Junior League

The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With 295 Junior League chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom as of 2023, it is one of the oldest and largest of  Members engage in developing civic leadership skills, fundraising, and volunteering on JL committees to support partner community organizations related to foster children, domestic violence, human trafficking, illiteracy, city beautification, and other issues. Its mission is to advance women's leadership through meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.

It was founded in 1901 in New York City by Barnard College debutante Mary Harriman Rumsey.

History
The first Junior League was founded in 1901 in New York City as the Junior League for the Promotion of the Settlement Movement. This original chapter is now known as the New York Junior League (NYJL). Its founder was then 19-year-old Barnard College student and debutante Mary Harriman Rumsey, sister of future Governor of New York W. Averell Harriman and daughter of railroad executive Edward H. Harriman.

Inspired by a lecture on settlement movements that chronicled the works of social reformers such as Lillian Wald and Jane Addams, Harriman Rumsey organized others to become involved in settlement work. The organization's first project was working at the College Settlement on Rivington Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. These were the early days of privileged young girls and women leaving their sheltered lives in wealthy neighborhoods to volunteer their time with those who lived in crowded, poverty-stricken areas of cities. This started a legacy of volunteering and social activism that would continue for many decades.

For many years the NYJL's clubhouse was located at 221 East 71st Street in Manhattan. Designed by architect John Russell Pope and opened in 1929, the building contained a swimming pool on the top floor, bedrooms for volunteers, a ballroom, a hairdressing salon, and a shelter for up to 20 abandoned babies. Marymount Manhattan College currently owns the building. In 1950 the NYJL clubhouse moved to the former Vincent Astor townhouse (Astor House) at 130 East 80th Street, where it remains as of 2020.

The League quickly branched out and in 1907 became the Junior League for the Promotion of Neighborhood Work. Under President Dorothy Whitney, the League introduced formal training on “social problems” and expanded the scope of their work to include civic issues such as the civic role for women, police, and immigration (100 Years, 25-26). During this time, a number of sister leagues formed in cities including Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon although there was no formal affiliation with the first New York league. A number of other debutante circles, like the Sewing Circle League of Boston began to emulate the League in New York and focus on local social issues (100 Years, 26). Eleanor Roosevelt was an early member of the NYJL, joining in 1903 when she was 19 years old.

In 1921, thirty Leagues joined to form a national association. Until this point, Leagues were only connected by a Bulletin, containing updates about various leagues, and an annual conference. The national association was named the Association of Junior Leagues of America, Inc. and acted as an umbrella organization (Volunteer, 61). A new Constitution was written, and the Board was tasked with acting as an information bureau for the leagues, as well as continuing to publish the Bulletin and coordinating the annual meeting (100 Years, 47.) After serving as New York City's Junior League president from 1907 to 1910, Dorothy Payne Whitney was nominated as the first president of AJLA. Despite the name, there was membership of Leagues located both in America and Canada at the time of the incorporation (100 Years, 61).

AJLA continued to expand in the number of Leagues and in programming. By the middle of the 20th century there were over 150 Junior Leagues located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico (100 Years, 10). There was also a noticeable demographic shift in League members. More and more league members were young, working women or were older, suburban housewives as opposed to debutantes (100 Years, 94). In 1985, a Junior League was established in London which was the first League established outside of North America (100 Years, 154-155). This prompted a name change with the organization official becoming the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (History Timeline).

Voluntarism
The idea that women can meaningfully contribute to solving social issues and bettering communities through voluntarism has been a core tenet of the Junior League since its conception. In the Junior League’s 1906 Annual Report, Harriman Rumsey emphasized the organization’s imperative to alleviate civic ills: “It seems almost inhuman that we should live so close to suffering and poverty ... within a few blocks of our own home and bear no part in this great life” (100 Years, Introduction). This altruistic spirit inspired Harriman Rumsey to organize a group of 80 young women to volunteer for the College Settlement on Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Every week, League members would teach classes, hand out library books and engage in other enriching activities for children at the settlement house. Eleanor Roosevelt, who joined the Junior League in 1903 and served as League secretary in 1904, also taught dance and calisthenic classes at the Rivington Street Settlement House (100 Years, 21).

