The Highest IQ Women in History — Records

Marilyn vos Savant, Edith Stern, Ruth Lawrence and more — women with the highest documented IQs across history.

1. Edith Stern

   1952–present · United States
   200
2. Nadia Camukova

   1976–present · Russia
   200
3. Marilyn vos Savant

   1946–present · United States
   186
4. Marie Curie

   1867–1934 · Poland
   180
5. Mary Somerville

   1780–1872 · United Kingdom
   180
6. Elizabeth I

   1533–1603 · United Kingdom
   175
7. Margaret Fuller

   1810–1850 · United States
   175
8. Hypatia

   0350–0415 · EG
   170
9. Judit Polgár

   1976–present · Hungary
   170
10. Manahel Thabet

    1981–present · YE
    168
11. Charlotte Brontë

    1816–1855 · England
    165
12. Lise Meitner

    1878–1968 · Austria
    165
13. Sappho

    0630–0570 · Greece
    165
14. Lydia Sebastian

    2003–present · India
    162
15. Mahnoor Cheema

    2007–present · United Kingdom
    161
16. Ada Lovelace

    1815–1852 · United Kingdom
    160
17. Ayn Rand

    1905–1982 · Russia
    160
18. Acharya S

    1960–2015 · United States
    160
19. Elizabeth Gaskell

    1810–1865 · England
    160
20. George Eliot

    1819–1880 · England
    160
21. Harriet Martineau

    1802–1876 · United Kingdom
    160
22. Hildegard of Bingen

    1098–1179 · Germany
    160
23. Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné

    1626–1696 · France
    160
24. Mary Wollstonecraft

    1759–1797 · —
    160
25. Brielle Milla

    2012–present · United States
    160
26. Sofya Kovalevskaya

    1850–1891 · Russia
    156
27. Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

    1635–1719 · France
    155
28. Martha Graham

    1894–1991 · United States
    148
29. Hannah Arendt

    1906–1975 · Germany
    140
30. Sylvia Plath

    1932–1963 · United States
    140

How we ranked this list

Filtered to documented female geniuses with cited IQ ≥ 140. Historical bias means women are underrepresented in early records, not in actual intellect.