What better way to celebrate strong women than by learning from their actions and embodying their strength?
Whether you’re watching from your couch or bed, these 10 movies are perfect for when you’re in need of some female empowerment. From the dignified to the fierce, these movies put women right in the spotlight.
WILD
Reese Witherspoon has played a teenager coming of age in 1950s rural Louisiana, an underestimated sorority girl who graduates Harvard Law School and goes on to become a successful lawyer, and in Wild, she plays, Cheryl Strayed. After her divorce and mother’s death, Cheryl walks the Pacific Crest Trail alone, ultimately realizing her own strength and power, as she heals from her wounds out in nature.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
When Frances’s outwardly perfect life unravels and her marriage suddenly ends in divorce, she takes her friend’s advice and joins a tour in Italy where she stumbles on a Tuscan villa that needs heavy repairs. During the course of a year, Frances rebuilds the home and her life as she finally reaches the fulfillment she always desired.
ERIN BROCKOVICH
While the true story of an unemployed, single mother-turned successful legal assistant is already powerful on its own, Erin Brockovich is even more of an inspiration when she discovers that a California power company has been polluting the city’s water for years. After examining the case, meeting the sick residents, and gathering her evidence, she brings the entire multi-billion dollar company down, showing everyone around her the meaning of grit.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
During WWI, two sisters, Dottie and Kit, join the first professional baseball league and when the manager – a former player – feels women’s baseball isn’t worth his time and stops doing his job, Dottie takes on the challenge and gets the team the attention they deserve to keep the league running.
HIDDEN FIGURES
Octavia Spencer (who also stars in The Help), Taraji P. Henson, and Janelle Monáe star in the Academy Award-nominated film that tells the true story of three black women who were crucial to putting a man on the moon during the 1960s. The female leads overcome racism while proving that they’re just as valuable and capable as their male coworkers.
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon tells the story of a woman who opts out of her arranged marriage and decides to become an incredible martial artist. The movie focuses on multi-dimensional, complicated, beautiful women to draw you into a world that is nothing short of captivating.
BELLE
Belle, the illegitimate, half-black daughter of an admiral raised by her great-uncle, is surrounded by great privilege, yet is forbidden to join in on certain traditions because of the color of her skin. The film, which is based on a true story, follows the heroine as she overcomes marginalization and helps to end slavery in 18th century England.
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
Jess was raised in a traditional Indian family in London and all she wants is to play soccer like her hero, David Beckham and forgo the traditional female role. Eventually, she chases her dream, exceeds expectations, and finds her own idea of happiness in the film written, produced and directed by female talent, Gurinder Chadha.
THE HELP
There are plenty of strong, intelligent, and dignified women to root for in this film set in 1960s Mississippi. When Skeeter, a college graduate returns home from school to become a writer, she sets out to write a book and tell the stories of the black women raising the children of wealthy families. While some friendships are challenged, Skeeter and the maids join together to change their lives for the better in their Southern town.
NOW AND THEN
Roberta, Teeny, Chrissy, and Samantha grew up together in a small town, and even though they grew up and moved away from one another, they always remembered their promise to support one another. The four women relive the best summer of their lives, which included plenty of empowering scenes–especially one where one of the girls takes action after a boy claims girls can’t play softball.
