Okay, so I borrowed the idea from a Facebook quiz. It's still fun! (The idea, not Facebook. That's not fun, it's an addiction. Not to mention a huge time suck. But if I wasn't talking to 3660 of my nearest and dearest friends on Facebook, I'd have to be writing. 'Nuff said.)The quiz got me thinking because of course there were TV people I wanted to trade places with when I was growing up. Marcia Brady, for one. Even though I never actually heard a real person utter the word 'groovy', she did seem like the epitome of coolness.
And of course when the butt-kickin' women of Charlie's Angels appeared, it was difficult to choose just one as a role model. I most admired Kate Jackson's more cerebral character (looks fade, brains are forever) but there was a part of me that envied Jacklyn Smith's looks. My list, so I put them both on there, although I have to admit I never aspired to have my own clothing line at K-Mart.
Lyn
da Carter's Wonder Woman outfit always made me cringe a bit but hey, she could fly. That would come in handy. Although when the Bionic Woman came 
along I was totally fickle and switched my allegiance to her. She was like an incognito superhero, all the cool powers (okay maybe she couldn't fly but she had a heckuva vertical) without the wedgie from WW's tight panties and skirt.And Mary Tyler Moore...who wouldn't want to turn the world on with their smile? She was the girl next door, charming and courageous...why she went to seek her fortune in Minneapolis!
Doris Day always seemed like the perfect woman. Engaging, cute, with a smile the heroes ultimately found more devastating than the femme fatales.
Wait, there was also That Girl, Marlowe Thomas... I'm already over my five. And I'm sensing a pattern here. I obviously aspired to be cute and perky. With the powers to leap tall buildings with a single bound and beat up bad guys at will. I can't say that I grew up to be any combination of the characters on my list but my characters have many of these qualities. Makes me wonder about the effect my early television watching had on my story-writing.
Who are the five women on your list? Did you ever want to trade places with someone else, just for a while? Was there someone you didn't even know that influenced you when you were growing up?
34 comments:
I don't have a list... but what about Samantha on Bewitched? I always thought she was beautiful! And who wouldn't want to be able to do ANYTHING with just a wiggle of the nose!
What a great list! You are totally my generation. Though you forgot LAURIE from the Partridge family! I was going to say Marlo Thomas, too, but there she is. What fun!!
Everyone has already picked the good ones! Marcia Brady, Samantha from Bewitched.
I also thought being Jeannie would be cool because she had the funkiest bottle to live in. And those sexy harem pants!
But the one woman I dreamed about being most often was Cher! The clothes, the gorgeous hair, the skinny body, the Sonny. (Heck, he was a cute little bugger.) I still think I want to be Cher. She's going strong and I think she's pushing sixty. Love that woman.
Oh, and Julie Newman's CatWoman! Meowr!
Carolyn, I did forget Laurie. Susan Dey was sooooo much cooler than Marcia Brady. I can't believe I left her off! Also loved her in LA Law.
Michelle--I loved the idea of Jeannie's powers. And let's face it, she looked awesome in that outfit! But I sure wouldn't have liked being banished back to a bottle. Although...maybe it was really cool in there....!
Michelle--Cher. Yes, absolutely. Fab fab clothes, great hair. Okay a doofus for a husband but at least she took care of that later. I still love Cher.
D Twomey, I *did* totally forget Elizabeth Montgomery because I meant to put her on the list. Really, she was better than a superhero because she could accomplish anything without lifting a finger. Although I always felt that Darin was seriously overchicked!
Good morning, Kylie! Fun post today, and boy, did you bring back memories!
For me, it was Farrah Fawcett. I loved THE HAIR. From someone who had a short, dark, curly, BORING hair, that blond mane of hers was the stuff fantasies were made of.
Sigh . . .
Sexy body, soft and sultry voice, and long, flowing hair. Man, she had it all.
Remember that famous poster of her in a bathing suit, with her perky nips showing? LOL. I think that was the poster of the century!