The Junior League House for Working Girls (Junior League Hotel) grew out of the organization’s early volunteer work with settlement movements. Dorothy Payne Whitney, president of the New York League from 1907 to 1909, and League members began to engage in conversations around how they might best support working women in the city. There was an interest in creating affordable, sanitary and comfortable accommodations solely for women – an alternative to tenement housing that would also protect against discrimination on the basis of nationality or religion. In 1909, the Junior League erected a six-story building on the corner of 78th street and East End Avenue, which would serve as the Junior League Hotel until its closure in 1931. At a rate of $4 to $7 a week, residents were provided a range of amenities including a library, roof garden, laundry, and tennis and basketball courts. The Junior League Hotel served as a model for Junior Leagues in other cities, many of which sponsored their own residential hotels and services for working women (100 Years, 21).

As Junior Leagues began to crop up in cities across the United States during the 1910’s, the organization restated its mission with a focus on bolstering “an interest in all kinds of charitable and social effort” among its members, as well as supporting “already organized philanthropies” (100 Years, 27). This wide-ranging agenda would go on to encompass volunteering efforts around the country related to education, voting rights, child welfare and historic preservation, among other areas.

Education reform
Over the early years of the League’s development, education emerged as a central aspect of the organization’s efforts to advance social causes. Through the School and Home Visitors program, the League sponsored teachers to assist with bolstering communication between schools and immigrant parents, and by 1909, the League was supplying schools with visiting teachers and volunteer tutors (100 Years, 23). School and Home Visitors, which began as a pilot project, was ultimately so successful that in 1910, New York state absorbed responsibility for the program and expanded its funding and reach. Nathalie Henderson, a League co-founder and chair of the organization’s Committee on Visiting Teachers of the Public Education Society, went on to chair New York’s joint Committee for Education and serve as a trustee at Teachers College, Columbia University (100 Years, 24).

When a League was organized in Brooklyn in 1910, the members petitioned the Board of Education to provide free lunches in public schools and transform vacant lots into playgrounds (100 Years, 26).

This advocacy work continued after World War II, when the Baby Boom created an additional need for resources to support schools, playgrounds, and teachers. With a shortage of teachers, League members volunteered in diagnostic programs and those for gifted and challenged children. By the mid-1950s, over 100 Leagues established public play areas for children (100 Years, 104).

In the 1980’s, the Junior League participated in and led several campaigns for literacy. Along with other national organizations, the League joined in PLUS (Project Literacy US), a coordinated effort to expand literacy as a way of preventing against the spread of homelessness (100 Years, 140). Later that decade, First Ladies of the United States and Junior League members Barbara Bush and Laura Bush founded The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The Foundation granted over $6 million to more than 200 Family Literacy Programs across the country in its first decade of operations. Laura Bush spearheaded an initiative in early childhood development to help infants and children get a leg up on reading before entering school (100 Years, 144).

Suffrage movement
In 1914, the St. Louis Junior League mobilized to support women’s suffrage. They staged a demonstration – what the St. Louis women referred to as a “walkless, talkless parade” - at the 1916 Democratic National Convention, which ultimately resulted in the Democrats voting to include a plank for women's suffrage. The St. Louis League expressed their support in various ways, including reforming the organization as The League of Women Voters, a new group (100 Years, 36).

One year after Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Junior League held its annual conference in St. Louis. With discussions swirling around women’s suffrage at the conference, the League decided to form Legislative committees that would focus on “city or state laws, especially those affecting the social welfare of women and children” (100 Years, 37).

Child welfare
Junior Leagues have historically advanced causes related to the well-being of women and children in various ways. Leagues across the country pioneered these efforts. Tucson, Arizona established the city’s first day nursery, and Cincinnati established the Junior League Welfare Station, a clinic created to care for the children of indigent families (100 Years, 50). In 1917, members of the New York League organized the first network of volunteers in an outpatient department in New York City through the Children’s Clinic at Bellevue Hospital (100 Years, 38).

During the Great Depression, Junior Leagues vamped up efforts to care for infants, children and families in need. Junior Leagues established and operated milk stations and nurseries for the children of working women, and also ran soup kitchens (100 Years, 65). The Tampa Junior League supported and built out a tuberculosis clinic and treatment center known as the Pine Health Preventorium, through which it provided assistance to 150 children between 1933-34 (100 Years, 65).

Childhood immunization
In the wake of the 1952 polio epidemic, the Junior League played a critical role in promoting the use of the polio vaccine, discovered by Dr. Jonas Salk, and for advocating for the rehabilitation of polio patients. In recognition for its efforts, the League received the March of Dimes Service Award in 1957 (100 Years, 101).

