Awkwardness isn’t usually seen as an attractive quality. For most, it’s that one annoying trait that can ruin first impressions, cause unnecessary drama, or prevent people from socializing with ease. It can cause people to feel like outsiders because of their clumsy ways and odd tendencies, which makes it all too easy to assume that being awkward is like a glitch that needs to be fixed. But if our favorite female characters have taught us anything, it’s that being awkward is actually awesome.
Fictional characters like Issa Dee and Jessica Day proudly embrace their quirks. They teach us that being yourself is honestly the best feeling, and while it can be tempting to fit into the mold, it’s highly overrated. So yeah, maybe you responded with “you too” after your crush told you “happy birthday,” or maybe you fell while trying to walk up a set of stairs. But these things only make you even more interesting, unique, and valuable! Check out all the female characters that make us proud to be awkward IRL:
16. Kimmy Schmidt from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Kimmy is a ray of sunshine wherever she goes. She’s extremely friendly, helpful, and optimistic, but at the same time, she struggles to navigate life in a world she was completely isolated from for years. This, of course, leaves her ignorant about a lot of things, which is why most of her habits and interactions turn out to be so awkward. Even so, Kimmy refuses to let her mishaps break her stride because she’s extremely determined. She gets the hang of things pretty quickly, but she continues to embrace the quirky person that she is.
15. Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls
She may have been portrayed as the slow and dimwitted friend who was way too naive, but Rose was stronger than most people realize. She was an honest, grounded, and naturally curious person whose heart was always in the right place. Sure, she made up words, was too slow to understand inside jokes, and shared ridiculous stories about St. Olaf. But still, she was beyond adorable and she was the glue that held the whole group together!
14. Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory
To be honest, we weren’t big fans of Amy when she was first introduced. She came off as rather robotic, but after her time with Sheldon and his crew, she evolved into a more friendly and outgoing person. What’s even better, though, is that while she’s no longer anti-social, she still possesses a lot of unique quirks and rather odd habits (like that one time when she got Penny a gigantic painting of the two of them to celebrate their friendship). She can be awkward at times and she can’t help it, but she already knows this. And from what we’ve seen, she has no intention of changing that because she accepts it.
13. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter
Wise, observant, resilient, confident, and serene are just a few words that come to mind when we think of Luna. Her eccentric beliefs made others uncomfortable and it earned her the nickname “Loony Lovegood,” but what we truly admire is that she was completely unfazed by this. She had no issue with walking away from conversations she didn’t find interesting and her blunt honesty made it difficult for her to make friends. But still, she was comfortable enough in her own skin to stay true to herself and she never cared much about what others thought. That’s the way to be!
12. Fat Amy from Pitch Perfect
She’s an overall positive person who’s confident and speaks fluent sarcasm, and we kind of wish she could be our BFF in real life. Amy might be overweight but it’s not something she’s ashamed of. She owns her size and she shows it off proudly, claiming that she calls herself “Fat Amy” so that “twig bitches” wouldn’t say it behind her back. She also has a tendency to voice what everyone’s thinking, even if it seems too embarrassing to say out loud, and this definitely leads to some awkward moments. But Fat Amy isn’t concerned because she’s bold and unapologetic. We love her all the more for it.
11. Lilly Moscovitz from The Princess Diaries
Lilly was quirky and SO proud to be. She was sassy, loud, and outspoken, which we could all tell from her awesome cable TV show, Shut Up and Listen. Plus, she was never afraid to ask the uncomfortable questions or be bluntly honest. And though she wasn’t always the perfect friend to Mia, she did acknowledge and own up to her faults, which counts for something.
10. Liz Lemon from 30 Rock
Yes, we know. Liz was often concerned about what others thought of her. She was pretty much a total geek with zero social skills and she could be very dismissive. She also replaced curse words with phrases like “whuck,” “blerg,” “nertz,” and “what the what?” which certainly came off as odd. (Then again, we could maybe blame that on network TV rules.) But in time, Liz actually began to embrace the fact that she was so neurotic and weird because it didn’t make her any less of a successful and intelligent woman.
9. Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project
This entry might raise a few eyebrows since “awkward” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when we think of Mindy. She’s bubbly, hilarious, witty, and very personable. However, she has an unhealthy obsession with celebrities and she can be a bit selfish and shallow. For these reasons, she had her fair share of awkward exchanges throughout the show, but of course, none of them stopped her from continuing to be her jolly and quirky self. She grew to become aware of her flaws but also realized that even with them, she was perfect just as she was.
8. Chelsea Daniels from That’s So Raven
Seeing Chelsea and Raven’s dynamic was honestly one of the best parts of this show, and we believe that was partly because Chelsea didn’t let others’ opinions define who she was. She came off as the funny, naive airhead and so most of her interactions turned out to be rather awkward. Raven was usually the one who had to break things down for her because she so oblivious. But Chelsea was self-confident, smart, and kind (a.k.a. the kind of BFF that anyone would be proud to have).
7. Phoebe Buffay from Friends
Phoebe was definitely the “oddball” in her group. For instance, she actually believed that Santa Claus was real and she once wasn’t totally sure that a cat wasn’t her dead mother reincarnated. Her songs had titles like “Smelly Cat,” “Trapped in the Hospital Closet,” “The Cow in the Meadow,” and “Crusty Old Man.” We’re not even going to get into some of her crazy lyrics. Her behavior often caused people to see her as clueless or dimwitted. But in time, she proved to be pretty insightful. She was a great friend who boldly spoke her mind and she had a heart of gold, quirks and all.
6. Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13
She was flippant, a bit intrusive, and very determined to get her way, which is probably why some people saw her as annoying. But at the same time, she had this fun and quirky nature that made her very relatable. She was a sarcastic nerd and often impulsive, but with each following season, she became more self-confident and driven in her role as an agent and caretaker.
5. Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy
If you ask us, Lucy pretty much helped pave the way for today’s quirky female protagonists. She was a young and ambitious wife who was daring enough to think up ridiculous schemes to get her way, and she constantly challenged the idea of wives being submissive to their husbands. Her intentions were usually good, yet they almost always led to hilariously awkward situations. And of course, to make things weirder, she often cried like a loud baby if things didn’t go how she wanted. Even so, Lucy was always well aware of her oddities and she knew how to use them to her advantage.
4. Synclaire James-Jones from Living Single
Just to give you an idea of how quirky Synclaire was: She had an obsession with troll dolls and whenever she tried to calm someone down, her go-to phrase was “Woo woo woo!” She was by far the friendliest and most positive of all her friends, even though they occasionally poked fun at her for being naive. But most importantly, she was the type of character who could instantly lighten the mood if there was any tension. We love that she never sacrificed her odd ways in order to fit in with everyone else.
3. Kara Danvers from Supergirl
When she’s not sporting that fancy red cape and saving the day as Supergirl, Kara is just your ordinary journalist who gets giggly around her crush and has an obsession with pecan pie. She gets tongue-tied on occasion and sometimes struggles to balance her personal life with her superhero life (remember that one time when she told her boss that she flew to work on a bus?). But when you pair these things with her strong moral compass and her loyalty to her loved ones, she turns out to be one of the most inspiring and relatable characters on TV – even though some might think she’s super peculiar.
2. Jessica Day from New Girl
Well, what’s not to love about Jess? She’s bubbly and sweet and so selfless when it comes to her loved ones. But what we love even more is that she’s never afraid to be herself, even if it leads to awkward silence or makes her stand out from the group. She has conversations with herself in the mirror, randomly bursts into song at the most inappropriate times (like during sex), and gets super weird around guys that she finds attractive. To be honest, we feel like we just described ourselves.
1. Issa Dee from Insecure
It’s so refreshing to see a show that focuses on a young woman who is black and unapologetically awkward! Issa has her moments where she struggles to socialize at events, and often times she gets caught up in weird scenarios that are beyond awkward, whether she’s at work with the rudest kids ever or on a date with an inconsiderate guy. But one thing that helps her get through it all is her passion for rapping. She also has a habit of playing out scenarios for herself before they happen (which is why someone might catch her flirting with herself in a British accent in front of the bathroom mirror). But you know what we love most? The fact that regardless of how often her awkwardness is put on display, she knows her worth.