"Greys Anatomy," "How to get Away With Murder," "Scandal"—what do they all have in common? That’s right—diverse casting, strong female roles, and ABC network and the edge-of-your-seat, screaming at the TV, cliff-hanging drama that holds it all together. Above all, there’s a genius mind behind the madness: Shonda Rhimes, a woman who truly challenges the norms in the television industry, and frankly, in life.

Single mom to three girls, two adopted and one brought to the family by a surrogate; in the best way possible, that’s not normal. This isn’t something we’re used to seeing in cookie-cutter America. When asked about marriage, Shonda holds strong to her ideals that marriage simply isn’t for her. In an interview with Oprah, she stated:

"I have so much going on inside my head in terms of writing, there's such a large space in my life taken up by that. I can't imagine it being taken up by a husband and children and writing, and everything getting its due."

She challenges those stereotypical ideals of women in America, and it’s brilliant. She is driven, hardworking, and undoubtedly successful; she doesn’t want a husband to make that happen, and that is something reflected in the characters of her shows. It’s not an “I don’t need a man” mentality, but “I don’t want a man.” Two completely different things, and clearly, it’s working for her.

Rhimes released a novel last year titled “Year of Yes” where she describes the year that she said yes to everything that scared or pushed her out of her comfort zone. She discussed her novel and her life changing year in a TED Talk. By saying yes, she became even more successful in work and in family life; she became the mother she always hoped she could be. After watching the TED Talk, you can’t help but admire her words (maybe because she’s a mega-talented writer) and her passion for everything she does. After describing how much work she puts in, the hours, the cost, the success, she says:

“Now I don't tell you this to impress you. I tell you this because I know what you think of when you hear the word ‘writer.’ I tell you this so that all of you out there who work so hard, whether you run a company or a country or a classroom or a store or a home, take me seriously when I talk about working, so you'll get that I don't peck at a computer and imagine all day.”

This woman busts her ass 15 hours a day to make a living and to make your lazy Thursday nights on the couch something to look forward to, and she won’t stand for anyone downplaying the work it takes to do so. She also compared herself to Beyoncé, and that in itself goes to show how confident she is about the work she does.

She challenges hot topics in our country, whether it is through her statements or a character, and makes people really contemplate. Airing episodes revolving around transgender individuals, Ferguson, rape in the military, feminism, women in power, domestic violence, hate crimes, human rights, racism, and abortion are seen as rebellious in the way that the show might lose viewers based off of their own opinions on the topics. This doesn’t scare Rhimes, though, as she uses the position she’s in to influence others and make a worthwhile change if she has the ability.

After all of this, think again about those TV shows I mentioned, the ones Shonda created. The characters within these are people you love and look up to, and they are all little pieces of Ms. Shonda Rhimes. Olivia Pope, Meredith Gray, and Annalise Keating are all driven, fiercely independent, top of their field women. And although they are fictional characters, they remind us of some of the strong women we have in our lives. Above all, they are Shonda Rhimes—a driven, fiercely independent, top of her field woman. Let’s get this girl an Emmy.