With the rise of reality shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians women may feel pressured to look and act a certain way. So let’s look back at some relatable fictional TV characters that made it easier for us females to accept our flaws instead. Here are some of the most iconic TV personalities that we can relate to!
1. Cady Heron
Mean Girl’s Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) is a new student at North Shore High School who’s recently moved from Africa to Evanston, Illinois. Cady previously always homeschooled is experiencing the famous American high school life for the first time. Starting as an intellectual intending to make life-long friends, she quickly turns into a selfish and arrogant “plastic”. All to be accepted by the popular girls in school (and the cute guy in class). Sounds familiar?
2. Alex Russo
Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) from Wizards of Waverly Place is a teenage girl who grew up in Manhattan, New York in a half-Hispanic household, where she inherited wizard powers at birth. Alex loves to crash on the couch watching TV, and her biggest enemy is the dishwasher. Her hatred for schoolwork is evident, yet she never misses her art classes. She has a laidback personality and doesn’t spend time overthinking situations. Her lazy persona always gets her in trouble, but unlike the rest of us, she can solve everything with the wave of a wand!
View on Disney+
3. Blair Waldorf
Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meister) is a rich teenage girl who grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. Blair’s always had the money to arrange the fanciest parties in town. However, life for Blair is not as easy as one may think. She’s always felt overshadowed by her rich, tall and blonde best friend, Serena. Her friend ticks off every box of the flawless stereotype back in 2007, when the show was released. Blair experiences being second best in everything, especially when her boyfriend, Nate, cheats on her with Serena!
Watch on Netflix
4. Jane Villanueva
Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) from Jane the Virgin has a passion for writing and her biggest dream is to become a published author. She enjoys watching romantic telenovelas in her spare time with her mother and abuela (grandmother) – just like many other 23 year olds. Jane grew up with religious values and she promised her abuela she would save herself until marriage. However, her life changes completely when her clumsy gynecologist (yikes!) impregnates her by artificial insemination and she must make the tough decision of whether to keep the baby or put him up for adoption.
Watch on Netflix
5. Lara Jean Covey
Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is the main character of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. She is an ordinary 16 year girl who grew up with her two sisters and single father in Virginia. She’s shy and enjoys spending her time daydreaming about some of the boys she’s crushing on, without really making a move in real life. She expresses herself by writing five love letters meant for her crushes, without intending to ever send them. However, her little sister Kitty does just that hoping for an exciting change in Lara Jean’s love life. Her life changes for the better when the boys start approaching her.
Watch on Netflix
6. Nadia Shanaa
Nadia Shanaa (Mina El Hammani) from Spanish series Élite, is a 17 year old scholar at Las Encinas, who grew up in a Palestinian religious family of four, including her brother, Omar, who later on in the show comes out as homosexual. Nadia is an ambitious and hardworking student. Nonetheless, she finds herself living a double life most of the time – one where she parties and dates Spanish fellow student Guzmàn, and another where she works at a family owned business wearing religious headwear. The struggle to balance the two different versions of “Nadia” is what often gets her into trouble, which makes her character relatable for a lot of women.
Watch on Netflix
7. Carrie Bradshaw
Most of us may know Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, but did you know that its prequel, The Carrie Diaries, portrays Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) as a teenage girl? In the series, Carrie lives with her dad and younger sister in Connecticut. With dreams of pursuing a career in writing, she accepts an internship in the Big Apple. Coincidentally, on a shopping trip, she bumps into the stylist of ‘Interview Magazine’, Larissa, who invites her to one of their parties. Now, we might not relate to Carrie’s spectacular and dreamy Manhattan life just yet, but some of us may be able to relate to moving away from loved ones to pursue our dream career.
