Godmothers’ Guide to Entertainment That Will Get You Inspired for 2025

33 books, movies, podcasts, and TV shows with strong female leads.

Jan 05, 2025

Godmothers is always looking to highlight brave, pioneering, and supportive women who light the way. We love books, movies, podcasts, and TV shows with powerful female leads: entertainment that gives us complex, dimensional women with rich, nuanced, thought-provoking perspectives. Women who change what we believe is possible for ourselves and the world around us. We seek out stories that reveal a collective truth—that beneath the skin, we’re more alike than we are different. Below, find 33 of our favorites.

BOOKS

1. You probably know the fictional stories of Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, to name just two), but you probably don’t know his real-life love story: A Wilder Shore—a nuanced dual biography of Stevenson and Fanny Van de Grift—explores the unlikely romance between the Scottish writer and the American farm girl (a married mother, when the two met) who would eventually become his wife.

2. Cathartic, irreverent, and wildly funny, All Fours follows a “semi-famous artist” who sets off on a cross-country road trip—but changes course 30 minutes from home. (Without telling her husband, shhhhh.) Be warned: The narrator’s brutally honest quest for a new kind of freedom might leave you questioning your own life choices.

3. The story of Adina Giorno (a tiny, jaundiced baby who grows into a skinny, bucktoothed young woman) will speak to anyone who doesn’t quite feel at home on Earth. (Yes, the Beautyland protagonist is an actual alien living among humans—but her otherness is deeply relatable.)

4. Creation Lake is a compelling exploration of the intersections between art, politics, and personal experience. The narrative unfolds in a vivid and evocative manner, showcasing writer Rachel Kushner’s signature style, which blends rich imagery with deep philosophical undercurrents. The setting of Creation Lake serves as a backdrop for a meditative journey that reflects on the complexities of human existence and delves into themes of ambition, desire, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world.

1. A Wilder Shore by Camille Peri; audiobook. 2. All Fours by Miranda July; audiobook. 3. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino; audiobook. 4. Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner; audiobook.

5. If you like romance novels, chances are you already like Emily Henry—and chances are you’ll love Funny Story, her latest. In classic Henry style, Funny Story—which follows Daphne and Miles, a pair of unlikely roommates—includes all the expected romance tropes (starting with the meet-cute) but with clever, unexpected twists.

6. Dubbed “the queen of dysfunctional relationships” at a recent Godmothers event, Sally Rooney does not disappoint with her fourth novel, Intermezzo, the story of two brothers mourning the death of their father—and the people they come to love.

7. Where some authors desperately want you to fall in love with their characters, Rufi Thorpe piles on the ick factors and almost dares readers to sympathize with Margo, the daughter of a pro wrestler and his Hooters waitress side piece. We don’t know when you’ll find yourself rooting for Margo—who, in short order, has an affair with her married community college professor, gets pregnant, and keeps the baby—but by the end of Margo’s Got Money Troubles, you will be.

8. In a tradition set by Eat, Pray, Love, many women writing books about divorce for the decade-plus that followed seemed compelled to give readers a happy ending. Leslie Jamison’s Splinters is one in a new crop of divorce memoirs that’s broken free of the compulsion. Jamison serves up plenty of brutal ugliness (on one occasion, her now-ex-husband spits at her during drop-off) but her story isn’t tied with a perfect, pretty bow on the last pages. It’s bittersweet instead of saccharin-sweet, which makes it all the more appealing.

5. Funny Story by Emily Henry; audiobook. 6. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney; audiobook. 7. Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe; audiobook. 8. Splinters (audiobook) by Leslie Jamison; audiobook.

9. Nestled in the Adirondacks, The God of the Woods’ Camp Emerson seems like a picture-perfect sleepaway camp—until 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing. As the search begins, the drama unfolds: In a series of interwoven storylines told from multiple points of view, we soon learn that Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished 14 years ago, never to be found.

10. In The Serviceberry, Robin Wall Kimmerer, an Indigenous scientist and author of the bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass, considers how our modern economy (rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources) is at odds with the natural world. Could modern society embrace a way of life “where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency”? We certainly hope so.

11. The Women is the story of one woman who goes to war: 20-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath, who joins the Army Nurse Corps after her brother is deployed to Vietnam. “In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.” The Women is Frankie’s story—but it’s also the story of the 9,000 to 11,000 other women who served in Vietnam. For those who survived, the war was just the beginning.

12. In Think You’ll Be Happy, a strong woman—film producer, philanthropist, and political activist Nicole Avant—tells the story of the strong woman who raised her: her model-turned-philanthropist mother, Jacqueline Avant. In the book’s new forward—written by Nicole’s husband, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, for the paperback release—Ted speaks to Nicole’s personal evolution following Jaqueline’s untimely death. (She was fatally shot during an attempted home robbery in 2021.) “Almost like metamorphosis, but instant. My wife, Nicole, became the matriarch of her powerful and influential family and the keeper of their legacy.”

9. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore; audiobook. 10. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer; audiobook. 11. The Women by Kristin Hannah; audiobook. 12. Think You’ll Be Happy by Nicole Avant; audiobook.

MOVIES

13. All We Imagine as Light considers the deeply complicated (and utterly true-to-life) friendship between Prabha and Anu, two women in Mumbai, India. With rich and emotionally honest storytelling, writer and director Payal Kapadia reminds viewers to hold sacred and protect their most important bonds.