In the 1990’s, the Junior League played a pivotal role in advocating for children to have greater access to health care. In 1991, the League launched Don’t Wait to Vaccinate, a public awareness campaign focused on encouraging early childhood immunization (100 Years, 11). All 276 Leagues joined in to distribute information about the importance of vaccination, utilizing multilingual radio announcements, billboards, and handouts to spread the message. Along with these efforts, the Leagues tackled problem areas such as the lack of health clinics, insurance and language barriers that they recognized as factors in preventing wider-spread immunization (100 Years, 101). To eliminate these barriers, Leagues identified the issues that were most relevant to their own local populations and then deployed educational materials and collaborated with health agencies and other Leagues to create effective children’s health programs (100 Years, 161). The success of the Don’t Wait campaign garnered wide-spread attention – President George Bush called the program “a point of light” (100 Years, 166).

Public policy & advocacy
Despite the Women’s Suffrage movement fueling the establishment of a number of Junior Leagues, the official stance on engaging in public policy efforts for the Association in the early 20th century was to avoid any partisan issues and stay away from public arena (Volunteering, 97-98). The official position of the Association was to focus League energies towards their purpose of fostering interest among their members in the social, economic, educational, cultural and civic conditions of their own communities and to make efficient their volunteer service (this is quoted in Volunteering, 97 but is cited from AJLA Yearbooks https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/11/archival_objects/490625). The 1930s were rife with disagreements on this issue and eventually a shaky agreement evolved where Leagues could act on public issues locally (Volunteer, 100), however, this would continue to cause debate at League Annual Conferences. Early on Leagues began to form State Public Affairs Committees (SPAC) where Leagues within a state would cooperate on

PACs (Public Affairs Committees), SPACs (State Public Affairs Committees) and LICs (Legislative Issues Committees) are individual, apolitical Junior Leagues or coalitions of Junior Leagues within a state that form to educate and take action on public policy issues relevant to The Junior League Mission. Having begun to take shape in the 1930s, they are collectively governed by their member Leagues and the methods by which they operate vary by state, as do the issues chosen for study and action.

Children’s theaters and puppetry
Junior Leagues played an important role in spreading children’s theater across the United States, both as a form of community service for League members and as way of introducing live-performance to children who might not have experienced it otherwise. The Junior League of Chicago was the first to stage children’s theater in 1921, and by 1929, it hosted “America’s first conference on children’s theater” (100 Years, 57). Following the conference, the Junior League of Chicago produced a national tour of The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck, which was staged in 15 cities and seen by 35,000 children.

While children’s theater started in Chicago, it quickly spread to Leagues across the country. By 1931, children’s plays were staged by 80 Leagues, and almost all of the 148 Leagues put on some form of children’s theater, marionette or puppet shows by 1938. The Junior League of Chicago even had a presence at the Chicago’s World Fair where they presented weekly shows over a four-month run (100 Years, 57).

As children’s theater grew into a national movement, it eventually evolved into other mediums like radio and television as well. The popular children’s television show Kukla, Fran and Ollie originated from puppet shows staged in Chicago by Burr Tillstrom and the Junior League in the 1940’s (100 Years, 59). Fred Rogers’ daily television program The Children’s Corner was developed with help from the League, and Margaret Hamilton, who would go on to play the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, got her start in children’s theater as a member of the Junior League (100 Years, 60).

In addition to providing enriching entertainment, Leagues were also cognizant of the comfort that theater could bring to children during times of uncertainty. From 1944-45, Leagues put on 783 theater performances for nearly 370,000 children. And in the last year of the second World War, Leagues staged 36 live radio programs for children (100 Years, 87).

Museums
As was the case of children’s theatre, Junior Leagues were also instrumental in opening children’s museums to help expose children to science and technology, art and nature. By the end of the 1950’s, Leagues across the country – from San Francisco to Jacksonville, Florida – established or entered into partnerships to open up museums for children in their own communities (100 Years, 102). The Denver Junior League was the first to open a children’s museum in 1945. Co-sponsored by the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Children’s Museum was such a success that its opening weekend brought in 10,000 visitors. Ultimately the museum served as a pilot project, both for the nation and for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (100 Years, 103).

Many other Leagues followed the example set by the Denver Children’s Museum. In 1950, the Junior League of Miami opened the Junior Museum of Miami, a small house that brought in more 2,000 children in its first three months and eventually evolved into the Miami Museum of Science. League members also mobilized to secure funds and necessary resources for children’s museums. In 1946, the Junior League of Charlotte stepped in to save a small but popular Children’s Nature Museum thought up by a local school teacher from financial ruin. The League staged a fashion show, barbershop quartet, and follies to raise funds, eventually securing enough resources to take over an abandoned day nursery for a nature center. By 1951, the League pitched in to help the museum move into a larger, $68,000 building (100 Years, 103).

