Gail Zappa, 70, Frank Zappa’s Widow, Executor, Defender

Before Frank died, “he asked his wife to sell his master recordings and get out of the music business, she has said. But, she noted, he never said what to do with his publishing catalog – the rights to his compositions – and so she defied his request and became the keeper of his musical empire. In 2002, she created the Zappa Family Trust to manage his intellectual property, including the rights to his image.”