List of Famous people named Empress

Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi, commonly known as Empress Lü and formally Empress Gao of Han, was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying and Princess Yuan of Lu. Lü was the first woman to assume the title Empress of China and paramount power. After Gaozu's death, she was honoured as Empress Dowager and Regent during the short reigns of Emperor Hui and his successors Emperor Qianshao of Han and Liu Hong.

Duoqimuli, of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner Ula Nara clan, was the wife and empress consort of Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1723 until her death in 1731. She was posthumously honoured with the title Empress Xiaojingxian. The Yongzheng Emperor did not elevate any of his other consorts to the position of empress after she died.

Empress Wang was an Empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Xuanzong. She was initially made empress after he became emperor in 712, but eventually lost favor to Consort Wu, partly because she never had a son. Her brother Wang Shouyi (王守一) tried to use magic to regain favor for her, but this was discovered, causing her to be deposed and Wang Shouyi to be forced to commit suicide in 724. She died soon thereafter.

Empress Sun was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the fifth Ming monarch, the Xuande Emperor. She was mother of Zhu Qizhen, the Yingzong Emperor. He became the sixth Ming emperor as a child, but then as a young man led a disastrous campaign against the Mongols during which hundreds of thousands of Ming warriors were killed, and he himself was captured during an event referred to as the Tumu Crisis. He was forced to abdicate in 1449, and his half-brother Zhu Qiyu was installed as the seventh Ming ruler, the Jingtai Emperor, for several years. After Qizhen's return from Mongol hands, he eventually led a coup against his half-brother and resumed his role as monarch in a newly named reign as Tianshun Emperor before passing away in 1464. Empress Sun remained known as "Empress Dowager" through the Yingzong, Jingtai, and Tianshun reigns, until her death in 1462.

Empress Xiaoshurui, of the Manchu Plain White Banner Hitara clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and first empress consort of Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1796 until her death in 1797, having been empress for barely a year.

Wei Zifu, posthumously known as Empress Si of the Filial Wu or Wei Si Hou, was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu and his spouse of 49 years, and stayed as his empress for 38 years, the second longest in Chinese history. She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent Liu Ju and the great-grandmother of Liu Bingyi, as well as the older half-sister of the famed general Wei Qing, the younger aunt of Huo Qubing, and the step-aunt of Han statesman Huo Guang.

The Zhangxian Mingsu Empress (969–1033), née Liu (劉), was an empress of the Song dynasty, married to the Emperor Zhenzong. She served as de facto Co-ruler and regent of China during the illness of Emperor Zhenzong from 1020 until 1022, and then officially as regent and Co-ruler during the minority of Emperor Renzong from 1022 until her own death in 1033. As a regent she became the second woman in Chinese history to wear the imperial robe, after Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant in Chinese history.

Empress Gongrangzhang, personal name Hu Shanxiang, was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the Xuande Emperor.

Empress Xiaoherui, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second empress consort of Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1801 until her husband's death in 1820, after which she was honoured as Empress Dowager Gongci during the reign of her step-son, Mianning, the Daoguang Emperor. She was the longest-serving empress consort in Qing history.

Empress Hang (1427-1456) was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the Jingtai Emperor.