9 Female Friendships In Movies & TV Shows
There are some incredible female friendships that play out onscreen. Whether it’s in movies or on TV shows, I love seeing a friendship on screen between two amazing (and sometimes complicated) female characters.
Here’s to celebrating female friendships!
Meredith and Cristina, Grey’s Anatomy.
Friends: Rachel Green, Monica Gellar, Phoebe Buffay
As one of the original female friendships that we see on screen, Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe show up for each other. While they do judge each other and like to tease each other, they always show up for one another with love and support. While Monica and Rachel grew up knowing each other throughout high school, we see Phoebe and Rachel meet in the pilot episode and since that moment, their friendship grows stronger with each episode. Friends is an iconic show for many reasons, but friendship remains the central theme and core of the show.
Sex and the City: Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbes
Say what you want about Carrie (and how annoying she is), but nothing beats these four strong women who live and work in New York City. Order a Cosmopolitan (and a cheeseburger) and pour one out for these ladies! Not only do I see four powerful women dominating (and sometimes failing) in their chosen careers and relationships, but also, I see the love and support that they have for each other. The question remains: I can’t help but wonder, but am I the Carrie of my friend group?
Gilmore Girls: Lorelai Gilmore, Sookie St. James
Were you expecting me to write Rory and Paris? Rory and Lane? No. I love Lorelai and Sookie’s friendship—I love Sookie in general, tbh. Were there some parts of the show depicting Lorelai as a bad friend to Sookie? Yes. But I think what I love about this show so much is that this show doesn’t shy away from the complicated mess and web of friendships—friendships are sometimes messy and we as humans mess up. But the friendships where both people continue to show up for each other and offer unwavering support, even in the mess, are the friendships that last.
Parks and Recreation: Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins
I personally have never seen this show, but I know that the friendship between Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins is a huge reason why people love this show. What’s Galentine’s Day, you ask? Let Leslie Knope explain…
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Tibby, Bridget, Carmen, and Lena
Who knew jeans could keep a friendship together? Maybe it wasn’t the jeans keeping them together, but these jeans helped these four friends stay in touch over a long summer where they weren’t together. These four teenagers who don’t have much in common have been friends forever and helped each other through the bad and supported each other through the good. When life threatens to pull them apart, they remain together—with the help of some blue jeans.
The Bold Type: Jane, Kat, and Sutton
Kat, Jane, and Sutton show a beautiful example of forming long-lasting friendships in your 20s. They show the ups and downs of a small, tight-knit trio of friends. They are each other’s family. They show up for each other through the good and the bad, the highs and lows of navigating your career and relationships in their 20s, and accept each other’s flaws. The love that I saw between these three women in their 20s was portrayed so wonderfully; their friendship is one of the best female friendships depicted on screen.
New Girl: Jess and Cece
Jess and Cece’s friendship is a great example of childhood friendships that continued into adulthood. With Jess and Cece, I see two friends who have been friends since childhood and stuck by each other through everything. Through those years, they saw each other dive into relationships (sometimes long, sometimes short), thrive in other friendships, and go on exciting adventures in their career and relationships. They saw each other succeed and make mistakes. And through it all, their friendship remained stronger than ever. Jess and Cece’s friendship reminds me that it’s okay—honestly, perfectly normal—for you to have other friendships and sometimes prioritize those more. That no matter what, you can always come back home to a years-long friendship and resume it at any moment. I love this friendship portrayed on screen and think that even after the show wrapped, Jess and Cece remained best friends.
Never Have I Ever: Devi, Fabiola, and Eleanor
This is a high school friendship that is very sweet. Devi made a lot of mistakes—and I want to emphasize a lot. And her friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, definitely didn’t hold back their thoughts and opinions when Devi made a mistake. But that’s the thing about friendships—friends are honest with each other. When you’re friends with someone for a long time, trust is built and because of that trust, you’re able to tell your friend when she’s doing something wrong or about to do something wrong. But this isn’t a slam on Devi, either—she was a great friend at times, too. The way she showed up for Fabiola when Fabiola came out. Devi came to her with full support and love. Their friendship shows honesty, support, and trust. I think that even though these three went on different paths post-graduation, they remained friends.
Grey’s Anatomy: Meredith and Cristina
Okay, say what you want about Meredith being a pick me girl, but Meredith and Cristina’s friendship is one of the realest friendships ever portrayed on screen. In the very first episode, they were designed to be rivals, but their chemistry was too much and thus started a strong and long-lasting friendship. They were literally together through it all—and I want to emphasize literally through it all. Cristina’s departure for the next steps in her career shows that even when you’re separated by distance, you can support and show up for your bestie.
Honorable Mentions:
Booksmart: Amy Antsler and Molly Davidson
Clueless: Cher, Tai, and Dionne
Shrill: Annie and Fran
Grace and Frankie: Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein
Insecure: Issa Dee and Molly Carter
The Golden Girls: Dorothy, Sophia, Rose, and Blanche (Possibly the OG female friendship on screen?)