Welcome to Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the impact women have had - and continue to have - on our personal, political, spiritual, and cultural lives. And because we're the biggest TV nerds in town, we're celebrating Vibe-style: highlighting the greatest female characters in TV history. Here are our top 10 leading ladies. Who are yours?
Fun bonus: advertisers like you can place their ads next to Marge, Eve, Lucy, Leslie, and more thanks to Vibe's extensive premium channel inventory!
Whether she's keeping the spark alive with Homer, cheering Lisa on at saxophone practice, or making sure Bart doesn't go to jail, this gravely-voiced diva can do it all (we think the secret is in that iconic beehive hair). Marge is the stand-in mother to a (or 2 or 3) generation, starring in what remains one of the most watched shows on TV, spanning over a whopping 34 seasons and an obsessively loyal fanbase.
It's hard to overstate the contributions Amy Poehler's lovable character has made to pop culture vernacular in the pas decade. Galentine's Day? That's a Leslie Knope invention. Sexy Joe Biden memes? Thanks, Leslie! Relentlessly mocking calzones? Yep, that came from her too. And with 7 seasons of infinitely quotable content, viewers are still spending hours each week watching Leslie gleefully stuff waffles down her throat. Find them anytime on Peacock and engage with them like never before!
Just one of the dozens of staggeringly powerful female characters brought to us by screenwriter and producer extraordinaire Shonda Rhimes, Annalise Keating is a straight-talking attorney who didn't come to make friends (and won Ms Davis her first Emmy!) Ms Keating is not afraid to bend the rules and play dirty to win, but underneath her tough exterior lies a vulnerable and complex woman with a heart of gold (and a bottle of vodka hidden in her desk drawer). Don't miss out on a chance to interact with some of the most attentive audiences out there (nothing like a whodunnit to keep viewers engaged!), on ABC.
Although she might be a teeny weenie lady, Dana Scully was one of the first fighting to prove to the narrow-minded feds that "the truth is out there." 👀 Her medical expertise and no-nonsense attitude were the perfect foil to Agent Mulder's conspiracy theorist bravado, and fans still can't get enough of it, decades later. Averaging 20 million viewers per episode when it first came out, The X Files remains a cult classic with millions of loyal fans from across the globe.
Although Killing Eve might still be too recent of a show to be called a classic quite yet, the raw chemistry between Eve and her target/love interest Villanelle is one for the televised ages. Over 4 seasons, enraptured fans get to watch Eve Polastri, a no-nonsense MI6 agent with killer instincts and a razor-sharp wit, go toe to toe with psychotic criminal Villanelle. In this game of cat and mouse, the audience is the ultimate winner, as they get to enjoy not one by two outstanding female performances, easily streamed any time on AMC.
Cookie Lyons was done wrong but now that she's out of jail, she'll stop at nothing to regain her rightful place in the Lyons empire. From hard scrabble beginnings all the way to the top of the charts, Cookie's got sass, smarts, and outfits (!) to spare. Boasting Fox's highest rated series debut in a decade, Empire's awesome original soundtrack, killer fashion, and vibrant cast are now available to watch - and advertise on - any time on Tubi.
Beth Dutton is a badass cowgirl who takes no bull. She's been leading her family's fight for their land on Paramount's Yellowstone for 5 seasons now, with no signs of stopping, and several spinoffs already in the works. Viewers can't get enough of her dirty mouth and filthy mind, as she rides around Montana alongside Kevin Costner. One of the most popular shows of the last year, Yellowstone viewers are flocking to Peacock every week to watch new episodes of their favorite show. Find them there with Vibe.
Moesha was the queen of the 90s sitcom scene which, along with its fashion, music, and technology (hello tamagotchis!) are making a massive comeback. That's right, unbelievably to this older Millennial writer, the 90s and Y2K are back in a big way, as an entirely new generation discovers the joys of baggy flannel and baby bangs. Today, all 6 seasons of Moesha are available on Pluto to thousands of Gen Zers and nostalgic Millennials' content.
Well, we certainly had to go down memory lane for this one, but no best-of tv list worth its salt could leave out the queen of comedy herself, Miss Lucille Ball, and her lovable alter ego, Lucy Ricardo. Lucy's raucous relationship with real-life husband Desi Arnaz (Ricky Ricardo, in the show) and best friend Ethel have kept the show in high demand and on the air basically non-stop since it first aired in 1951.
Before she was famous for playing Dr. Rainbow Johnson in Blackish, Tracee Ellis Ross was celebrated for playing another successful (and lovably neurotic) empowered female character on the cult series Girlfriends, which originally aired on The CW network between 2000 and 2008. The show was cancelled after 8 seasons, but remains a classic to this day, especially in the African American community.
Are you ready to engage with your audience as they celebrate Women's History Month with these amazing women?