Traditionally, female characters on TV go one of two ways. Either they are doormats under the control of their husbands or they are super-masculine robots, incapable of having established relationships. Real women know that neither of those extremes is true, but are there examples in contemporary television of what a modern woman is really like? I say there are. Here are five women that set the new standard for a genuine modern woman.

Juliet O’Hara (Psych) – She’s blond. She’s petit. She’s also a tough detective that holds her ground with the crabbiest partner on the force. And she does it with a smile. Devastating female cop stereotypes left and right, Juliet O’Hara, known as Jules to her boyfriend and psychic consultant Shawn Spencer, has a positive attitude, can take charge with little effort, and is one of the most even characters on this zany crime/comedy show. She’s one of the most genuine woman characters on TV. She has relationship dilemmas, lives with her cats, and can fieldstrip a weapon in less than thirty seconds. And yet she still stays the girl next door.

Jane Bingum (Drop Dead Diva) – Going from rail-thin model to curvaceous lawyer would be a shock to anyone, but this unusual show pulls it off. Jane, previously a model called Deb, finds herself large and in charge, but she doesn’t let her size hold her back. Jane embodies what it means to be self-assured. She dresses to the nines, flirts with hot guys, and still holds out hope that she can win back her ex. Jane’s all about not allowing circumstances hold you back. She battles the court for everyone’s rights, even strippers. Along the way, she makes friends, has healthy relationships, and juggles two moms.

Ziva David (NCIS) – She’s a Mossad assassin. Her father is the leader of the Israeli secret service and she’s been taught to fight her whole life. If any woman could have ended up anemotionless, detached killing machine, she’d be a top candidate. But she’s not. She turns her back on what she knows and forms a new family, strictly platonic, with her co-workers. She picks up what it means to have compassion and faithfulness. She grows up. As an immigrant, she faces prejudice and racism, but she handles it with dignity.

DivyaKatdare (Royal Pains) – Despite her ultra-conservitiveIndian background, Divyamakes it through medical school, becomes a physician’s assistant, and persuades a doctor on vacation to open a concierge medical service in the Hamptons, all while concealing it from her parents. She even dodges an arranged marriage, in spite of the fact that her parents disown her and she has to work two jobs to make ends meet. Divya knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go out and get it. She still loves her family, but she isn’t bound by the culture’s rigid rules. As a woman in a man’s field, she is repeatedly seen as a nurse or just incompetent, but she stands tall and shows them just how good she is.

Elizabeth Burke (White Collar) – The wife of an FBI agent would usually be a throw-away role but not for Elizabeth. She keeps her husband grounded, keeps his criminal consultant on the up-and-up, and even makes friends with some of the less savory characters her husband brings home. Not satisfied to be merely arm candy, she also manages her own business. She’s not scared to challenge her husband and correct him when he’s wrong, and she’s also not afraid to help his consultant bend the rules when necessary. She brings equilibrium back between her husband’s black-and-white world and his consultant’s shades of grey.

What do these five women have in common? They are well-adjusted. They are neither weak or unfeeling, and not altruistic or egotistical. They are normal. Like all women, they have their oddness and quirks, but they function in the real world and get things done. They’re not always perfect. They make mistakes and they have to live with them. And that’s what makes them great.

What are your choices for best female TV characters? Please share!

Author Bio

Mary Edwards is one of the contributors and editors for best dating sites. She is passionate about thought leadership writing, regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting and online dating community. She can be reached at edwardsmary936 AT gmail.com.

By Jennie

Hello, gossipnistas! Doesn’t it feel like in these dreary days of midwinter, the news is nothing but bad? First Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis break up (well, reportedly), and now Seal and Heidi Klum? And we’ve barely recovered from the death of Katy Perry’s 14 minutemonth marriage to Russell Brand or, dare we say it, the katastrophe that was Kim Kardashian’s marriage (will we ever get tired of making fun of the Kardashians by randomly starting words with “k”? Knot likely).

Anyway, fans are especially especially devastated about Seal and Heidi. Who will get custody of the Halloween parties? How can people who renew their vows every 3.5 days 12 months not make it? Don’t they have like 27 kids together? Sadly, sometimes people act really happy when they aren’t. Or, they’re really happy for a while, and then they aren’t. (Personally, I lost respect for Seal last year after reading about his paid attendance at a birthday party for a notorious Chechen warlord. This became big news because others, including Oscar-winner Hillary Swank, also attended. Swank, whom I can’t stand, at least later apologized, but Seal seemed defiant about the whole thing. Yuck.)

