroney, marathon swimmer, Australia