In addition to opening new museums, Leagues also worked with existing museums to support children-friendly sections. This was the case for the “Please Touch” Gallery at the Museum of the City of New York, which was staffed by volunteers and financed by the League (100 Years, 103).

Beyond the 1950’s, the Leagues continued to meet the needs of communities around the country by opening children’s museums. In 1976, the Junior League of Pittsburgh contributed to the founding of the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, and in 1982, the Junior League of Chicago organized around fighting cutbacks in funding for the city’s public schools by helping to establish the Chicago Children’s Museum.

In 1961, the Junior League of Chicago co-founded the Art Institute's volunteer Docent Program to revitalize and expand "programming for children."

In 2017, the Association of Children’s Museums granted the 2017 ACM Great Friend to Kids Award to the Junior League in recognition of the organization’s contributions to advocating for children and their education and for their work developing children’s museums.

World War efforts
When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, the Junior League of Montreal was the first to spring into action, initially by raising money for refugees. Almost all Leagues in the U.S. became involved by 1916, despite the nation’s stated neutrality which lasted until April 1917 (timeline). In addition to fundraising efforts, Leagues organized classes, including those focused on home nursing, as well as “preparedness” initiatives that were often organized in coordination with the Red Cross (100 Years, 39).

Perhaps even more so than the first world war, World War II galvanized Junior Leagues into action. In July 1940, as awareness spread that the United States would join the war, the AJLA called a special meeting to mobilize all Leagues in the United States to form central volunteer bureaus. This movement built off of capabilities already developed during the Depression that matched volunteers with agencies in need of help. In August 1941, all Leagues were sent a plan for organizing community volunteer initiatives entitled “A Central Volunteer Bureau in Defense," a plan for coordinating community volunteer efforts (100 Years, 80).

In the United States and Canada, volunteer efforts for the war took on many different forms. Junior League members organized blood drives, worked for the Red Cross, volunteered in daycare centers, sold US Treasury War Bonds and Stamps, and performed for servicemen at the USO and other venues (100 Years, 86). Overseas, League Members volunteered with various organizations, including an 125-person unit of Junior League Members who served with the YMCA in France (100 Years, 80).

As volunteerism flourished, Junior League members also took on more official responsibilities in war efforts. It was through the work of Oveta Culp Hobby, member of the Houston Junior League and Director of the Women’s Interest Section of the War Department, that the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was formed in 1941. After President Roosevelt signed the bill establishing the WAAC, Hobby was promoted to Major Hobby. As director, Major Hobby was charged with mobilizing and training women to be soldiers, and, “making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation" (100 Years, 84).

The WAACs under Major Hobby’s charge initially took on roles ranging from clerks and secretaries to aircraft warning observers. However, as the war progressed, WAACs assumed a broader range of primarily communication and clerical responsibilities overseas. By 1943, the initiative had garnered such success that the WAAC was elevated to Regular Army and afforded pay and privileges equal to what was granted to male soldiers (100 Years, 85).

Culinary arts
Junior League chapters have produced a number of cookbooks. The New York Junior League's cookbooks include New York Entertains (1974), I'll Taste Manhattan (1994), and the 120th Anniversary Cookbook (2021). The Junior League of Augusta's cookbooks include the three volume, The Masters golf tournament themed Tea-Time at the Masters series: Tea-Time at the Masters (1977), Second Round: Tea-Time at the Masters (1988), and Par 3: Tea-Time at the Masters (2005). Some book collectors have taken to collecting cookbooks from various chapters of the Junior League.

The Masters golf tournament features a concession stand that is well-known for certain menu items, including its pimento cheese sandwiches. The Par 3: Tea-Time at the Masters includes a recipe for "Four-Cheese Pimento Sandwiches" which is said to resemble the ones served at The Masters.

Skills development
Members of The Junior League obtain knowledge, skills, and experiences in areas such as: Leadership, Organizational development, Community needs assessment, Mentoring, Advocacy, Communications, Fund development, Strategic planning, Negotiation, Consensus-building, and Networking.

Mission
"The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable."

