The Most Relatable Female TV & Movie Protagonists That Will Make Every Girl Feel Like The Main Character

I S2g I wrote Booksmart.

by CHLOE HECHTER ★ AUGUST 4, 2020

Do you ever find yourself narrating your life as a heroine-esque inner monologue while in the middle of a love triangle with your best guy friend and his totally evil girlfriend? Have you ever found yourself wondering why nobody has pitched your life story to Netflix to create the next original film because you’re somehow so quirky and so relatable at the same time? Okay, while this might be a slight exaggeration, main characters do tend to exaggerate—like ugh, woe is ME, am I right?—if you answered “yes” to either of the preceding statements, then you probably go through life with what TikTok has deemed the “main character complex.” I’m a firm believer that every girl is the ingenue in their own life, but these characters in particular will help you feel *seen.*

Molly & Amy from Booksmart

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From hyping each other up, to speaking in their own obnoxious secret code, to sharing painfully realistic, uh, firsts, every modern BFF-girl duo has had a Booksmart moment at one point or another. The best part of this coming-of-age comedy, if I had to pick just one, is the fact that both protagonists are women; like, HELL yeah. Booksmart follows two best friends, Molly and Amy, who spent the better part of their high school careers studying to get into top-tier colleges only to find out that a brilliantly written ensemble cast of side-characters—including a girl who was infamous for being, shall we say, good with her hands—got into the same schools. The dialogue in this pre-grad adventure is all-too relatable, so whether your high school English teacher was your personal hero, you’ve pretended to hate someone you’re in love with (which never happened to me, like shut up), or you live in a constant state of separation anxiety from your bestie, Booksmart will make you feel like the main character.

“Ladybird” from Ladybird

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If Timothée Chalamet as the quintessential v-card-stealing bad-boy wasn’t enough to sell you on this movie, then Christine “Ladybird” McPherson serving as a much-needed reminder that it’s okay to not have it all figured out right now will most definitely have you sold. Ladybird, written semi-autobiographically by Greta Gerwig, depicts a series of vignettes that represent various realistic struggles in every young woman’s life. The film sheds a light on various relationships that so many of us have experienced in our own way, such as a particularly straining mother-daughter relationship, friendship, and putting on the necessary facade to fit in with her peers. This is also one of the few coming-of-age movies that accurately portrays college admissions; like, let’s be real, was Noah Flynn from The Kissing Booth smart enough to go to Harvard? If you feel like laughing, crying, and apologizing to your mother even though she sent you to Catholic school, I would strongly advise watching Ladybird on Netflix. Also, how talented is Saoirse Ronan?!

Nadine from The Edge of Seventeen

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This movie opens with one of the most relatable monologues probably ever; during which protagonist Nadine runs to a teacher in a fervor and states, “I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but I’m gonna kill myself.” Obviously, as all main characters are, she’s just being melodramatic about a boy, but Nadine’s individuality and dry sarcasm through her narrations make this film an absolute must-watch for anyone with a *melodramatic inner monologue.* If you’ve ever had a time in your life where everything seemingly goes wrong, you’ll relate to Nadine’s seemingly never-ending cycle of bad luck from puking, to accidentally sending the wrong text, to an unsightly romance between her best friend and superstar older brother.

Sophia from Girlboss

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Based on a true story about the creator of NastyGal, Girlboss follows the story of an all-too-relatable millennial woman with a serious case of Peter Pan syndrome. We’ve all grappled with the ever-present conflict of wanting to grow up and be, well, a Girlboss, while simultaneously wanting to stay young and free forever. Taking place in San Francisco, Sophia’s misadventures through navigating her city, lovelife, and personal success will feel just like yours. Not only is Sophia totally relatable, but she’s been described as a “manic-pixie-jackass” which seems like a title that every confident woman should probably possess. 

Jane from Jane the Virgin

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Not only is Jane Villanueva a heroine and absolute queen with whom we can all identify, but she spends the majority of the series relying on her mother and her grandmother for love and support, showing that women don’t need men to get through difficult times. Jane’s career path is a realistic portrayal of a woman working hard at achieving her dreams; she works at a hotel while studying to be a writer of romance novels. While once again rather melodramatically torn between two lovers and of course dealing with the obvious artificial pregnancy, Jane navigates through life as a young mother and goes through several life-altering challenges and changes throughout the series; as we all do IRL.

Literally Anyone on Girls

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If you haven’t seen Lena Dunham’s Girls yet, I would highly encourage you to check it out on Amazon Prime, especially if you plan on living in NYC post-grad. The main character, Hannah, deals with financial burdens as an aspiring writer, while living with her roommate Marnie who doesn’t quite have it all figured out. Jessa and Shoshanna are cousins and polar opposites, but when they’re forced to live together, the four girls develop a fierce girl-gang that almost feels like a modern-day Sex and the City. Similar to Sex and the City, I feel as though every girl fits into the archetype of one of the four main characters. As *University Girls,* Shoshanna’s character is particularly relatable as she is pursuing a degree at NYU and is on a journey of losing her innocence. Throw in the classic History of Wrong Guys and unhealthy coping mechanisms and you’ll find yourself wondering why they didn’t ask you to star in the show yourself.

Feeling like the main character yet? As the world moves in a more feminist direction, we’re seeing so many more female writers creating authentic female characters that are less damsel-in-distress—because who’s really THAT main character?—and more figuring it out between nights in with their friends, odd jobs, and even more odd hook-ups. In one way or another, we’re all the main character; just try not to be too over-the-top about it. Maybe just get a funky new pair of shoes or something.