Pam, I do remember the poster. And she sparked a whole new cut for hairstylists as everyone started to leave behind the long straight 70s hair and go for the Farah look!
Kylie-- Yes, I think all those except MTM and Doris Day are on my list. I never really warmed up to MTM and I liked watching Day movies but never thought I wanted to be her.
Sandra Dee. I watched those movies on TV and thought she was something fab. And Gidget. I wanted to be Gidget. LOL! Not so much the actors but the kind of kid who had a fabulous life of surfer dudes. (g) And was beloved by them even though she wasn't a super model.
Cyndi Lauper. I know that dates me - but she was just soooooo cool! And she was completely "free." To have the confidence to wear some of the stuff that she wore. Wow!
Also Dolly Parton. I never wanted the boobs (still don't) - but I love me some Dolly Parton. She's pretty much our modern day Mae West.
Deb--yes I remember the Gidget movies. There was something so carefree, so forever-young about Gidget!
Wendy, Cyndi Lauper was punk before punk had a name, LOL! And Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is going to remain a classic.
I love to watch Dolly Parton on talk shows. She's got such an infectious laugh and a wry sense of humor.
Oh, this is fun, thinking back! For me, it was Jeannie, first, Samantha, second - magical powers were the best! And I thought Major Nelson was sexy. Darin? Forget it.
Kate Jackson would've been next on my list.
Helen, let's see--Major Nelson...was he a young Larry Hagman who later showed up in Dallas? So much better looking in Jeannie, and nicer, too!
I always loved both Hepburns -- Katherine's "I don't give a damn" attitude and Audrey's generous spirit and beautiful soul. Kate Jackson was my favorite Angel, and I loved Stephanie Zimbalist on "Remington Steele" as well as Cybill Shepherd in the first couple seasons of "Moonlighting."
Now when I was a kid, I wanted to be Dale Evans complete with a horse, a jeep named Nelly Belle and of course Roy Rogers.
Marilyn - who needs to remember Facebook quizes the next time she's stumped for a blog topic
Great topic!
Hmmm, the five women I wanted to be when I grew up?
1.) Daisy Duke. She drove better than the boys and looked better doing it.
2.) Jude Deveraux. *LOL* I loved her books and when I grew up I wanted to write books just like her.
3.) Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can't tell you the influence this woman had on me. Okay, I can, I dressed like her for my 5th grade picture.
4.) Cybil Shepherd, from Moonlighting. I loved her and Bruce together and bantering.
5.) My sister. When I was little, I used to think my sister was the coolest...now, I don't so much think that. But she was a competent, hard-working, fun, strong woman...and I did want to be like her when I grew up.
Marilyn, I remember being in awe of Katherine Hepburn. She seemed to live her life on her terms, in a time when social mores still dictated choices for women.
I was more of a Bruce Willis fan...but adored Moonlighting!
MsHellion, Laura Ingalls Wilder is still a favorite among students in elementary schools. Girls more so than boys, but some just can't get enough of her. I recall reading every one of her books myself when I was a kid.
Great Topic! You started with 5 women we wanted to be when we grew up. Hard for me to remember that far back but I think I would have picked: Doris Day, Emily Dickenson (a favorite poet of my childhood), Shirley Temple, Katherine Hepburn and Helen Keller - not 'cause I'd want to be blind but because of her great courage and accomplishments!
Now as an adult I still like all of those and many of the other choices mentioned. But if I could only name 5 I think I would choose: Her Majesty Queen Noor - who wouldn't want to be a Queen with beauty, grace and power? Georgia O'Keefe - great female artist of her time. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell - a pioneer for women in the work force she struggled to become a doctor in the 1850s. Lauren Bacall - I think she is fabulous and elegant. And last but not least, Sandra Day O'Conner - first woman justice of the Supreme Court. Being an attorney I would have to admire and aspire to that!!
