Celebrate International Women’s Day With These 10 Badass TV Women
Leslie Knope
Parks and Recreation
A self-proclaimed waffle lover, this small town politician started from the bottom and went straight to the top by the series end. Leslie Knope is proof that with persistence you really can achieve your dreams.
Olivia Pope
Scandal
When your catch phrase is, “it’s handled,” there’s no denying that Olivia Pope is a full on boss. Sure, she’s had her moments of weakness but she’s only human after all.
Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Paving the way for the dozens that proceeded her, Mary Tyler Moore was an example that working women can have it all.
Michonne
The Walking Dead
No one knows what they’d do in the event of a zombie apocalypse but if we could choose, we’d definitely want to be Michonne.
Kimmy Schmidt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
After being held captive for years in a bunker, Kimmy isn’t dwelling on her past. If this lady taught us anything it’s that you can get through anything if you take it “10 seconds at a time.”
Cookie Lyon
Empire
As part of a music mogul dynasty, Cookie’s fierce family first attitude shows that she takes the role as mamma Lyon seriously.
Diana Prince
Wonder Woman
Long before Gal Gadot arrived on the scene, Lynda Carter was busy fighting crime as the original Wonder Woman. Diana Prince proves that women are superhuman.
Peggy Olson
Mad Men
Don Draper may have been the boss when Peggy Olson started at Sterling Cooper, but in a true display of feminist power she flipped the script.
Oprah Winfrey
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Once the queen of daytime TV, Oprah became a household name for her relevant show topics and inclusive nature.
Eleven
Stranger Things
Give a girl telekinetic powers and she can do anything—like save a whole town from utter destruction twice.
As the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt opening sequence says, “females are strong as hell.”
So that’s why we’re taking a look back at some of the strongest, most independent, and all around badass women in TV. From journalists and politicians, to talk show hosts and music moguls, to fictional characters, the influence of these women on television has been unparalleled and proves that strength and independence know no gender.
Click through the gallery to see why these women are the perfect embodiment of strength as we celebrate International Women’s Day 2018 on March 8.
