50 influential fictional women in nerd history

Leslie Knope

I know the argument could be made that Leslie Knope is not the most nerdy person on her show (Ben Wyatt takes that title), but the woman makes Harry Potter jokes and has a Lord of the Rings roleplaying game she does with her husband. So maybe let her be one of our nerdy heroes.

Leslie is one of those characters that just inspires you to be a better person. Watching Parks and Recreation, she makes you feel like you need to help make the world a better place, and it is something that truly makes the show remarkable. It would be so easy to make her a character that no one likes, but, instead, she became this character that every woman could see herself in.

Whether it was her love of her friends or sweet food or even her dedication to her work, Leslie is everyone yet still incredibly original. Parks and Rec ending really did bring a darkness to the world that no one could have predicted, because Leslie Knope gave us all a glimmer of hope to what we could all aspire to be.

And maybe we all have a little bit of Leslie in us now, so she is forever one of our nerdy heroes. She was Sandra Day O’Connor for Halloween, after all.