Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt was definitely one of the most influential women of the 20th century. She conquered the challenge of her husband's illness with pride, and went on to take on many responsibilities that women of her time did not have to deal with. Politically, she oversaw many issues that her husband was too weak to deal with, as well as take care of her six children. When the great depression hit, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt tried very hard to rebound the country quickly, and to the best of their power, they did. Eleanor was stern, determined, and passionate about the causes she dealt with; all of these qualities made her an extraordinary leader.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande01.html
To others, I believe they would have thought of Eleanor as cold. Outside of her very close knit group of friends, other women would have thought of her as mean and nontraditional because of her modern role as a wife. The fact that she stood up to society and incredibly helped her husband and the condition of the country proves that she was a great leader.