But this is far from the only sad news in the world of the lovelorn. Demi Moore has checked into rehab. Depending on which report you read, she’s either “exhausted” or anorexic, or possibly overdosed on nitrous oxide. I don’t know about you, but to me, inhaling nitrous oxide sounds like something her kids should(n’t) be doing; it doesn’t sound like the drug of choice for a 50-year-old woman. Oh, well, I guess there’s no age limit on bad judgment…

…speaking of which, which decision of Rihanna’s is stupider: to get “thug life” tattooed on her knuckles, or to (reportedly) still be seeing Chris Brown, who famously beat the crap out of her a couple of years ago? Do we have to choose? Both actions show really, really bad judgment on Ri-Ri’s part. Ugh, get it together, girl.

Halle Berry’s baby daddy Gabriel Aubry was accused this week by their daughter’s nanny of shoving her during an argument, while she was holding 3-year old Nahla. To be honest, we always sort of doubted Halle’s various claims against Gabriel; she seems rather neurotic and high-strung. But this does make us wonder. Pretty is as pretty does, model dude.

Finally, a little levity (I guess, unless you are really easily upset): Miley Cyrus continues to shatter our illusions that she’s just an innocent young girl by mugging with a penis cake (don’t ask) at a birthday party for her boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. Keep it classy, Miley. Somewhere, dad Billy Ray’s mullet is sad and his heart is achy-breaky. (You’re welcome for the earworm.)

Last year saw a spate of seriously glamorous and extravagant celebrity weddings.  The biggest event of the year for many was the pomp and circumstance surrounding the blissful union of royal Prince William (Wills, to the UK media) to his “common” bride, Kate Middleton (looking anything but common in a gorgeous lace creation that mimicked Grace Kelly’s classic wedding gown).  But it was closely seconded by the overblown event put on by American royalty Kim Kardashian and her willing patsy (pro baller Kris Humphries).  First there was the $2 million dollar ring, then the $10 million wedding – no word yet on the cost of the divorce.

And of course there were a few other big names in wedding news, including Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell, Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth, Michael Kors and Lance LePere, Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo, LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, and Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, just to list a few.  So can we look forward to more of the same in 2012?  Do celebrities covet media attention?  The answer on both counts is yes.

Although no one could truly follow the acts put on in 2011 (a rare royal wedding and a reality TV blitzkrieg), there are certainly going to be some star-studded nuptials in 2012.  Topping the list for potential debacles is the yet-to-be announced wedding of Brittney Spears and Jason Trawick.  The couple got engaged in December and rumor has it that they are planning a small, intimate wedding for late summer.  But considering how the pop icon’s first two marriages went (a quickie in Vegas with an equally fast annulment, followed by…ugh…Kevin Federline), it’s anyone’s guess how her next husband will fare.  In truth, Brittney’s hot mess of a life finally seems to be coming into focus, so perhaps the third time is the charm for this wedding veteran.

Also purported to be on the horizon in celebrity weddings is a legal union between Natalie Portman and baby-daddy Benjamin Millepied.  Rumors abounded that a shotgun wedding was in the works last year when she announced her pregnancy, but things have been quiet ever since.  Even now there is no good intel pertaining to a date.  But now that things have settled down for the couple (after a whirlwind 2011 in which they promoted Black Swan, for which Natalie won an Oscar, and welcomed son Aleph) perhaps they will make their way down the aisle.

Then of course there is Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway and fiancé Adam Shulman.  It’s not exactly a celebrity wedding since she only played a princess on the silver screen, but we’ll take what we can get.  The couple, engaged in November, has not yet set a date.  But considering the actress is in high demand and she recently wrapped shooting for Batman finale Dark Knight Rises, one can assume that she’ll be keen to say “I do” before her next job.

Sadly, the hype of last year’s celebrity wedding lineup seems to be missing in 2012, what with most celebs keeping mum on their plans.  Will there be giant cakes and costly floral arrangements?  Maybe.  Will they have outrageous entertainers ranging from A-list bands to all-star comedians to a world-class wedding magician?  Probably.  Will we see one-of-a-kind dresses and big-name guest lists?  Undoubtedly.  But until then, we’ll just have to dream of better days, when crowds of onlookers and scores of TV viewers were privy to some of the biggest celebrity weddings we’re likely to see in our lifetime.

Evan Fischer is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

San Francisco, CA – Jan 11, 2012 – Traditionally, winter is the time of year when folks find it hardest to get out and exercise.  In the hopes of keeping folks motivated, readers from Run Hundred–the web’s most heavily-trafficked site for workout music–were  polled regarding their favorite, current workout songs.  The resulting top 10 list has a little of what you’d expect—and a little you might not.  Flo Rida, who’s no stranger to this list, shows up in two recent tracks.  Enrique Iglesias continues his transition from balladeer to club rocker.  And Kelly Clarkson, after faltering with the first single off her new album, bounced back ferociously with the second.

