In Conversation - Season 2 / Year 2016

She started writing music at 15 years old, and her first album won a record five Grammy Awards. Alicia Keys is now one of the biggest selling R&B performers of her generation and widely recognised to be one of the best soul singers of all time.

For the BBC's 100 Women season, Babita Sharma speaks to Alicia Keys.

Born in Uganda into a wealthy family, Shriti Vadera was exiled to India following Idi Amin's expulsion of all of Uganda's Asians. At 15, she asked to go to boarding school in the UK in order to avoid an arranged marriage. She has stayed in the UK and built a reputation as a formidable economist.

Now the chairwoman of Santander UK, Shriti Vadera is one of Europe's leading bankers. For this special edition of the BBC's 100 Women season, Shriti Vadera speaks in depth to Laura Kuennsberg.

She has been called the greatest gymnast of all time, a sporting superstar who stunned audiences at the Rio Olympics. But at 19 and with four new gold medals to her name, Simone Biles is ready to reflect on what the future now holds. Adopted by her grandparents, as her biological mother struggled with addictions, Simone achieved sporting excellence against the odds. For this special edition of the BBC's 100 Women season, Rajini Vaidyanathan speaks at length to Simone Biles.

Born into an impoverished French/Moroccan Muslim family, the rise of Rachida Dati to high office has been remarkable. A former French minister of justice, she's now a member of the European Parliament. And yet Rachida Dati is never far from controversy. She's made a career of challenging the comfortable ways of the French establishment, and she remains a tough right-wing voice in politics. Single motherhood has kept this politician in the public eye and pitched her against the values of her family. For this special edition of the BBC's 100 Women season, Rachida Dati speaks in depth to Yalda Hakim.

She grew up in the spotlight that came with her grandfather's iconic status and enjoyed all the privilege that her family's fame had to offer her. And yet the life of Zoleka Mandela - granddaughter of the globally revered South African leader Nelson Mandela - has been anything but easy. She suffered abuse as a child and went on to struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Now, as she finds happiness in her personal life, Zoleka Mandela has been diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer and is, once again, in a fight for her life. For this special edition of the BBC's 100 Women season, Nomsa Maseko speaks to Zoleka Mandela about her extraordinary life.