Rell Sunn

Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn, born on July 31, 1950 in Makaha, Hawaii and died on January 2, 1998, was an American world surfing champion known as the Queen of Makaha and Aunty Rell. The daughter of a beach boy, she began surfing at age 4, became Hawaii's top-ranked female amateur surfer for five years and was Hawaii's first female lifeguard. In 1975 she co-founded the Women's International Surfing Association, the first women's pro circuit, and in 1979 helped form Women's Pro Surfing; in 1982 she ranked number one in the world on longboard. After a breast cancer diagnosis that same year she kept surfing, worked as a surf reporter and cancer-awareness educator, and began the Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest in Makaha. She was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame in 1996.