14. Anora, a young woman from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story—just keep in mind that this Cinderella story is rated R. Anora, the fairytale, starts when Annie meets her “prince” in the strip joint where she works and marries him on a whim. Did we mention he’s the son of an oligarch? Once news of their nuptials reaches Russia, the newlyweds’ happily-ever-after is in jeopardy—and Annie is forced to question what she’ll do for love. (Or, in her case, safety.)

15. One of the most original and compelling films we’ve seen in ages, Emilia Pérez tells the story of the fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) who enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Also starring Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez, Emilia Pérez has been nominated for 10 Critics Choice Awards, including Best Picture, and made a strong showing on the Oscar shortlists.

16. This 2024 documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Lana Wilson spotlights a group of New York City psychics as they conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients—and reveal a kaleidoscope of loneliness and healing. Look Into My Eyes is a tender story of the universal search for meaning—and the modern collapse of human connection.

17. In the same way that Hidden Figures introduced much of the world to the Black women at NASA behind John Glenn’s launch into orbit, The Six Triple Eight shares the untold story of an Army battalion by the same name—a battalion of all Black women who were the only women deployed overseas in World War II. (Think: A League of Their Own, but with soldiers.) The Tyler Perry–directed film stars Kerry Washington (as Maj. Charity Adams) at her finest, and features more women we love in supporting roles, including Susan Sarandon as Eleanor Roosevelt and Oprah Winfrey as Mary McLeod Bethune.

18. With Ariana Grande as a glittering pink Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, her striking, all-green foil, we’re hard-pressed to remember any of the men in Wicked. While the cameos from Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (who played the same roles, respectively, in the Tony Award–winning Broadway musical) were memorable, the movie almost could’ve been made without any Y chromosomes.

19. When Will Ferrell’s good friend Harper Steele (a former SNL head writer) comes out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship. Will & Harper, a documentary, is an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.

PODCASTS

20. Writer Elise Loehnen (author of one of our all-time favorite books and a frequent guest on the Godmothers stage) explores life’s big questions with today’s leading thinkers, experts, and luminaries. Pulling the Thread With Elise Loehnen

21. What could you do if you learned to believe in yourself? For Jamie Kern Lima—a Denny’s server turned TV news anchor who built a billion-dollar beauty brand—the path to success started with doing just that. On her podcast, she and her guests share their stories—and their secrets to becoming unstoppable. The Jamie Kern Lima Show

22. If the prospect of 2025 is already weighing you down, look to Mel Robbins for a healthy serving of motivation. On her podcast (and in her bestselling books) she shares the science-backed tools that will help you become more confident, effective, and fulfilled. The Mel Robbins Podcast

23. We’d probably listen to Oprah read the ingredients off the back of a cereal box, but thankfully, her new podcast—featuring all-new conversations between Oprah and today’s foremost thought leaders, global newsmakers, best-selling authors, visionaries, and cultural changemakers—is much more enlightening. The Oprah Podcast

24. There’s a reason much of the scientific community has avoided the topic of telepathy: It defies conventional understanding, and (in the case of non-speakers with autism) it relies on subjects who have been largely dismissed. But over the course of eight episodes, two women—host Ky Dickens and neuroscientist Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell—share mounting evidence that will challenge everything you think you know about the human mind and our human connections. The Telepathy Tapes

25. Brené Brown launched two podcasts at the height of Covid; almost five years later, this one—featuring “conversations with the people who are teaching me, challenging me, confusing me, or maybe even ticking me off a little”— remains a favorite. Unlocking Us With Brené Brown

26. Julia Louis-Dreyfus just wrapped season three of her award-winning podcast, which spotlights the perspectives of “iconic older women who are brimming with the kind of unapologetic attitude and wisdom that only comes with age.” Most recently, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Pelosi, and Rita Moreno. Wiser Than Me With Julia Louis-Dreyfus

27. From BBC Radio, an hourlong daily podcast that puts women at the center of the narrative. If you’re not already talking about these women and their stories, you will be. Woman’s Hour

TV SHOWS

28. If you missed the phenomenon that is Bad Sisters, well, welcome back from your coma. Once your affairs are in order, go binge both seasons of the most deliciously dark, female-centric comedy we’ve seen in ages.

29. To say we’re obsessed with Elena Ferrante’s acclaimed Neapolitan Novels is putting it lightly. Thankfully, My Brilliant Friend, the made-for-TV adaption of the four-part series, honors the iconic books while the performances bring the characters to life in a fully unique way.

30. Gabriel García Márquez never wanted his masterpiece to be made into a film, reportedly saying that it would take 100 hours to tell the story properly. But Netflix’s attempt at doing just that—in a mere 16 hours (or, two eight-episode seasons)—has captured the plot, themes, and unparalleled characters of One Hundred Years of Solitude to critical acclaim. You won’t just watch this beautifully shot series, you will inhabit it.

31. No one would judge you for assuming that Hulu’s adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 bestseller about the rise of Lord Yoshii Toranaga in feudal Japan was centered on men—but it’s the women of Shōgun who steal the show.

32. Somebody Somewhere—the story of a woman in her 40s grappling with loss and acceptance—is an ode to found family. At a time when much of television is reliant on high drama, this show is quietly radical in its commitment to finding worth in the everyday.

33. The Diplomat stars Keri Russell as a U.S. diplomat contending with a high-profile new job and a turbulent marriage. Her messiness, intelligence, and badass bravery combine to create a character you won’t soon forget.

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