Chartered Leagues
As of 2023 there are 296 Leagues of 140,000 women in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and Kenya. including but not limited to:

Arizona
 * Junior League of Phoenix
 * Junior League of Tucson

California
 * Junior League of San Francisco

Canada
 * Junior League of Montreal
 * Junior League of Toronto
 * Junior League of Hamilton-Burlington

Florida
 * Junior League of Jacksonville
 * Junior League of Indian River
 * Junior League of Orlando
 * Junior League of Manatee County
 * Junior League of Miami
 * Junior League of Pensacola
 * Junior League of Sarasota
 * Junior League of Tampa
 * Junior League of Clearwater Dunedin
 * Junior League of St. Petersburg

Georgia
 * Junior League of Augusta
 * Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County

Illinois
 * Junior League of Chicago


 * Junior League of Evanston-North Shore


 * Junior League of Springfield

Massachusetts
 * Junior League of Boston Inc.
 * Junior League of Greater Springfield

Mississippi
 * Junior League of Jackson—featured in The Help book and film

New York
 * Junior League of Buffalo
 * New York Junior League
 * Junior League of Kingston
 * Junior League of Long Island
 * Junior League of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties
 * Junior League of Pelham

New Jersey
 * Junior League of Princeton
 * Junior League of Summit
 * Junior League of Morristown

North Carolina
 * Junior League of Raleigh
 * Junior League of Greensboro
 * Junior League of Winston-Salem
 * Junior League of Charlotte
 * Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties

Ohio
 * Junior League of Akron
 * Junior League of Cleveland
 * Junior League of Cincinnati
 * Junior League of Columbus
 * Junior League of Dayton
 * Junior League of Toledo

Oregon
 * Junior League of Portland

Pennsylvania
 * Junior League of Philadelphia

Texas
 * Junior League of Dallas
 * Junior League of Houston
 * Junior League of Austin

Utah
 * Junior League of Salt Lake City
 * Junior League of Ogden

Virginia
 * Junior League of Hampton Roads
 * Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach
 * Junior League of Richmond

Washington
 * Junior League of Lower Columbia
 * Junior League of Olympia
 * Junior League of Seattle
 * Junior League of Spokane
 * Junior League of Tacoma

Wisconsin
 * Junior League of Eau Claire
 * Junior League of Madison
 * Junior League of Milwaukee
 * Junior League of Racine

UK
 * Junior League of London

Membership
The Junior League is an all-women organization. In 1996, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Gate publicized that a male hairdresser named Clark Clementsen tried to join the League after his "high society clients" recommended him, but was denied membership and retained an attorney to argue his case at a meeting of AJLI representatives in NYC. For him, members had "been trained to be organized, articulate community leaders, and it showed...no men's organization even came close."

Fundraisers and advocacy
The Junior League has a full calendar year of members-only, family-friendly, and public events at their clubhouses and local venues such as hotels. Notable JL events raising money for partner community organizations related to foster children, domestic violence, human trafficking, illiteracy, city beautification, and other issues include, but are not limited to:


 * Annual Winter Ball—the Junior League's largest fundraiser since 1952, where League awards are given to honor outstanding members and a public figure, such as Mary J. Blige (2011).  Non-member dinner tickets start at $500+.
 * Annual Thanksgiving Eve Ball—introducing debutantes to society at The Plaza and Waldorf-Astoria since 1948
 * Savor the Spring Restaurant Week
 * Spring House Tour
 * Team JL at the New York City Marathon

The New York Junior League used to have a thrift shop where proceeds went to the community organizations.

Other JL initiatives include its contributions to the passage of the Clean Water Act, free school lunch campaign, “Don’t Wait to Vaccinate” campaign, and The Junior Leagues’ Kids in the Kitchen initiative, which combats childhood obesity and educates families on health and nutrition.

Notable League members and alums
As of 2020, five first ladies of the U.S. have been Junior League members.

