Joan Rivers was an extraordinary woman: controversial, but extraordinary nonetheless. In 81 years of life, she accomplished much more than many of us dream of doing in a lifetime. She broke down barriers and inspired people to follow their dreams.

In 1986, Joan Rivers became the first woman to host her own late night show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. Later, in 1989, she hosted her own daytime show, The Joan Rivers Show, which ran until 1993. Other television programs she was involved in included Fashion Police (2010) and Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (2011). To add to her extensive list of accomplishments, Rivers also had multiple best-selling books, documentaries, and appeared in plays, movies, and television shows. Rivers was also Grammy and Tony nominated, and won an Emmy award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for her program The Joan Rivers Show.

In her 55 years as a comedian, Rivers was both praised and criticized for her style of comedy. She was always brave enough to speak her mind and would never apologize for the things she said. “I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking” she once said. Rivers also made herself the base of many jokes, making fun of her extensive plastic surgery and her life in general as an adult woman in the 60s and 70s.

No matter what your views on her comedy were, Rivers was an amazing person who accomplished amazing things. Joan Rivers may not be able to talk anymore but that doesn’t mean we should stop talking about her; she is a woman who should never be forgotten.