Julia Morgan (1872-1957)

She was the first woman to be admitted to study architecture at L'École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the first woman to be granted an architect's license in California. She was the first woman to receive - albeit posthumously in 2014 - the American Institute of Architect's Gold Medal. Very little is known of her private life, except that she never married nor had any children.