Helen Maxine Reddy, born on October 25, 1941, in Melbourne, Australia, was a trailblazing singer, actress, and activist whose powerful voice and feminist anthems defined an era of popular music. As the daughter of a show business family, she began performing at the tender age of four, singing on radio and television before winning a talent contest on the Australian program Bandstand in 1966. That victory earned her a ticket to New York City and a record audition, though her initial attempts at breaking into the American market proved unsuccessful. Undeterred, she relocated to Chicago and later Los Angeles, where she released her debut singles "One Way Ticket" in 1968 and "I Believe in Music" in 1970. The B-side of the latter, "I Don't Know How to Love Him," climbed to number eight on the Canadian RPM pop chart, catching the attention of Capitol Records, who signed her a year later.

The 1970s marked Reddy's ascendancy to international stardom, particularly in the United States, where she placed 15 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, with six reaching the top 10 and three hitting number one. Her signature anthem, "I Am Woman," became a cultural touchstone, serving as a rallying cry for second-wave feminism and cementing her reputation as a feminist poster girl and icon. She also dominated the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, placing 25 songs there, with 15 making the top 10 and eight reaching number one, six of them consecutively. In 1974, she earned the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the inaugural American Music Awards. On television, she broke new ground as the first Australian to host a one-hour weekly primetime variety show on an American network, with her specials reaching audiences in over 40 countries.

As the 1980s unfolded, Reddy's chart success began to wane, with "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" in 1981 marking her last US charting single. She pivoted to acting in musicals and released albums such as Center Stage, but by 2002 she retired from live performance. Returning to university in Australia, she earned a degree and became a clinical hypnotherapist and motivational speaker. Her hiatus from the stage ended in 2011, when a performance of "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" alongside her half-sister, Toni Lamond, at Lamond's birthday celebration reignited her passion for performing, prompting a return to live shows. In 2011, Billboard ranked her the number-28 adult contemporary artist of all time, and the ninth among women, while the Chicago Tribune dubbed her the "Queen of '70s Pop" in 2013. Helen Reddy passed away on September 29, 2020, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential voices of her generation, whose music continues to inspire and empower.