What’s cooler than being Zaha Hadid? Being Dame Zaha Hadid.
Queen Elizabeth II named architecture’s leading lady a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE for short) for Hadid’s achievements in architecture. The female equivalent of a knight, Dame Zaha may claim British royalty, now that she’s landed on the Queen’s 2012 Birthday Honours List.
Born in Baghdad, Hadid, Hon. FAIA, received her diploma from London’s Architectural Association in 1977 and has been pulling in honorary titles and awards ever since, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize (twice).
Upon receiving this latest honor—or honour—the new dame said, “I am delighted that architecture has been recognized in this way.”