Known as the “American Venus,” Audrey Munson was scouted as a teenager in the early 1900s. As the first woman to pose nude on film and the body most nude sculptures in New York City are created after, she was ahead of her time. In essays about her life, she wrote about creativity and a model’s importance, and even called out pay discrepancies between men and woman—this was 1921 (!). In spite of her success, and the fact that she was never silent, most people today don’t know her name. Or if they do, they know her for her controversiality. But she set a standard and paved a pathway for creative women. That’s why we are celebrating her now.