Women to Admire: Betty Suarez
When it comes to women we admire, we couldn’t leave out the strong, bold Betty Suarez. Ugly Betty’s leading lady deserves her time in the spotlight.
When I think of women I admire, I could go on for hours about all the amazing figures that shaped me. But there’s one fictional woman who will always be the biggest inspiration: Betty Suarez.
Betty Suarez made her way into our hearts when Ugly Betty premiered in 2006. Betty was a community college graduate from Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City. She was the child of Mexican immigrant parents and lived with her father, Ignacio, her older sister Hilda and Hilda’s son, Justin.
The Suarez family didn’t have a lot, but they had love and a tight family bond to keep them happy. It was those values that made Betty the inspirational woman we’re discussing today.
Our leading lady gets a job as assistant to the editor-in-chief at Mode Magazine. Of course, with her frizzy hair, braces and bad fashion sense, it’s not an obvious choice for Betty. But the young aspiring journalist was still excited to start her career.
Though she was only hired at first so that Daniel wouldn’t be tempted to sleep with his assistant, Betty goes above and beyond what he asks her to do and more than proves her worth. That’s part of Betty’s charm. She won’t give up, even if you try to run her into the ground.
Betty is a badass. She’s loyal, to her family, to her friends and to her boss. She works harder than anybody at that magazine because she knows it’s what she has to do to succeed. As a Latina who sticks out like a sore thumb among the fashionistas at Mode, she had to prove herself again and again.
Throughout the series, her values are tested, but she never loses sight of where she came from. Even when confronted with ethical dilemmas, she sticks to her guns, and that’s because she was raised to do the right thing.
That mentality drives her to be better and do better, whether it’s when she gets a new apartment in the city, or when she’s offered an amazing new editor position in London. She gets a lot of flak from other Mode employees because of the way she looks and her positive attitude, but she manages to turn even her worst enemies into friends.
Betty proved that no matter where you come from, you can do great things. She proved that she could fight against adversity and the stereotypes that were thrown at her as a Mexican-American woman.
It seems like Betty, or more specifically, America Ferrera, had a real impact on the Latin community. In 2007, after Ferrera won her first Golden Globe for playing Betty, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis saluted her for helping improve the representation of Latinos in the media.
“Through her work, Ms. Ferrera is breaking down barriers for Latinos in prime-time television,” Solis said. “I commend America and everyone involved in Ugly Betty for helping to break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas.”
Though I am neither Latin nor a woman, Betty Suarez played a huge part in me wanting to be a journalist. She inspired me to follow my dreams, no matter where you come from.
Next. Women to Admire: Dana Scully. dark
While I can’t speak for anyone else, I’m sure she inspired many other young girls (and boys) around the world. For that, Betty Suarez is one of the women we’re honoring this month.