Politics and government
 * Ann Bedsole—first female Alabama State Senator (1983–1995)
 * Margot Birmingham—wife of 1992 / 1996 Presidential Candidate and businessman, Ross Perot
 * Florence Bird—Canadian Senator appointed by Pierre Trudeau, broadcaster, and journalist
 * Pam Bondi—Attorney General of Florida
 * Jeanne Milliken Bonds— Mayor of Knightdale, North Carolina and Regional Manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
 * Barbara Bush—41st First Lady during George H. W. Bush administration
 * Laura Bush—43rd First Lady during George W. Bush administration
 * Oveta Culp Hobby—first secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps
 * Pat Evans—three-term Mayor of Plano, Texas (2002-2009)
 * Betty Ford—38th First Lady during Gerald Ford administration
 * DeDreana Freeman— Member of the Durham City Council
 * Judith Giuliani (née Nathan)—wife of 107th Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani
 * Margaret Hance—first female Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona
 * Glenda Hood—first female Mayor of Orlando, Florida (1992–2003)
 * Margaret McTavish Konantz—Canadian Parliament, first woman elected to Canadian House of Commons from Manitoba
 * Mary Pillsbury Lord—UN Delegate
 * Stephanie Malone—Arkansas House of Representatives member (2009–present)
 * Carolyn Maloney—U.S. Congresswoman from New York (2013–present)
 * Doris Matsui—U.S. Congresswoman from California (2005–present)
 * Bonnie McElveen-Hunter— diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Finland
 * Geanie Morrison—Texas House of Representatives member (1999–present)
 * Willie Landry Mount—Louisiana State Senator (2000-2012), first female Mayor of Lake Charles, Louisiana
 * Sandra Day O'Connor—Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1981-2006) appointed by Ronald Reagan
 * Diane Patrick—Texas House of Representatives member
 * Nancy Reagan—40th First Lady during Ronald Reagan administration
 * Eleanor Roosevelt—32nd First Lady during Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, United Nations Delegate
 * Margaret Chase Smith—first female U.S. Senator and first to serve in both houses
 * Bobbie Sparrow—Canadian politician, House of Commons
 * Carole Keeton Strayhorn—first female Mayor of Austin, Texas (1977–1983)
 * Deborah Taylor Tate—FCC Commissioner

Business
 * Martha Rivers Ingram—chairman of Ingram Industries after the death of her husband, E. Bronson Ingram II, and philanthropist

Entertainment, media, literature, and fashion
 * Julia Child—TV chef and author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking
 * Ruth Draper—actress
 * Margaret Hamilton—actress, best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz
 * Katharine Hepburn—actress
 * Ethma Odum—pioneer woman television personality in Alexandria, Louisiana
 * Suzanne Perron—fashion designer
 * Mena Webb—writer and editor
 * Eudora Welty—Pulitzer Prize winning author
 * Shirley Temple—actress, UN Delegate, US Ambassador

Military
 * Jeannie Deakyne—Army Officer and Bronze Star Medal recipient
 * Cornelia Fort—first female pilot in American history to die on active duty

Nonprofit and philanthropy
 * Kathleen Price Bryan— philanthropist, founder of the Junior League of Greensboro
 * Cornelia Keeble Ewing— philanthropist, founder of the Junior League of Nashville
 * Mary Harriman—founder of the Junior League, sister of 48th Governor of New York, W. Averell Harriman
 * Dorothy Payne Whitney—Whitney family member, philanthropist, NYJL President, and first AJLI President
 * Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni—U.S. Fund for UNICEF Co-founder and President (1953-1978)
 * Sally Dalton Robinson— philanthropist and civic leader in Charlotte, North Carolina

Sports
 * Sarah Palfrey Cooke—two-time Wimbledon champion
 * Kerri Strug—Olympic Gold medalist in gymnastics, White House correspondent

In popular culture

 * Five and Ten (1931 film) Marion Davies is shown volunteering at a Junior League Charity Bazaar.
 * The Official Preppy Handbook—1980 tongue-in-cheek reference guide book featuring the Junior League
 * She's the Man (2006 film) Viola and Olivia are seen taking part in a Junior League carnival.
 * The Help (2009) book and The Help (2011 film)—the film stars Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard in the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi
 * The Devil in the Junior League—2006 novel written by a former Junior Leaguer originally set to star Jennifer Garner in the film version.
 * Gilmore Girls TV series character Lorelai Gilmore stated she wore an inappropriate T-Shirt to the Junior League Spring Tea. In another episode, she tells her mother, Emily Gilmore, not to encourage her daughter, Rory Gilmore, to join the league.
 * In Gossip Girl TV Season 1, Episode 10 "Hi, Society," character Serena van der Woodsen questions her mother's introduction for her society debut, "Serena van der Woodsen wants to work for the Junior League and have two children?"
 * Mad Men TV series character Betty Draper is a member of the Junior League.
 * Reba TV Season 1, Episode 1, character Reba talks about being kicked out of the junior league because her teenage daughter is pregnant.
 * Carrie Underwood's song "Church Bells" includes the lyrics "Jenny was hosting Junior League parties and havin' dinner at the country club."