5 Movies About Female Entrepreneurs To Inspire Your Career Journey
There are many amazing female entrepreneur stories, just like yours! Here are some movies below that feature female business women, whether they showcase a journey of one’s success, or have an already strong, established female lead with a bustling career.
Sweet Home Alabama
A classic romantic comedy about being true to yourself also features a savvy businesswoman as its protagonist. Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) is a fashion designer who lives a seemingly perfect life. When her wealthy and well-connected boyfriend proposes, everything seems like it’s right out of a fairy tale, but Melanie is hiding a secret past. Growing up with poor Southern roots, Melanie has gone through lengths to hide her upbringing, like changing her name from Smooter to Carmichael, and now has to go back home to file a divorce with her childhood sweetheart.
Though the movie mostly focuses on romance, one of the defining parts of Melanie’s character is that she is a successful businesswoman who’s clawed her way up to the top. However, she’s forgone parts of herself in order to achieve that success. Eventually, she ends up embracing the parts of herself she tried to hide, and reaches a happy ending with her childhood sweetheart, continuing that success! It’s an important lesson for us to remember, too: don’t compromise yourself just for the sake of success. Stay true to yourself, and you’ll feel better about the accomplishments you achieve.
The Devil Wears Prada
This iconic movie is one everyone knows and has two famous actresses as two memorable leads. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is an aspiring journalist who lands a job at the prestigious magazine Runaway as an assistant to editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), one that “millions of girls would kill for”. Andy is not interested in fashion, and puts up with the grueling treatment and workload to build up experience for a year in hopes of getting a job somewhere else. Fitting in is quite a struggle, so Andy asks the help of the magazine’s art director, Nigel, to dress for the occasion and transform her into someone who can fit in the vapid world she’s entered. In order to survive and become closer to her powerful boss, Andy must emulate the cruelness of the industry — but in adapting, such behavior starts to affect her daily life.
Hopefully, you haven’t encountered a toxic workplace or a demeaning boss, but this movie is one that you may also relate to. In order to perform well at a new workplace, you may have needed to make some changes to fit in with your coworkers or please your boss. Nonetheless, both Miranda and Andy are businesswomen in different stages of their lives — an established boss who’s stayed at the top through all means necessary, and a new graduate trying to navigate the industry. Most of us probably relate more to Andy than Miranda, but they’re both strong women in their own right and their experiences have shaped who they are.
Little
A newer movie released in 2019, Little features several black women in its cast and is a family-friendly age regression comedy. Businesswoman Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall) used to be bullied as a child, and uses her new power as the owner of a tech company to bully her own employees. After being rude to a little girl, the girl uses her toy wand to wish that Jordan was a kid again — and somehow, that wish comes true. Jordan wakes up as her 13-year old self (portrayed by Marsai Martin) the next day, and her assistant April (Issa Rae) must take over the company while Jordan navigates being a 13-year old again.
Black women are rarely seen in positions of power, though we’ve gradually started to see this in the business world and in film. It’s very refreshing to see! The film is a comedy, but we do see April attempt to promote her mobile app pitch to a client. Even if the portrayals are rather unrealistic, there is actual focus on some business processes in Little.
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel is a biographical documentary about one of the most prolific creatives of the fashion industry. The film is mostly a recount of Chanel’s tumultuous life, starting from somber early years to right before her career starts to make serious waves. Chanel’s life is a long journey with many hardships before she reaches success, but her strength and will to go on help lead her to eventual fame. In the movie, Chanel is told that “there’s no one else like you” — and that goes without saying. Every woman is unique with their own strengths, and utilizing those strengths will help you achieve your own goals with your own business.
Working Girl
An older movie from the 1980’s, but still relevant even in 2021. Tess McGill (Sigourney Weaver) is an ambitious and hardworking Irish American who works as a stockbrokers secretary, wanting to eventually reach an executive position. Though she’s very bright, her male boss and coworkers treat her less than favorably, and frustration with such chauvinistic behavior causes her to quit. The staffing service representative who hired her chastises her behavior, but gives her a final chance to be an assistant to Katharine Parker, a young associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at another company. Katharine, at first, seems like a supportive ally, but Tess must go through many trials and tribulations in order to move up in the business world as people are never as nice as they seem.
We’ll spoil the ending for you. At the movie’s conclusion, Tess is able to finally become a junior executive and have her own secretary. In your career you may encounter obstacles, including sexism and people who may want to use you as a means for their own success. But being a woman is an asset, and your personal experiences serve as your strength. Sticking true to your gut and a sense of perseverance will help you overcome adversity in the workplace.
Still, you don’t need to be alone on the course of your career. The Long Island Center is a network for women supporting women — we’re here to be a positive force in your own business journey as you continue to succeed!