Everyone has a hero and often these heroes are public figures. Sometimes it can be hard for young women to find a role model to look up to in today's society. These women make it easy.
1. Wendy Davis
Texas politician who filibustered in pink running sneakers in order to prevent sweeping abortion restrictions.
2. Misty Copeland
First female black ballet principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre who grew up with five siblings and a single mother.
3. Emma Watson
Proud and public feminist who calls for equality and helped start HeforShe as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.
4. Maya Angelou
Not only an incredible poet but also a civil rights activist and survivor who can't be summed up in a sentence.
5. JK Rowling
She rose from being a single mother on the brink of poverty to the world's richest author who I 10/10 would recommend following on twitter.
6. Malala Yousifazi
An amazing person who is younger than even me and has already done so much good in a world that has caused her so much harm.
7. & 8. Misty May-Treanor / Kerri Walsh-Jennings
Both athletes, Olympians, and mothers, they inspired a generation of young girls with their three straight gold medals.
9. Zendaya
Another young person who uses her celebrity status for female empowerment and other just causes. Plus she seems really cool.
10. & 11. Tina Fey / Amy Poehler
Comedic geniuses on their own who occasionally team up to form a comedy powerhouse that's beyond amazing.
12. Charlotte Bronte
She couldn't publish under her own name but still found a way to write as a woman in 1800s England and Jane Eyre is an AP Lit classic.
13. & 14. Ellen Degeneres / Portia de Rossi
Everyone's relationship goals are right here. Both are LGBT+ and animal rights supporters who both had to overcome so much to get where they are today.
15. Billie Jean King
She may be parodied by SNL a lot but back in the 70s, Billie Jean was the queen of tennis and beat a former #1 ranked male tennis player in a victory for feminism.
16. Eleanor Roosevelt
Dubbed the "First Lady of the World", she is best known not for her husband but for doing so much for human rights work including African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, and women.
17. Elizabeth Warren
My Massachusetts' BAE. She is a badass who doesn't take anything from the Washington boy's club and is just all around perfect.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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