I love a good badass female character, although what woman doesn’t. While I have been fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by plenty of strong female role models, I also feel that a lot of the female characters I grew up watching, played a role in shaping the woman I have become today.
Alex Parish. Alex has to be one of my all-time favorite TV characters. Played by Priyanka Chopra, the character is an FBI, turned CIA then back to FBI agent who basically saves America in different ways across three seasons.
If I had to choose a fictional character to become it would probably be Alex. She faces her fair share of female foes but ultimately across the seasons, it is men who treat her terribly. While her struggles range from a man trying to frame her for a terrorist plot to a jealous ex subconsciously cock blocking her, she takes it all in stride. Not only does she take down any man male villain with ease, but she also doesn’t let any man who she holds a romantic interest for hold her down.
While I love to watch any storyline where the girl gets the guy, I do not enjoy a plot where the girl needs to get the guy. This happens with way too many female heroines. Alex has her fair share of great loves through the seasons but if they try to stand in her way of helping other people, she does not hesitate to drop them.
I think this is such an important lesson, especially for young girls. While most will never experience the extremes that an FBI/CIA agent would, do not let any friend or significant hold you back. If they do, are they really worthy of holding that role in your life? While any relationship has to work out a little give and take, never let that take be enough to change who you are.
Elizabeth McCord. This is not a character I would expect many of you to know but is one of my favorites. I do not know quite how I stumbled upon it but during the pandemic, Madam Secretary became my comfort show. Elizabeth becomes the secretary of state, making her one of the most powerful women in the world, and eventually becomes president, making her the most.
Like Alex, Elizabeth also faced her fair share of malignant men. Although fortunately for her, they were more interested in taking her title than her life.
In political dramas, female characters playing politicians can often be portrayed as catty or dramatic. Sometimes it seems as though the writers do not know the difference between a teenage girl enthralled in friend drama and an adult woman trying to make her way through a male-dominated workplace.
This does not happen with Elizabeth’s character and I believe that is why I find the show to be so comforting. Men and women alike come at her swinging low blows but she never responds in kind. She rises above petty politics to do what she believes to be the right thing and even if it can cause things to get a little hairy, it always works out for her in the end.
Even though I know such idealistic ends to morality do not necessarily reflect reality, always making the decision I believe in, despite the consequences is how I hope to be in any career I end up in.
Jessica Pearson. While it has been a while since I finished Suits, I remember watching Jessica Pearson’s character, played by Gina Torres, and being in complete awe of the female power she radiated through the TV screen.
She was the name partner at a powerful NYC law firm. She was feared amongst her employees for sure, but that fear was far surpassed by respect. She wasn’t portrayed as an old, bitter and bitchy female boss who just needed to get laid. No, she was feared because people knew if they messed up, she would simply fire them and that she was perfectly in her right and power to do that because she was running a firm that re-defined elite. More importantly, she was immensely respected because people knew because 1. if they impressed her their careers were made and 2. there was no fiercer champion to have fighting on your side.
While all that was fantastic and inspiring to watch, another aspect I loved about her character was how she dressed. She embraced her femininity to the max. With a lot of fictional female characters, you see their clothing becoming more and more masculine as they rise up in their jobs or political roles.
Jessica does no such thing. She slaps on the highest heels a girl can wear and wears dresses that somehow work in the office while also looking like they could be rocked on the red carpet. It always makes for a powerful scene when she is sitting at the head of a boardroom table in a red dress while surrounded by a table of men in boring suits.
Jessica can teach women that they don’t need to change a dam thing about who they are to rise to the top.
Alex Russo. I had to include the Wizards of Waverly Place character, played by Selena Gomez, on this list. Admittedly, it has also been a while since watched this show so I don’t remember everything about her character. What I do remember is a young girl who although could be selfish every now and then, she ultimately would do anything to protect her family and anyone she cared about.
She set a beautiful example of an imperfect but unconditionally kind human. She made mistakes but she made up for them.
As could be expected for a show about a teenager, she had her fair share of young love and heartbreak. In the case of heartbreak, she lets herself be sad for a minute as anyone, especially a young person, should do.
One of my favorite scenes was after one of Alex’s hardest breakups. She was huddled in a chair crying and her mom came and curled up next to her to say “you will go through so many more heartbreaks on your way to finding the one”. As I said, it has been a minute since I watched this so that quote might not be exact but it’s close enough.
Alex can teach a young girl watching the show the importance of kindness while still forgiving your own mistakes and that it’s okay to feel a heartbreak but also that it’s possible to recover from one.
Meredith Grey. I say this one with a bit of caution. Over the course of 18 seasons, the Grey’s Anatomy character, played by Ellen Pompeo, has received its fair share of criticism. However, I have always found her to be a powerful female role model.
She struggles with balancing her desire for a successful career and fulfilling the typical female roles of wife and mother. As two-income houses become the societal norm, I have to believe that there are many women struggling to find this balance today. As women, we often want to thrive in our careers while also maintaining an image of the perfect wife and mother that generation upon generation branded into women’s minds. The truth is, there is nothing wrong with either. It is perfectly ok to be focused on your career while also wanting to put time and effort into your relationship and be a perfect soccer mom. The problem nowadays is that we want to do both, and that is the challenge that Meredith’s character portrays.
Meredith shows the viewer that while you won’t often be perfect in both of these roles at the same time, you can certainly be successful at both.