Suits and Stilettos: 10 Best Fictional Businesswomen in TV and Film
You have to love women with style, but who are the fictional businesswomen who prioritize style and grace through their clothing that are the most sought-after online?
We have a list of media moguls, fashion executives, corporate heiresses, office managers, crisis management executives, and operation managers with the best fashion sense in TV and film just for you.
1. Rachel Green, Friends
The most Googled businesswoman in TV and film, hands down, is Rachel Green from Friends (1994-2004). Jennifer Aniston’s character on the show has over 85,000 monthly Google searches for her wardrobe, make-up, and hair. She is one of the 90s greatest fashion icons.
Rachel’s job at Bloomingdales and her career as a buyer at Ralph Lauren and Louis Vitton cement her as a woman who adores fashion and knows it well. Her shag hairdo, The Rachel, is still searched 24,000 times per month, the fashion experts at Karen Millen noted, “More than the total searches for any other character’s style combined.” The hairstyle is still that popular twenty-nine years later.
2. Fallon Carrington, Dynasty
As Fallon Carrington in the TV show Dynasty (2017-2022), Elizabeth Gillies is the second most Googled businesswoman. She has a style that is both flirty and pure business. The bright and fearless colors of her suits and dresses earn her a lot of fans.
Fallon Carrington wears only the best-fitted and precision-tailored outfits as an heiress and CEO. Gillies’s character rates 14,520 searches on Google monthly, with searches of 10,800, nearly three-quarters of her search volume for ‘Fallon Carrington outfits’ alone.
3. Veronica Lodge, Riverdale
Camila Mendes’ Veronica Lodge on the TV show Riverdale (2017-2023) is the third most searched TV businesswoman, with 10,360 fashion-related Google searches monthly. Her style is trendy, with 7,200 monthly searches on Google for ‘Veronica Lodge outfits.’
She loves the color black and tends to wear monochromatic outfits with rich color accents. Her make-up, eyes, and lips are as bold as her color choices. As you can see, she’s not afraid to wear black lipstick and is confident enough to carry it off.
4. Olivia Pope, Scandal
Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on the TV show Scandal (2012-2018) is the coat GOAT and the fourth most popular businesswoman in Google searches. Washington’s character nets 7,800 monthly Google searches, with one in 10 searches looking for her coats.
Her character tends to wear neutrals like beige but wears statement coats and sweater jackets in bright colors like fire engine red and canary yellow. She is a power dresser as head of her crisis management firm and confidant and lover of the President of The United States.
5. Scarlett O’Hara, Gone With The Wind
The legendary actress Vivien Leigh is in fifth place as the iconic Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind (1939). While the film is 84 years old, Scarlett is a Civil War-era businesswoman. Her gorgeous hoop skirt dresses and gowns, designed by Walter Plunkett, are often used in the plot. The infamous scarlet woman dress makes such an incredible screen impact as the most recognizable occurrence.
Her style is still very popular today, with 7,790 monthly searches on Google, and ‘Scarlett O’Hara costumes’ rated two 2,600 Google searches monthly. No, these clothes are not practical for daily business wear, but as the fashion experts at Karen Millen, who researched these statistics, said, “Scarlett’s style is a masterclass in how to radiate status and leadership through dress.”
6. Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl Streep’s character Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) comes in at number six with 3,010 monthly searches. She is the high-powered editor of a top fashion magazine who will only tolerate a fashionable wardrobe on her assistants. Her style is classic New York City chic, with suits, dresses, and coats in traditional colors accessorized beautifully and with small touches of color.
Her “Miranda Priestly outfits” are searched 1,140 times a month on Google. Even her sunglasses are a factor in searches as Miranda pays attention to every detail in her outfits, and ‘Miranda Priestly sunglasses’ get 560 searches a month.
7. Patsy Stone, Absolutely Famous
As portrayed by Jennifer Lumley, Patsy Stone from the TV series Absolutely Fabulous (1994-2002) is number seven on this list. The hard-drinking fashion magazine director gets 1,430 monthly Google searches, with ‘Patsy Stone outfits’ getting 780 of those searches and ‘Patsy Stone costume’ getting 280.
She and her best friend Edina are fashion renegades wearing the most outrageous cutting-edge fashions of the 90s. However, Patsy does cherish her Chanel suit, so she does have a love of classic styles too.
8. Joan Holloway, Mad Men
Office manager Joan Holloway, played by Christina Hendricks in the TV series Mad Men (2007-2015), is the eighth most stylish businesswoman on the list, with 1,130 monthly searches. Fans love her bright dresses in primary colors in the 60s styles.
Her signature item of clothing is the wiggle dress that flatters her curves, and she wears brooches and other jewelry items as a warning to office wolves. Mad Men’s costume designer Janie Bryant called her pen necklace “her sword to fend off all those men in the office.”
But Joan never gives in to the temptation to dress down to hide her beauty by wearing less flattering or attractive clothing.
9. Claire Dearing, Jurrasic World
Bryce Dallas Howard plays Claire Dearing, the operations manager of the dinosaur theme park in the Jurassic World (2015) trilogy of films. Her character is the ninth most stylish businesswoman on this list, with 930 searches on Google. 465 searches are for ‘Claire Dearing costume’, nearly half of the searches.
Even though she spends much time running from dinosaurs, she rocks the classic all-white look with a button-down blouse cinched with a gold belt, blazer, and neutral pumps. Her smart bob haircut tops off her wonderfully put-together look.
10. Loretha “Cookie” Lyon, Empire
Finally, Taraji P. Henson as Loretha “Cookie” Lyon, the influential record label boss, music industry titan, and ex-wife of Lucious Lyon on the TV series Empire (2015-2020), is a style trendsetter and the 10th most stylish businesswoman on this list. Cookie is a fearless character wearing audacious styles daily to awe everyone in the boardroom or anywhere else she goes.
Her character is an excellent example of music industry figures who use clothing to express themselves and their power. With 590 searches per month, you can tell that Cookie’s style, which incorporates metallic fabrics, feathers, fur, and stiletto-heeled boots, resonates with fashion fans.
This article was produced by Wealth of Geeks.
Dolores Quintana is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles. She has bylines at Fangoria, Alternative Press, Nightmarish Conjurings, Grammy.com/The Recording Academy, The Advocate, Buddyhead, Pocho.com, The Theatre @ Boston Court, The Mirror Media Group, What Now Media, We Like LA, and The Shudder Blog. She has a successful YouTube channel and podcast called Burnt Orange Dreams, where she interviews actors, writers, and directors.
