--- description: Wallis Simpson is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Wallis Simpson: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeabbce0b8c56e7a/698a0b13b3fce318c20c6685/social-1936_Wallis-Simpson.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1936: Wallis Simpson Mar 5, 2020 11:34 AM CUT  Dorothy Wilding by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:34 AM CUT When Wallis Simpson and Edward, Prince of Wales, fell in love, the course of the monarchy was altered irrevocably. The British establishment couldn’t sanction the heir to the throne marrying a divorced American; one official called her a woman of “limitless ambition.” And so in 1936, [Edward abdicated the throne](https://time.com/3623760/abdication-edward-viii/ "undefined") he had just inherited for the woman he loved. TIME named Simpson its [first Woman of the Year](https://time.com/5047813/person-of-the-year-history/ "undefined"), for becoming “the most-talked-about, written-about, headlined and interest-compelling person in the world.” This year, as [another American](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-meghan-markle-runner-up/ "undefined") struggled to [navigate the royal family](https://time.com/5037780/prince-harry-meghan-markle-engaged-wallis-simpson/ "undefined") with her husband, Simpson reminds us that when modernity clashes with tradition, nobody emerges unscathed. _—Suyin Haynes_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793482/wallis-simpson-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793482/wallis-simpson-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1936: Wallis Simpson","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:34:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:30.262Z","description":"Wallis Simpson is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793482/wallis-simpson-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeabbce0b8c56e7a/698a0b13b3fce318c20c6685/social-1936_Wallis-Simpson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeabbce0b8c56e7a/698a0b13b3fce318c20c6685/social-1936_Wallis-Simpson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL Women of the Year: 1936 Wallis Simpson","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793482/wallis-simpson-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1936: Wallis Simpson"}}]}] ```