Rom-Com Heroines: Why Their Romantic (Yet Unrealistic) Stories Ruled The 90s

She’s smart, beautiful, just Hollywood enough to feel aspirational but also just regular enough to feel relatable: she’s the 90s rom-com heroine! Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts ruled the decade - from Sleepless in Seattle to Pretty Woman to You’ve Got Mail to My Best Friend’s Wedding and beyond - but there were a whole host of iconic heroines that popped up during the rom-com boom of the 1990s. So today, let’s unpack what made the 90s rom-com heroine special, where the archetype came from, and how they might have given us some pretty unrealistic expectations about life and love (and why we love them anyways!) Join our Patreon to unlock the members-only series “Total Take,“ vote on what we cover next, and more: Read articles on film, TV and culture: Follow our socials: CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:19 The birth of rom-com heroines (that paved the way for the 90s) 03:22 What made