50 influential fictional women in nerd history

Liz Lemon

I mean, Liz Lemon is Carrie Fisher’s only hope. Liz Lemon is a character that made all nerdy girls cheer. Not only does she not really care about her appearance like some other nerdy girls, but Liz is career driven, determined and a woman who doesn’t apologize for who she is.

30 Rock is the brain child of Tina Fey, and, much like Tina herself, centers around Liz who is a Star Wars nerd among other things. The show was great for comedy nerds everywhere, but it also brought a light to the kind of nerdy girls like Liz.

Before 30 Rock, there wasn’t really a show that showcased people like her. It was mainly fanboys and “fake” nerd girls — or girls who had never seen Star Wars or read a comic. So for a character like Liz Lemon to come around really meant a lot.

For so long, the idea was that fangirls were not real. We didn’t like the same things as the boys, and we were often told we only liked them to try and get attention from men. With Liz Lemon, she showed that girls can really enjoy Star Wars and all things deemed nerdy, and she started to shift the conversation.