Rom-coms can be notorious for relying on sexist and heteronormative stereotypes, with many of them centering on women who give up their goals, dreams or parts of themselves in order to attract men. Along with promoting harmful stereotypes, romantic comedies have also had issues with diversity over the years. On the plus side, though, every once in a while there’s a rom-com that tries to do things differently—which makes them the perfect movies to revisit for Women’s History Month (i.e. March), a time for celebrating women who don’t play by the rules. Don’t believe us? Here are 25 awesome and admirable rom-com leading ladies who didn’t settle for substandard romantic relationships or partake in a makeover solely to impress a love interest. They weren’t perfect, but they learned from their mistakes, grew and made the choices that were right for them.
Best romantic comedy heroines
Kat Stratford, 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Kat Stratford, based on The Taming of the Shrew’s Kate, was a shero to many young women in 1999 and the early ’00s—and she continues to be one today. Julia Stiles’ fan-fave character is a feminist with strong ideals that are difficult to live up to, even for her. In the end, she not only prevails in finding love because she wants to, but she also stands up to her father and for her sister. And she does this all without losing sight of what’s really important to her: Gender equality.
Ana García, Real Women Have Curves (2002)
America Ferrera’s Ana García is a child of immigrants whose family expected her to live up to their ideals. She stands up to her mother’s slut-shaming and fatphobia and owns her sexuality. She ends up getting into college, against her mother’s wishes, and embraces her immigrant identity in the process.
Nola Darling, She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
Spike Lee’s jazzy She’s Gotta Have It features Nola Darling, an artist and carefree soul who steadfastly defends her freedom. She goes through all kinds of ups and downs in the movie, juggling three suitors who are aware of each other’s presence in her life. Nola decides that she wants to be free of relationships because of monogamy’s constraints, giving us a sex-positive role model to look up to for years to come.
Hwei-Lan Gao, Saving Face (2004)
After becoming pregnant out of wedlock, Ma (JoanChen) moves in with her daughter Wil (MichelleKrusiec) and deals with criticism from her community. It’s later revealed that the father of Ma’s baby is much younger and that Wil has been in the closet all her life. Ma eventually challenges societal norms, marries her younger partner and accepts Wil for who she is.
Amélie Poulain, Amélie(2001)
The lovely Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a quirky waitress who engages in random acts of kindness, yet lives an isolated life. Once she decides to find love, she does it in her own way and ends up finding a partner that appreciates her adorable weirdness.
Juno MacGuff, Juno (2007)
The fact that Juno MacGuff (ElliotPage) isn’t really interested in love in the first place makes her a standout rom-com character. She also deals with the stigma of teen pregnancy with impressive maturity, quickly growing up as she makes some tough choices. And while she does ultimately carry her baby to term, she (and the film) does so without pushing any pro-life agenda.
Sara Melas, Hitch (2005)
Eva Mendes plays the ambitious and career-driven Sara Melas. She’s uninterested in love, and meeting Alex Hitchens (WillSmith), who she’s pegged as a slimeball, doesn’t help… until it does. His presence in her life forces her to explore the reasons she’s so afraid of love. And after he fails to impress her with his usually successful moves, he finally wins her over when he proves himself worthy. While it’s definitely got misogynistic undertones, Sara is strong and knows what she deserves, and that earns her a spot on this list.
Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
At 30 years old, Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) decides to seek independence from her super traditional and overbearing family by furthering her education. Then she goes even further in her independence by marrying a non-Greek man (John Corbett) who her parents don’t really approve of. The film has a typical “happy ending” with a wedding and a child, but Toula’s biggest accomplishment is her self-acceptance.
Sasha Tran, Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) is a fierce, fashionable and talented chef. As if her life isn’t busy enough, she deals with three suitors throughout the course of the movie (including Keanu Reeves, playing himself!), as well as resentment toward her parents stemming from the many hours they worked when she was a child. Sasha closes many open wounds throughout the film, jumps at new opportunities and in the end, finds herself.
Bianca Piper, The DUFF (2015)
Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) is dismayed and disgusted once she realizes she’s the DUFF (designated ugly fat friend) in her group and takes steps to challenge this status. She boldly asks her crush out but then walks away when she finds out he only said yes to use her. After a few gaffes and life lessons, Bianca finds love at the end of the film by embracing herself and her female friendships.
Klara Novak, The Shop Around The Corner (1940)
Klara Novak works with Alfred Kralik, and they don’t get along. But they are perfect for each other…on paper. They have no idea they’ve been writing love letters to each other. Klara reconciles her image of Alfred, and confronts her anxieties in order to pursue true love.
