Okay, I seem to have a problem with all of my pony-tailed females, whether black, red or blonde being divas. They take longer than the other villagers when it comes to picking up on skills and tend to not want to ever do those tasks thus taking even longer to get to even adept! Is it just some random luck that I'm having with these particulr females or has anyone else noticed this?

No, I didn't notice that! I think it's just random luck!
Don't forget that the females are often late for their skills because of the time they had to nurse!!

It's actually from the time they first turn 14 in my game! So, yeah, I guess it's just random luck :P But it makes me dread these villagers when they pop up and so they tend to get put to parenting and research and nothing more if they don't respond when I first try them on different skills.