There’s no one way to be a powerful woman—check out these 10 leading ladies who make us laugh, cry, cheer, and more importantly, inspire us.
- Olivia Benson (‘Law and Order: SVU’)
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Law and Order: SVU became the longest-running live action series in September 2019, and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has been there since the beginning—in fact, she is the character who has made the most appearances (over 400) in the Law and Order universe.
In-series, she has moved from detective to lieutenant, and finally to Captain in the twenty-first season’s premiere.
Beyond the titles, Olivia always acts as a champion for the victims, fighting to get them justice while struggling with her own personal challenges.
Plus, Hargitay has become an advocate for victims of sexual assault in real life, including work with the Joyful Heart Foundation.
- Alexis Rose (‘Schitt’s Creek’)
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In many cases, women on TV often shy away from the feminine, but that isn’t the case here.
Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) from the criminally underrated Schitt’s Creek shows us how women can be driven and ambitious while still maintaining their femininity.
Even after her family loses all their money and moves into a motel in a town they bought as a joke, she maintains her fashion sense and dresses to impress—not because she has to, but because she wants to.
Plus, in the show’s later seasons, Alexis decides to go back to high school in her late 20s so she can go on to take college classes, a courageous act for anyone.
- Amy Sosa (‘Superstore’)
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Superstore viewers have watched Amy Sosa (America Ferrera) grow from the floor leader at her fictional grocery store, Cloud 9, to the manager, while navigating everything from financial issues to an unplanned pregnancy.
In recent seasons, she’s grown into her leadership skills and gained confidence, but this isn’t a new feat.
We’ve seen Amy stage a walkout for maternity leave, fight unfair corporate policies, and lead attempts to unionize.
Among the other leading ladies on that show, Amy illustrates many of the real-life struggles many women face in the workplace, and more importantly, how we overcome them.
- The ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Women
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We’ve all seen Jake Peralta and the men in the suspect line-up sing “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, but have you kept up with Detectives Amy Santiago and Rosa Diaz?
The show’s leading ladies, played by Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz, form a show-stopping duo.
In the two most recent seasons, Detective Santiago was at the forefront of a #MeToo-centered episode, while Detective Diaz had a storyline where she came out as bisexual.
Both women are awesome in their own way, and the show strives not to pit the two against each other or force a rivalry (despite their numerous personality differences).
- Monse Finnie (‘On My Block’)
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Bold, brash, and beyond dedicated to her friends, Monse Finnie (Sierra Capri) is the female lead in the Netflix original On My Block, which follows four teenagers starting high school in a primarily Black and Latinx neighborhood.
Monse struggles with what it means to be a woman, since her mother has been absent since her childhood and her friends are guys, and searches for identity while trying to navigate the challenges of starting high school.
Through forging new friendships and moments of self-discovery, Monse shows us there’s no one right way to experience womanhood.
- Lucy Preston (‘Timeless’)
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In this show that came back not once, but twicefrom cancellation to end with a movie, historian Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer) heads a team determined to stop a powerful organization from changing history through time travel.
Even when everything she knows to be true is challenged, Lucy sticks to her beliefs and knowledge, using her historical expertise to get the team out of a variety of dangerous situations.
Through Lucy, we can see the power of a woman’s intellect, and how adventure, intelligence and femininity can coexist.
- ‘The Society’ Women
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In this Netflix original that has been compared to Lord of the Flies and Lost, a group of teenagers must create a new society once they find themselves alone in an eerie replica of their hometown.
While it boasts an impressive ensemble cast, the women stand out from the beginning. The Society shows us that there’s more than one way to be a powerful woman.
There’s Helena (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who sticks to her religious beliefs and leads the town through crises; Becca (Gideon Adlon), who struggles with an unplanned pregnancy; Kelly (Looking for Alaska’s Kristine Froseth), a directionless young woman who finds her calling in medicine, and more.
Better yet, no matter what their circumstances are, these amazing women support each other during times of need.
- Tamia “Coop” Cooper (‘All American’)
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CW football drama All American focuses primarily on star player Spencer James, but his best friend, Coop (Bre-Z), deserves to be mentioned, too.
Faced with unaccepting parents and economic challenges, Coop fights to secure her future, date the girl she loves and support Spencer in his transfer to a school with better athletic opportunities.
Like all of us, she doesn’t achieve this without mistakes, but at the end of the day, she always supports the people she loves while living as authentically as possible.
- Leslie Knope (‘Parks and Recreation’)
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Who doesn’t love Leslie Knope?
Amy Poehler’s iconic character is perhaps one of the most memorable from recent sitcom history for her driven nature and love for public service (as well as her friends and waffles—also very important).
An underrated part of her character, though, was how she uplifted the other women around her.
From her friendship with Anne, to Galentine’s Day, to her unwavering belief in April, Leslie recognized that she needed other women for support—no weird rivalries in sight.
- Nadia Shanaa (‘Elite’)
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In a show full of polarizing characters, Nadia remains a steady favorite.
As the only Muslim girl and one of few scholarship students at her expensive private school, she faces prejudice when she’s told she can’t wear her hijab during classes.
Despite this, she becomes one of the school’s highest achieving and most ambitious students, while also exploring her identity outside of her religion.
Nadia captures a struggle that many women face—trying to decipher who they are while existing in two worlds that feel beyond different.
Yet she never compromises her personal values or standards, and remains just as strong—or even stronger—than she was at the beginning of the series.