Elaine “Lainey” Dalton, Sleeping With Other People (2015)
Lainey Dalton (Alison Brie) is complicated, and she’s hard to stand by at times. But one thing she isn’t is a cliché ingenue. In fact, none of the women in this movie live up to the rom-com stereotypes the genre has set up for them. Lainey is technically the protagonist, but unlike most rom-com leading ladies, she’s a pretty flawed person who doesn’t always treat people with respect. Her life is a bit messy. But her road to personal growth is worth watching—it includes leaving a destructive relationship, coming to terms with a few bad habits and learning to love in a healthy, reciprocal way.
Lalita Bakshi, Bride and Prejudice (2004)
Lalita Bakshi is Elizabeth Bennet in this Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice. Proud of her culture and intelligence, she eschews Darcy’s affections because of his off-putting demeanor. Strong-willed, kind and gracious to the end, she owns up to her own preconceived notions and marries for love.
Violet Barnes, The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
The Five-Year Engagement starts out with a couple, Violet (Emily Blunt) and Tom (Jason Segel), who seemingly has it all. But Violet decides to postpone their wedding so she can further her career. She and Tom eventually break up and Violet starts a relationship with her professor Winton. She is moving up in her career, receiving an assistant professorship. However, when she learns she got the offer because she is dating Winton, she breaks up with him. In the end, she and Tom get back together, but it’s Violet’s journey back to him that inspires us.
Summer Finn, 500 Days of Summer (2009)
Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) knows what she wants, and it’s not a relationship. She is upfront with Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) about that from the beginning, making it clear that she can’t make any guarantees. Most men don’t even know how to communicate that to a woman, let alone actually say it. Sure, it sucks that Tom gets his heart broken in the end, but she warned him.
Fran, Strictly Ballroom (1992)
A “beginner” dancer, Fran volunteers to be Scott Hastings’ dance partner after he is criticized for his innovative dance moves. As the film continues, we learn about Fran’s immigrant roots, innate dancing talent and her strong will to make a name for herself in the narrow-minded world of ballroom dancing. A confident Fran takes over the dance floor and Scott’s heart, and makes her family proud.
Rachel Chu, Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
An accomplished economics professor and New Yorker, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) fell in love with Nick (HenryGolding) and had no idea he came from a wealthy family with super-high standards. Rachel stands up for herself throughout the film and gains Nick’s mother’s respect without losing herself in the process.
Monica Wright, Love & Basketball (2000)
Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) is determined to become the first female player in the NBA. But in doing so, she has to fight the gender stereotypes and inequalities within the sport. “It is a feminist movie,” Lathan once told Buzzfeed. Thanks to her inner strength, Monica not only wins back her boyfriend Quincy (Omar Epps), she eventually shines in the WNBA with the support of her new family.
Jane Craig, Broadcast News (1987)
Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) is a gifted reporter who loves her job and has a strong work ethic. She eventually falls in love with Tom (William Hurt), but leaves him after realizing he’s an opportunist who is willing to resort to unethical theatrics to do his job. The film doesn’t explain what happens with her love life, but that makes it even better—because women’s lives don’t revolve around love.
Loretta Castorini, Moonstruck (1987)
Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives with her parents, works as a bookkeeper and plans to honor her Italian roots in her upcoming wedding to a man she doesn’t really love. Despite her better judgment, she falls in love with her fiancé’s younger brother (NicolasCage). There’s about a 20-year age gap, and it’s never really an issue. That earns her a spot on this list.
Mary Jensen, There’s Something About Mary (1999)
Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz) is a surgeon who lives a great life in Miami, loves her brother and defends him from people who make fun of his disability. She’s also cool and goofy, which sets her apart from other rom-com ingénues—plus, she doesn’t fall for manipulative men.
Isabel Fuentes, Fools Rush In (1997)
Fools Rush In has a lot going on: It centers around a biracial couple (Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry) who, after a one-night-stand, get pregnant. Where some films would have written a character that shuns her culture to please her white, corporate boyfriend, free-spirited Isabel Fuentes remains proud of her identity and art. She makes the decision to be a single mother, but it’s her confidence, pride in who she is and carefree personality that attracts the man she ends up with.
Sally Albright, When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) is opinionated and not afraid to fight with Harry (Billy Crystal), especially when it comes to his generalizations about men and women. And when they have a falling out, she’s the one to walk away, declaring, “I am not your consolation prize, Harry.”
Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra, Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is a talented soccer player fighting against her family’s conservative values. She plays her way to the top and snags a scholarship, helps her best friend after he comes out and supports her teammate. Plus, she doesn’t let a love interest stop her from going off to the U.S. to pursue her dreams.
Elle Woods, Legally Blonde (2001)
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is a carefree fashion student who follows her ex-boyfriend Warner to Harvard Law in the hopes of winning him back. As the film unfolds, we learn that he never valued or respected her as a person. Elle then proceeds to kick some serious butt at Harvard Law because it makes her happy to be great at something, refuses to take Warner back, and becomes friends with Vivian—her ex’s ex! Next, single this Valentine’s day? You’ll enjoy these romantic comedies perfect for single people.
