5 Classic Films With Strong Female Leads to Inspire Girls

Recently, my daughter and I began watching Gone with the Wind. This was the latest film choice in a trend in my family towards classics that I documented in a piece here. I argued that the older cinematic greats are wonderful choices for families seeking to make entertainment more than just passive, woke-tinged consumption.

I can’t remember the last article I wrote that led to more unsolicited positive feedback; many wrote to me with their own additions to my short list of suggestions. Movies like Singing in the Rain, The Music Man, and Swiss Family Robinson were notable standouts. However, my list was admittedly male-dominant, and I recently found myself craving a little Scarlett O’Hara spice. So, one rainy afternoon while home alone with my daughter and nothing pressing on my time, we turned it on. 

As I wrote previously, great classic movies touch on themes that can spark conversations with children that live long past the credits. Long after we flipped off the television, my daughter and I discussed whether Scarlett is a hero or an anti-hero, and explored the question of what makes a woman truly heroic and brave. 

The question of feminine heroism is no less relevant today than it was in Scarlett’s antebellum world that changed almost overnight. And there are plenty of other great films, old and new, that lend themselves to important discussions about women in the world. Here are five:

1.  Anne of Green Gables, the 1985 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation edition featuring Megan Follows

Originally a miniseries, it’s now available as one four-hour stretch of sheer delight. I rewatched it for the first time since my own girlhood after finishing reading the book out loud with my daughter over the course of a year. (Side note: reading the book Anne of Green Gables out loud with your daughter is one of the most enjoyable things you will ever do.) The 1985 Anne of Green Gables is a very faithful adaptation of the book and rare in that it is just as enjoyable. Both offer girls on the cusp of becoming women what I would argue is the best depiction of strong-willed and adventurous femininity, while touching on important themes like friendship, loyalty, and perseverance. And it is replete with one of literature’s best romances and television’s dreamiest beau in Gilbert Blythe. 

2.  Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 BBC edition

Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe is only rivaled by Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in terms of teen swoon-factor, and Megan Follows as “Anne with an e” by Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett in terms of faithfully animating a female heroine in literature. Also, a miniseries now available to stream all at once, this edition of Pride and Prejudice beats Kiera Knightley’s more overwrought version for those looking for rich character development, key to appreciating Jane Austen’s timeless novel. And timeless it is. Though it was written more than 200 years ago, it’s perfectly relevant for today’s young girls and women who face the same pitfalls: the abundance of bad boys and the quest to find a man who appreciates her first and foremost for her character and wit. Every girl deserves a Mr. Darcy, and Pride and Prejudice sets female sights high. The movie is more accessible than the book for younger audiences, and while normally I wouldn’t recommend a movie before an essential book, one mom friend called the movie the “gateway drug” for her tween daughter who went on to read and love the novel. 

3.  A Little Princess, the 1995 edition featuring Liesel Matthews 

A Little Princess is visually mesmerizing while grappling with serious themes like friendship, forgiveness, and fortitude. It is one of the most beautiful depictions of girlhood kindness, something sorely lacking in our “mean girl” world. At its essence, it is a movie about the inner dignity in every girl, regardless of her circumstance, and how it may change and change again, a lesson that can’t be instilled in girls too young in our culture. It’s a magical and meaningful adventure story interwoven with a history lesson that makes it a perfect choice for a mother-daughter movie night. 

4.  Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken

The movie is based on the true story of Sonora Carver, who was the first female to horse dive at the turn of the century. Her autobiography, A Girl and Five Brave Horses, was the inspiration for the film, and it is an uplifting story of overcoming adversity—in Sonora’s case—multiple times. It also features a wholesome love story in which the man she chooses for her husband believes and encourages her ambition, even after she becomes disabled. “She represented courage, fearlessness, but also the fun of the times,” her nephew told the L.A. Times when she died at 99. Adventure, grit, and grace mark her story and the film. 

Perhaps you are noticing a pattern? 

5.  Showboat

Almost any Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is going to feature strong female leads. In Showboat, there are two. It was my favorite movie as a girl, even when its more mature themes eluded me. The music and dancing alone are enough to delight younger audiences. Older audiences will see the women of Showboat learn hard lessons and navigate complexities about race relations and women’s rights that characterized the end of the 19th century. Ultimately, it is a story of overcoming, with a world class soundtrack and choreography that still dazzles some 70 years later. 

Today’s girls and young women are in desperate need of authentic and inspiring stories that encourage them to strive to be their best and boldest selves. These are just five of my favorite movies that bring such stories to life and depict women as loved and admired for being their authentic selves. 

Ashley E. McGuire is a Contributing Editor at the Institute for Family Studies and the author of Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female (Regnery, 2017).