As for surprises, they’re mostly entries from folks relatively new on the dance scene.  Highlights include songs from Tim Berg (who remixed his own track under his Avicii moniker), Skrillex (whose collaboration with Kaskade is the first dubstep track ever the make the Top 10), and Wolfgang Gartner (who’s made the chart with a little help from the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am).

Here’s the full list:

Tim Berg – Seek Bromance (Avicii Vocal Edit) – 127 BPM

Katy Perry – The One That Got Away – 135 BPM

Alexandra Stan – Mr. Saxobeat (Maan Studio Remix) – 126 BPM

Flo Rida – Good Feeling – 129 BPM

Wolfgang Gartner & Will.I.Am – Forever – 128 BPM

Hot Chelle Rae – Tonight Tonight (Goldstein Remix) – 118 BPM

Taio Cruz & Flo Rida – Hangover – 129 BPM

Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull & The WAV.s – I Like How It Feels – 129 BPM

Kaskade & Skrillex – Lick It – 128 BPM

Kelly Clarkson – What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) – 117 BPM

To find more songs–and hear next month’s contenders—folks can check out Run Hundred’s database of workout songs. Visitors can browse the song selections there by genre, tempo, and era—to find the music that best fits with their particular workout routine.

Contact:
Chris Lawhorn
Run Hundred
http://www.RunHundred.com
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By Jennie

It’s a brand new year, and with new years come resolutions. I resolve to avoid writing about Michael Lohan for as long as possible. Uh oh, did I just break the resolution by mentioning the resolution? Is it like Fight Club? I’ll have to check the official resolution handbook on that one. Until then, there is plenty of gossip to keep us entertained through the dreary days of January.

We all know, of course, that musical royalty was born this past weekend. Beyonce and Jay-Z are parents. Of a daughter named Blue Ivy, born at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. Early reports had indicated the name was Ivy Blue, because Blue Ivy sounds like the name of a cut-rate tiki lounge in Honolulu or a third tier super-hero, one whose only skill is climbing up brick walls…but anyway. That’s about all we know for sure – many other details are swathed in controversy:

• Whether the child was born in a scheduled c-section or delivered naturally;

• Whether the child came out of Beyonce’s body, was delivered of a surrogate or hatched out of a diamond-encrusted golden egg;

• Whether the happy parents’ bodyguards prevented a new father from going into the ICU to visit his preemie twins, or possibly cordoned off the entire island of Manhattan and had its denizens rounded up and placed in pens in the New Jersey Pine Barrens until the blessed child is ready to go home/start kindergarten/graduate from college;

• Whether Suri Cruise is at this very moment sticking pins in a tiny baby doll while chanting “I’m the star, I’m the star” over and over.

Um, unbelievable as it may seem, the Earth has continued to rotate on its axis while these questions await answers. Shocking, I know.

The Kardashian Klan is once again beset by rumors that the tallest Kardashian is no Kardashian at all. Scandalous! We know it’s not Khloe K.’s penchant for privacy that marks her as different from her siblings; she’s as dedicated to the Kardashian brand of Public Living for Fun and Profit as any of them. But it’s been noted that, in addition to being like a foot taller than her petite sisters, Khloe doesn’t share the strong resemblance that marks Kim, Kourtney, Krobert and all the other little Kardashians as members of the same gene pool. Also, she appears to be about 33% more likable than her sisters, which is strange given that she was raised by the she-wolf known as Kris. The rumor that Khloe was fathered by someone else was again floated this week by two skanks ex-wives of Robert Kardashian. Given the Kardashian kids’ obvious devotion to their late father, publically spreading such tales is pretty low. He claimed her, he raised her; he’s her father. End of story, in my opinion.

Now, as to whether Prince Harry was fathered by James Hewitt…

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie visited the White House this week, ostensibly to discuss Jolie’s humanitarian work, but really because let’s face it: if you were president wouldn’t you totally make the most awesome citizens in the country come visit you? I would’ve been on Brangelina by the second week of February, 2009, personally. But I’m a fangirl. Obviously Barack and Michelle wanted to play it a little cooler. I don’t agree with their strategy, but I respect it.

Best wishes to actress Heather Locklear, who was recently hospitalized. There are reports that she mixed prescription drugs and alcohol, prompting a call to 911. Locklear has had some troubles in recent years, but she’s always seemed a sweet and decent person. She first came to prominence as the trashy Sammy Jo on Dynasty, but personally we remember her first as Tommy’s girlfriend on Eight is Enough, more than 30 years ago (yikes!). Get well soon, Heather!
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