I am a movie person. I love curling up on the couch with a good movie or TV series. I've been this way ever since I was little. All my friends joke about how I know every word to every theme song and can quote any line from any movie (both statements are pretty accurate). In all my movie/TV days, I always loved seeing strong women roles who I admired--whether it was because of their spunk, originality, beauty, friendship, or their intellect. If you're like me, these are some of the women who shaped our lives!
1. Belle
Belle was probably my first on-screen role model. Not only was she was beautiful, but she learned to look past the differences of others that typically turn people away and how to love them for who they really are! She also liked to read and was a bit of a weirdo (hopefully I'm not the only one who can relate).
2. Lizzie McGuire
Oh, Lizzie. How would we have ever made it through our melodramatic pre-teen years without you? Lizzie taught us the importance of crimped hair, platform flip flops, inflatable book bags, and furry phones (let's be honest--this show made three-way calls cool). Lizzie was the average girl with a weird family who so desperately wanted to be part of the cool crowd, but never made it...sound familiar? The coolest thing about Lizzie was how she taught us how it's OK to not be the most popular kid in school--you can be even happier having great friends and family (and getting to kiss Aaron Carter, but nbd).
3. Topanga Lawrence-Matthews
OK, seriously, this girl was perfect. Straight A's, feminist, social activist, hair to her butt, and then she was the most loyal friend/girlfriend/wife from 5th grade on. We all wanted a relationship like Cory and Topanga growing up. The kind of woman she was and her relationship with Cory taught us to never settle and that the safe, dorky, average guy is still totally swoon-worthy.
4. Hermione Granger
This one's a no-brainer. Hermione is by far one of the coolest fictional characters in history. She's the smartest in her class and the most loyal friend to Harry and Ron. She's also one of the bravest and most noble-hearted people! But she can definitely be feisty when needed. After seeing "Harry Potter," everyone wanted to be a wizard, and every girl totally wanted to be Hermione. Plus, Emma Watson is like one of the best human beings on the planet.
5. Elle Woods
This girl kicked stereotypes in the butt! This bleach blonde, pink-obsessed Delta Nu made it on her own into Harvard Law, earned a spot on a prestigious internship, proved everyone's judgements wrong, AND proved that she could still be successful without a man! I'm pretty sure every girl wanted to be a lawyer for the next year after seeing this movie.
6. Lorelai Gilmore
The Gilmores are possibly my favorite people to ever hit cable television. This woman who left the comforts of frills and privilege to pursue her own life is an inspiration to us all. With hard work, she moved up from a 16-year-old new mom working as a maid to a successful business owner with the greatest mother-daughter relationship ever to be shown on screen. Lorelai, thank you for fueling my obsession with caffeine, Chinese food and PopTarts, and thank you for being an amazing woman in my life!
7. Pam Beesly/Haplert
The thing I love most about Pam is how relatable she is. I feel like no matter who you are, she would welcome you with her cute smile and cardigan. Pam is sweet, passionate, insecure, loving, witty and finds the best in mundane office life. Plus, she set the bar high--we all want our Jim Halpert.
8. Jessica Day
We love how Jess is able to be a fun and awkward teacher, making up songs and dances on a whim whenever she is excited. We also love her little quirks that make her her. But mostly, we admire the lengths she goes to to do anything for her friends when they need it, whether they recognize that they need it or not.
9. Leslie Knope
Do we even need to explain? Leslie takes the boring old town of Pawnee, Indiana and dedicates her life to its improvement. She is willing to give up personal time, sleep and comfortability for the betterment of her community and those around her--not to mention she gets our love for waffles.
10. Brooke Davis
And lastly, B. Davis. If you haven't sold part of your soul to the cult following of "One Tree Hill," then you probably have saved yourself a lot of extra free time, but you are also missing out! Brooke Davis sets the example of maturing from an insecure, bratty teenager to a respectful, empowered woman. From her success in the fashion business to her amazing mother, wife and friend skills, Brooke is an inspiration to us all.
