4 Female Characters from TV, Books, and Film Who Have Impacted Me

By Caroline Stefanak

Growing up, I had my eyes glued to every screen, falling in love with the characters I watched. My mom was my greatest inspiration growing up, and also my best friend. But growing up in a family as the only girl, I turned to film and TV to fulfill my needs for more feminine energy. Fictional characters have been included in much of what has made my imagination grow, as I saw anything they did to be ‘possible.’ In a way, it feels like I grew up with the female characters I saw on my TV screen. I grew up and held many of them close to me, as a somewhat part of my identity. 

The new age of film and TV has introduced a plethora of female characters who stand as role models for young and growing girls, and it’s no secret how media, film, and TV impact us as teens. Whether it was their personalities, fashion, humor, or demeanor—I fell in love with several characters, admiring them as if they were real aspects of my own life. All four of these characters below have left important impacts on my life and inspired me as a woman in so many ways. 

Hermione Granger

Good academics were always heavily emphasized when I was younger. My mom was a teacher, and she always pushed me to put my best effort in when it came to homework and assignments. Around middle school, I began to become embarrassed of being ‘a nerd.’ Between middle and high school, the question of “Who do I want to be?” weighs above a lot of young girls’ heads. Harry Potter’s Hermione Granger showed me that it was okay to be smart, and more importantly—it was okay to be proud of it. 

I began reading and watching the Harry Potter series in elementary school up until middle school, and I had become obsessed with Hermione. She was one of my first fictional role models as a young girl. Her passion for learning and curiosity were qualities that I saw in myself. I was able to relate to her focus on her education, and instead of being embarrassed by it, I felt reassured by it. Never being the loudest in the room, Hermione showed me how important kindness and courage are when it comes to protecting your friends. Her desire to take charge, something I initially wasn’t able to relate to, inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. Throughout much of the series, she is faced with choosing between different paths of decisions. Most of the time, she chose to do what was right rather than what was popular. Her ethical decision-making and individuality stood as two of the qualities I aspired to have. Hermione Granger stands as an inspirational female character for me because she embodies so many of the qualities I both see in myself and aspire to have. She embraced her individuality and showed that it was possible to be intelligent, humble, strong, and kind.

Katniss Everdeen

Another similar character who has inspired me and been a comfort character throughout my life is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. I started reading The Hunger Games series in 4th grade, and have reread it several times since then. Something about the dystopian world hooked me and I was especially drawn to Katniss as a character. Although the world that Suzanne Collins had written is entirely fictional, Katniss’s sense of character still remains extremely relatable. I resonated with Katniss’s selflessness and her spirit of independence. I was always very independent when I was younger and felt like it was something a lot of people never understood. 

In the series, Katniss is both courageous and strong in so many instances. Her strength and vulnerability inspired me. For much of the first book, she had built up walls to protect herself and maintained a tough exterior. I related to that and still do to this day. Her moments of vulnerability and emotion showed me it was okay to not always be the strongest person, both physically and mentally. Katniss and The Hunger Games have so much meaning in my life, but her character specifically has inspired me to be courageous, to stand up for what I believe in, and to remain true to myself. 

Alex Russo

TV was how I passed a lot of time after homework, and was often a post-dinner routine for me when I was younger. It still consumes much of my time, as I find shows and obsess over the characters in a cycle. Growing up, I had developed a sense of confidence and wit. I can only owe that growth to the one and only Alex Russo. The Wizards of Waverly Place was and still is one of my favorite TV shows. 

I related to Alex in a lot of ways aside from her being a wizard. The one thing I connected with the most was that she was portrayed as impulsive and far from perfect. Over the course of the show, she makes tons of mistakes. She showed me how your mistakes don’t define you and how you have to struggle before you become better. Another part of my own identity I owe to Alex Russo is my quick wit. She embraced her unique personality and never tried to conform to others’ expectations. She was confident, quirky, witty, and challenging. She is one of the only characters I’ve stumbled upon in my life who I not only strongly related to, but also heavily learned from. Alex was not the perfect teen, and I think that is exactly the type of person I needed to look up to before I entered my teenage years. She is a relatable female character who navigates the challenges of adolescence and embraces her individuality throughout it all.

Brooke Davis

As I started to stray from books and film to watch more TV, I began to rely on teen dramas for entertainment. Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill remains one of the most impactful characters in my life, serving as a major role model for my teen years. At the age of around 15-16, I was growing in different ways and experiencing the whole new world that is high school. Brooke Davis was a loyal, fearless, compassionate, vulnerable, and strong character. She was relatable to me, but I also aspired to be her. One of the most recognizable things that inspired me was her entrepreneurial spirit. In the show, she created her own fashion company, “Clothes Over Bros.” Although at the age of 15, I didn’t want to start a fashion brand, this showed me that with some determination and ambition, I could. 

Over the course of the show, Brooke faces a lot of struggles and obstacles that shape her into a mature and empowering female character. Brooke Davis spent the entirety of One Tree Hill breaking common female stereotypes and remaining true to herself. After dealing with heartbreak and betrayal, Brooke bounced back, and that was something I hadn’t dealt with before. She handled the major obstacles of being a teen with grace. 

Brooke valued her friendships and taught me the importance of loyalty. She was often defined by her appearance, yet she continuously worked against that narrative. She inspired me to know my worth and be confident not only in my appearance but also in my character, capabilities, and personality. Without including spoilers, Brooke also took charge in so many ways throughout the show that demonstrated her kindness and generosity. She embraced her flaws and throughout the nine seasons, had an inspiring journey of emotional growth. Her ability to change and grow as a woman has stuck with me. In my opinion, Brooke Davis is one of the most multifaceted characters on TV, one who demonstrates her growth as a girl from a teen to a confident and empowering woman. 

There have been so many women in my life who have impacted me and inspired me to be the woman I am today. Although many are traditional role models, I owe a lot of my inspiration to those female characters I saw on the big screen. Although fictional, I learned from these characters and was able to look up to them in a way that has stuck with me until now. Some of them inspired me to stand up for myself, some encouraged me to embrace my insecurities, some taught me resilience, and some taught me wit. All in different ways, Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen, Alex Russo, and Brooke Davis have been characters pivotal to my growth from a young girl to a teen.