50 fearless, confident, all around badass women on television

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Roseanne Connor – Roseanne

The family on ABC’s middle class comedy looked closer to my real life than anything else that was airing at the time. One of the only shows to feature a lower-middle class, Midwestern family, Roseanne addressed issues of poverty, unemployment, and class struggle.

Of course, Roseanne Barr’s portrayal of the matriarch of the Connor family never felt like eating your veggies. It felt so familiar and welcoming, despite some of her more grating tendencies. Roseanne yelled, screamed, and nagged her way in the hearts of American viewers, and every episode brought a slice of real life. Every story felt like it could happen to any of us, and this was only a small part of the charm of the show.

Roseanne managed to keep all her children alive and happy and a shoe-string budget, but she never flinched from telling a real story. Roseanne had the courage to talk about unwanted pregnancies, menopause, and teen marriage, and she made us laugh through her tears. It’s easy to maintain a life with there’s plenty of money to go around, but it takes a certain amount of flexibility to do so as a poor family. It’s even more amazing that she could make us laugh all the way through it.