32+ characters from TV shows that inspire you to be more of who you are

For a while now, we've been watching women in strong roles as characters on TV shows where they're being unapologetic about owning it!

As much as we love watching pretty much everything with a good storyline, there's something terribly inspiring about watching women characters on TV shows be who they are unapologetic. That could be a result of years and years of the poor portrayal of women in cinema and on the small screen. The roles offered and written for them were either about being fresh meat or existing solely in relation to a man; the society was sexist and pop culture reflected that. There, I said it!

Over the years though, we've seen a shift in this narrative thanks to women taking back their power and directors who are willing to present female-centric roles in a holistic manner. Today, we're actually able to relate to what we see on the small screen instead of feeling poorly represented and pissed off. It's been an absolute delight to watch Maya Sarabhai be her badass self in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai - 2004, Phoebe Buffay own her weirdness and eclectic personality in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. - 1994, Gina Linetti floor us all with her self confidence in Brooklyn Nine-Nine - 2013 and so many other characters over the years who made us feel like we're looking into a mirror.

We've covered 32 badass female characters we have loved watching onscreen! Check them out!

Jane Sloan, Kat Edison, Sutton Brady, and Jacqueline Carlyle in The Bold Type - Netflix

Arya Stark in Game of Thrones - Disney + Hotstar

Gina Lenetti in Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Netflix

Jonathan Van Ness in Queer Eye - Netflix

Masaba and Neena Gupta from Masaba Masaba - Netflix

Jessica Day and Cece Parekh from New Girl - Disney + Hotstar

Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project - Amazon Prime

Anupama from Anupama - Disney + Hotstar

Phoebe Buffay from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. - Netflix

Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy - Disney+ Hotstar

Lydia Margarita Riera, Penelope, and Elena Alvarez from One Day At A Time - Netflix

Maya Sarabhai from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai - Disney+ Hotstar

Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek - Netflix

Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place - Netflix

The entire cast of Orange is the New Black - Netflix

Damini Rizvi, Umang Singh, Anjana Menon and Sidhi Patel Four More Shots Please - Amazon Prime

Jane Villanueva from Jane the Virgin - Netflix

Phoebe Waller-Bridge from Fleabag - Amazon Prime

The entire cast of Grace and Frankie - Netflix

Aarya Sareen from Aarya - Disney+ Hotstar

Kimmy Schmidt from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Netflix

Annelise Keating from How to Get Away with Murder - Netflix

Samantha White from Dear White People - Netflix

Queen Elizabeth from The Crown - Netflix

Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart from Firefly Lane - Netflix

Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation - Amazon Prime

Vartika Chaturvedi from Delhi Crime - Netflix

Miriam Maisel from Mrs. Marvelous Maisel - Amazon Prime

Emily Cooper from Emily in Paris - Netflix

Maeve Wiley from Sex Education - Netflix

Tara Khanna from Made in Heaven - Amazon Prime

Which of these do you relate to? Tell us in the comments below.

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