Oh, wow! What a fun post. Maureen O'Hara comes to mind. She was gorgeous and feisty. Annette Funicello - now there was a mousketeer. and yes, Sandra Dee because I had a HUGE case on Troy Donahoe. and here's one - Connie Stephens cause she was so cute and blond. Any one of the girls on Friends.
As for modern day - Nora Roberts - iof course.
Carly Simon. I've always wished I could sing, and Carly is a writer and an activist. Love that.
Kathrine Hepburn. Except not her love life.
Grace Kelly. Well, the fantasy of Grace Kelly.
Grandma Moses. Woman with that it's never-too-late attitude.
Madeline Albright.
Wow, Martha, you've listed some very accomplished women. Sandra Day O'Connor is certainly a trailblazer!
Cindy, I think Maureen O'Hara was in McClintock with John Wayne. One of my all time favorite Westerns! And the Friends actresses...any one of them. Gorgeous and funny.
Emma Peel - Always in control. Always confident. Always smarter than the bad guys.
Elwyth Thane - I wanted to write like her. Still do.
Kim Novak - Sexy and mysterious. And she didn't seem vulnerable and lost like Marilyn.
Kathleen, I once watched Katherine Hepburn on an interview and wondered if she had any regrets about the choices she made which ended up affecting the rest of her life. Of course, one could argue that love isn't a choice...and Madeline Albright. Intelligent, focused and a breadth of knowledge that's almost scary. Wouldn't you like to hear the stories she has to tell?
Maureen O'Hara. . . loved her and thought she was spirited and classy. Lucille Ball-- because she seemed to have fun wherever she went.
Elizabeth I of England. Power and GREAT clothes. Of course, I'd want them in the 21st Century.
Hey these are all insane red-heads!
Okay, then Gloria Steinem. she's great looking and has been in the forefront of the women's movement for decades. Don't know about her private life so much, except that she married late in life.
And finally Georgia O'Keefe. I'd love to be a great artist with that kind of vision. Or maybe Anne Sophie Mutter. . . the great violinist. . . who plays with such passion and verve!
Though i wouldn't mind looking like Jernnifer Aniston-- if I didn't have to have herluck with men!
What about Sally Fields? Such a great actor... at any and all ages. Young (The Flying Nun) and older (Norma Rae, Steel Magnolias, and Brothers & Sisters).
Candace--Kim Novak. Sigh. Now that woman was glamorous. And as you've noted, without the vulnerabilities that did in Marilyn.
Betina, isn't that the way? When we're young we can see only the surface of those in the public eye. But the more you learn of some of those you admire the more you think, gee I'm glad I don't have her vulnerabilities, her luck with men, etc. With age comes the understanding that the grass isn't always greener.
Which doesn't mean we wouldn't like to be them for a day or two, LOL!
DTwomey, it has been fun to watch Sally Field age. She has grown so much as an actress and gone from cute to great. A far cry from her flying nun days!
I would have to pick,
1. Mary Richards, who would not wanna be her, she was beautiful, had great cloths for the 70's and had that neat apartment. I always wanted an apartment like Mary. And everybody loved Mary.
2. Murphey Brown- she was tough on the outside, but had that tender incore. She was an independent woman, lived her own life. Traveled all over the world. Man what a life.
3. I would have to say Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, hey if your going to be Angel, it way as well be one of Charlies.
4.Ann Margret, she could dance, sing, she was great looking and had Elvis. What more could a girl want.
5.And anyone of the gals on Designining Woman, especially Julia Sugarbaker. She was always what I picked a real Steel Magnolia would be.
mmm, I don't watch much TV, but most I watched was from show's from the 70's. I loved I Dream Of Jeannie and still watch it. I wouldn't have minded going into her bottle and hiding away there with books and the like. You just wouldn't see me in the outfit she had on! LOL. Barbara Eden is still beautiful!
Too I'd love to be the Flying Nun! To be able to see everything up there flying in the sky. Loved Sally Field too.
This is fun! LOL. Loved this!
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