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Growing up, white women see themselves everywhere — on TV, at the movies, in the half-dozen white American Girl Dolls, and so on. And we’ve never questioned our right to that, skipping straight ahead to demanding better female representation, smart, complex characters who represent our messy lives. These critiques are valid, of course; but until we’re explicitly pushing for women of color to be at the forefront of our representation efforts, we’re just another part of the problem.
For women of color growing up in America, movie and TV characters that looked like them weren’t easy to find, and those they did were often treated as racial stereotypes or the butt of a joke. Black, Asian-American, Middle Eastern, and Latina celebrities who have become role models for their own communities have all opened up about how difficult that was for them to find growing up. Both Mindy Kaling and Gina Rodriguez recall watching The Cosby Show growing up, just to see people who even slightly looked like them on TV.
“That was the closest I came to seeing anyone like me represented on screen in a positive light,” Rodriguez told the Washington Post. “When I watched Full House, I never existed. I was never portrayed. And when I did see us, we always had a very inferior position in life.”
Jennifer Lopez, Viola Davis, and more stars have all shared the first movie or TV character who made them feel seen — and they make powerful points about the importance of representation in Hollywood along the way. Simply put, it’s hard to reach for something you’ve never seen, to dream bigger than the world around you suggests is possible. These stars want something better for the next generation.
Read on to hear which Hollywood roles inspired these celebs.
A version of this story was originally published in August 2020.
Zendaya Adored ‘That’s So Raven’
“I was a huge fan of That’s So Raven as a kid,” Zendaya told Deadline, talking about the first time she felt seen on television. “I don’t know—maybe I was destined to be on Disney Channel. But I did love me some Disney Channel!”
Raven Symone in ‘That’s So Raven’
Brenda Song’s Disney Roles Helped Her With On-Screen Representation
“[Disney was] the one outlet that was so open to giving me my own TV shows and movies. Disney was really colorblind with their casting very early on. To be a part of a network that was doing that was amazing,” Song said to Pulse Spikes, talking about how her roles helped her and so many see Asian representation on mainstream television. “I don’t know if people know, but Ashley Tisdale originally tested for London and Disney originally had me read for Maddie, but they met us and were like ‘You know what, I think the roles should be reversed.’ And they were doing that at a time when people weren’t.”
Song’s Most Notable Role as London Tipton on ‘The Suite Life of Zack and Cody’
Eva Longoria Saw Herself in Jasmine From ‘Aladdin’
Eva Longoria recently told Elle for their “Modern Heroines” edition that Princess Jasmine in Aladdin made a big impression on her growing up: “I loved Jasmine. She had dark hair and dark skin. I was like, ‘She looks like me!'”
Princess Jasmine in ‘Aladdin’
Jennifer Lopez Saw Herself in Rita Moreno’s Role in ‘West Side Story’
“I was really moved watching West Side Story’as a young girl and seeing Puerto Rican stars in it,” Lopez told Cosmopolitan in 2013. “Even though it wasn’t the best depiction of us, they still have the passion and love that I relate to — not to mention the singing and dancing! Rita Moreno became a hero to me.”
Rita Moreno in ‘West Side Story’
Viola Davis Saw Herself in Cicely Tyson
“You’re a little Black girl with dark skin and a wide nose, you’re not cute, you’re nothing, you’re invisible — that’s when you realize the importance of a role model,” Davis told the New York Timesin 2020. “When Ms Tyson walked in, I could then reach beyond my circumstances and see something materialize that made me feel like it was possible.”
Cicely Tyson in ‘Sounder’
Halle Berry Saw Herself in Dorothy Dandridge’s Role in ‘Carmen Jones’
“I remember seeing Carmen Jones when I was a kid,” Berry recalls to the NYT. “I was mesmerized by the movie — not only her beauty, but her talent, and to see myself reflected was huge.”
Dorothy Dandridge in ‘Carmen Jones’
Awkwafina Saw Herself in Lucy Liu’s Role in ‘Charlie’s Angels’
“I was obsessed with Lucy Liu, especially after Charlie’s Angels; that movie changed my life,” Awkwafina told The Guardian, adding: “The way that media portrays people is the way that they are then treated in real life. Anything I grew up being taunted with … those are generated from characters or the way we are spoken about in standup comedy.”
Lucy Liu in ‘Charlie’s Angels’
Regina King Saw Herself in Shonda Rhimes
Okay, so Shondra Rhimes isn’t exactly a character — but aspiring to be a creator you see in the news works just fine for us. King told Elle that she finally “got to Shonda” at a certain point in her career, explaining: “She’s a woman who looks like me. She’s just an amazing writer and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Shonda Rhimes
Taraji P. Henson Saw Herself in Debbie Allen’s Role in ‘Fame’
“Anytime that I saw a woman or a young girl of color, any kind of representation of myself I was drawn,” Henson told NYT of her fondness for Allen. “If it were not for them I would have never been able to dream.”
Debbie Allen in ‘Fame’
Angela Bassett Saw Herself in Diana Ross
Angela Bassett listed off a number of actresses who inspired her to NYT: Gloria Foster, Mary Alice, Diahann Carroll, Diana Ross. “To be able to see someone who looked like your mother or your sister or your aunt,” she says, getting emotional, “on that screen…”
Diana Ross in ‘Lady Sings the Blues’
Priyanka Chopra Saw Herself in Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Role in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
“That’s who I want to be. She was an amazing teenage idol. ” Chopra told Variety of Gellar’s Buffy. “But what if at 13, I had seen someone who looked like me? The only person that I saw at that time who was culturally representative of me was Apu from The Simpsons, and he was played by a white guy, which I found out much later, obviously.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Lupita Nyong’o Saw Herself in Oprah Winfrey
“Oprah played a big role in my understanding of what it meant to be female and to really step into your own power,” Nyong’o told Glamour in 2014. “I wouldn’t even call her a role model; she was literally a reference point. You have the dictionary, you have the Bible, you have Oprah.”
Oprah Winfrey on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’
Watch here.
Mindy Kaling Saw Herself in Parminder Nagra’s Role in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’
“Growing up, I realized that there was no one who looked like me on TV, so I often found myself drawing parallels to people who are like me on shows like the Cosby family or characters on white sitcoms,” Kaling shared to IANS. “You cannot imagine how excited I was when Bend It Like Beckham came out. The idea that I could actually see people from my community onscreen blew my mind.”
Parminder Nagra in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’
Gina Rodriguez Saw Herself in Rita Moreno
“Rita was the only Puerto Rican I saw on-screen when I was a kid,” Rodriguez told Google. “She was the only one speaking for Latinos and women.”
Rita Moreno in ‘So Young, So Bad’
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