International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8.
The theme for this year’s celebration is #BreaktheBias. As the day’s official site explains, “Together we can forge women's equality."
To celebrate International Women’s Day — as well as Women’s History Month, which is celebrated in March — here is a list of classic films that inspire and empower with the impactful stories of strong female figures.
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Judy (2019)
This 2019 biographical drama stars Renee Zellweger as show business titan Judy Garland. Based on the play “End of the Rainbow,” the film follows the Hollywood legend in the last year of her life as she grapples with the aftermath of “Wizard of Oz” stardom and harrowing flashbacks to her earlier years.
Selena (1997)
Jennifer Lopez stars in this 1997 biopic as Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla, whose meteoric music career was tragically cut short when she was killed by her former fan club president at the age of 23.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
This 2000 film, based on a true story, stars Julia Roberts as a resilient single mother who stumbled upon a water pollution coverup and led the ensuing legal fight against a major corporation.
Bombshell (2019)
This 2019 drama was based on the accounts of women at Fox News who came out with allegations of sexual harassment against the network’s late CEO, Roger Ailes. The film stars Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil.
Late Night (2019)
This comedy-drama film from 2019 stars Mindy Kaling as a writer hired by a popular TV host played by Emma Thompson. A Vox review described the film as “a workplace comedy that feels like a cousin of The Devil Wears Prada, and its greatest strength is its two lead characters.”
Ghostbusters (2016)
An all-female reboot of the 1984 classic, 2016’s “Ghostbusters” is a fresh and hilarious update on the beloved original, featuring a formidable roster of funny gals Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.
Legally Blonde (2001)
This feel-good comedy features Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School. What begins as an attempt win back her ex ends in Elle proving she can be her fab self and a successful lawyer. "What? Like it's hard?"
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
While this 2002 sleeper hit resonates with many on a cultural level, beneath the surface is the tale of a woman who navigates falling in love with a non-Greek man while being true to herself and the heritage of her traditional Greek family.
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
This flick is in the canon of cute-as-can-be rom-coms, with two lovable stars at its helm. Meg Ryan stars as a reporter in Baltimore who is safely engaged to a too-perfect man, until she is compelled by a Seattle-based man played by Tom Hanks whose voice she hears on a radio show when he calls in to talk about his late wife.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Keira Knightley stars in this 2005 adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel, about five sisters who face mounting pressure from their family to marry.
A Star Is Born (2018)
This romantic drama tells the story of a weathered musician played by Bradley Cooper, the singer that he discovers and falls in love with played by Lady Gaga, and the ups and downs they go through as they navigate their relationship in the spotlight.
The Bodyguard (1992)
This romantic blockbuster stars Whitney Houston as a larger-than-life pop star who falls in love with her bodyguard, a former Secret Service agent played by Kevin Costner.
Hidden Figures (2016)
Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, this biographical drama tells the tale of Black female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race between the US and Soviet Union.
The Post (2017)
This Steven Spielberg-directed historical thriller stars Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major US newspaper, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the longtime executive editor of The Washington Post which Graham oversees, as they fight to publish the long-classified Pentagon Papers.
The High Note (2020)
The starpower can hardly be contained in this comedy-drama starring Tracee Ellis Ross as a pop diva in her 40s and Dakota Johnson as her longtime personal assistant with aspirations of becoming a record producer.
Emma. (2020)
A most handsome adaptation of another classic Jane Austen novel, this charming period piece is about the well-to-do but restless Emma Woodhouse who finds love amid the constraints of her social class and pressures of growing up.
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