50 Happy Women Quotes for International Women's Day

With International Women's Day this month it is a great time to be inspired by the many wonderful happy women quotes by strong women who have gone before. This is a handcrafted list of 50+ happiness quotes by famous women who have made successful careers in literature, fashion, film, music and the arts among other professions. Also included are women's rights activitists like Maya Angelou and Alice Walker.

Happy Women Quotes for International Women's Day

I have curated this list of quotes by strong happy women about what happiness means to them and what they have discovered about being happy in life. Above all these happy strong women quotes are the distilled wisdom of many women who have been successful in a world where they have had to find their power and their voice in a very male dominated environment. Let the knowledge and experience of these women empower you.

1. People used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I’d say ‘Happy!’ That was all I wanted to be.
   Goldie Hawn





Goldie Hawn's famous quote on happiness




2. Happiness is a choice. You grieve, you stomp your feet, you pick yourself up and choose to be happy.
   Lucy Lawless



3. Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy. There's going to be stress in life, but it's your choice whether you let it affect you or not.
   Valerie Bertinelli




4. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.
   Helen Keller



5. Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product of a life well lived.
   Eleanor Roosevelt





6. Trust your own instincts, go inside, follow your heart. Right from the start, go ahead and stand up for what you believe in. As I’ve learned, that’s the path to happiness.
   Lesley Ann Warren



7. I do believe in choice, the freedom of choice and carving out your own happiness.
   Sandra Bullock



8. Happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy.
   Tia Mowry



9. Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.
   Alice Walker


10. One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.
    Iris Murdoch





11. Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.
    Mary Lou Retton



12. Happiness is always there. You just have to choose to see it. There’s no point dwelling in the dark and ignoring the light of the stars.
    Carrie Hope Fletcher



13. I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.
    Brene Brown



14. You are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead.
    Anais Nin



15. Be happy. It's one way of being wise.
    Colette







16. No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.
    Barbara DeAngelis



17. I'm choosing happiness over suffering, I know I am. I'm making space for the unknown future to fill up my life with yet-to-come surprises.
    Elizabeth Gilbert



18. Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.
    Alice Walker


19. I can choose to be happy, or choose to be miserable every day - waiting until I die.
    Angel Haze



20. Decide that life is good and you are special. Decide to enjoy today. Decide that you will live life to the fullest now, no matter what. Trust that you will change what needs changing, but also decide that you're not going to put off enjoying life just because you don't have everything you want now. Steadfastly refuse to let anything steal your joy. Choose to be happy...and you will be.
    Donna Fargo




21. I think happiness is a choice. I believe luck is your attitude. It sounds like a really annoying bumper sticker. But there is such a great truth in that. You choose how you want to feel about what happens to you. I could have been a miserable failure. I haven't had anybody looking over me, and I've found my own way through optimistic exploration and fire-burning mistakes. I am a very happy person with an extraordinary life, so I must be doing a lot of things right. I really believe when you peel away the layers, the worlds is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people.
    Drew Barrymore




22. Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields…Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.
    Mary Oliver



23. A happy life is one spent in learning, earning, and yearning.
    Lillian Gish







24. My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
    Maya Angelou



25. The business of being happy requires making a conscious choice. People think being happy will just happen to them someday, if only they do this or that right. But it doesn't - you have to choose it. You choose happiness, you don't wait for it to choose you.
    Bethenny Frankel



26. I do believe in choice, the freedom of choice and carving out your own happiness.
    Sandra Bullock




27. You are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead.
    Anais Nin




28. The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are.
    Goldie Hawn



29. Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you.
    Beyoncé



30. Being happy never goes out of style.
    Lilly Pulitzer






31. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion with the love you give.
    Oprah Winfrey



32. Happiness is always there. You just have to choose to see it. There’s no point dwelling in the dark and ignoring the light of the stars.
    Carrie Hope Fletcher




33. Happiness comes from living as you need to, as you want to. As your inner voice tells you to. Happiness comes from being who you actually are instead of who you think you are supposed to be.
    Shonda Rhimes




34. Keep choosing happiness daily and happiness will keep choosing you back.
    Fawn Weaver


35. I choose to make the rest of my life, the best of my life.
    Louise Hay







36. I just think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful.
    Drew Barrymore



37. The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself.
    Ellen DeGeneres



38. My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
    Maya Angelou



39. Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come without leaving happier.
    Mother Teresa



40. Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
    Anne Frank







41. It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.
    Margaret Bonnano



42. Every day is a new day, and you'll never be able to find happiness if you don't move on.
    Carrie Underwood



43. Happiness is the best makeup.
    Drew Barrymore







44. Happiness is a matter of one's most ordinary and everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self.
    Iris Murdoch



45. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
    Mother Teresa



46. Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared, then you’re not doing it right.
    Sarah Addison Allen






47. A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
    Phyllis Diller



48. I think self-knowledge is a key to happiness. We can build happy lives only on the foundation of our own natures, our own values, and our own interests.
    Gretchen Ruben



49. Happiness is fleeting - I think that is the main lesson I have learned.
    Cate Blanchett



50. The formula of happiness and success is just, being actually yourself, in the most vivid possible way you can.
    Meryl Streep






Meryl Streep Quote on Happiness
Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons



51. I've never met a woman who is not strong. She just doesn't exist.
    Diane von Furstenberg

Final Thoughts

If you enjoyed this list of happy women quotes by strong women feel free to share these captions on instagram or other social media. This list of women's happiness quotes will continue to grow over time as more famous women speak out about the meaning of happiness for them and for women in general.

Related Articles

Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes on the Pursuit of Happiness and Purpose
70 Best Happiness Quotes
40 Philosophy Quotes on Happiness by Famous Philosophers
45 Choose Happiness Quotes to Inspire You Every Day