This post has been sitting in my draft pile close to year. It all started with This Buzzfeed List (from last summer) totally got me thinking. That being said, this will be the beginning of a series that will occur over the next several weeks that will include: Famous Women, Women I Follow, and then I’ll start the women in my life. I’m not sure how long it will go on but look for it on Tuesday Mornings. I think it’s going to be a fun series and I know you’ll enjoy it because I’m going to have fun making my lists.

So, without further adue, here is a list of the top 20 Famous Women who Inspire Me:

1. Karen Kingsbury {Author}
{KK is my favorite author and every time I finish a book, I say I want to write like her}

“The next time that boy pursues you, he better do it like a dying man looking for water in a desert. When it’s the right guy, you’ll know, because he’ll cherish you.” Leaving

2. Shonda Rhimes {Showrunner}

{I’m in love with all things Shonda right now, I think she’s a brilliant writer and knows what she’s doing when it comes to showrunning. For the record, my bags are always packed for a trip to Shondaland}

“My dreams did not come true. But I worked really hard. And I ended up building an empire out of my imagination”

3. Beth Moore {Author/Speaker}{There are some people who God uses to teach you things over and over again and Beth Moore is definitely one of those people. She’s incredible person who I love to meet or work for, dreaming big guys.}

“You cannot amputate your history from your destiny, because that is redemption.” Esther

4. Candace Cameron Bure {Actress/Author/Speaker}
{I’ve always been a fan of Full House. I love how open she is about her struggles and sharing her faith}

“God created each one of us in our own unique way. Just like a snowflake we all hold a blueprint that differs one from another. It’s great to lose weight and keep our bodies healthy and strong, but it’s also important that we appreciate who we are today – with or without extra pounds.” Reshaping It All

5. Kerry Washington {Actress}
{By far one of my favorite actresses on television, She’s FLAWLESS.}

“I realize that I don’t have to perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.”

6. Ellen Pompeo {Actress}
{Dream: to meet the woman that plays Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy}

“Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is, appreciating small victories, admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we’re thankful for the familiar things we know and maybe we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know. At the end of the day, that fact that we still have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.” Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy Season 2, Episode 9: Thanks for the Memories)

7. Lysa TurKeurst {Author/Speaker}
{To be able to as open and honest about my struggles as this woman}

“I was made for more than being stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat. I am not made to be a victim of my poor choices. I was made to be a victorious child of God.”  Made to Crave

8. J.K. Rowling {Author}
{What I would do pick her brain for an hour about her writing process}

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

9. Taylor Swift {Singer}
{I’m pretty sure we’d be besties, no big}

“Be that strong girl that everyone knew would make it through the worst, be that fearless girl, the one who would dare to anything, be that independent girl who didn’t need a man, be that girl who never backed down.”

10. Mandisa {Singer}
{Inspiration to me in my weight loss journey}

“You’re an overcomer. Stay in the fight ‘til the final round, you’re not going under ‘cause God is holding you right now. You might be down for a moment feeling like it’s hopeless that’s when He reminds you that you’re an overcomer. You’re an overcomer”  Overcomer

11. Jenny Cote {Author}
{I got to talk her and get advice and was an Advance Reader for her newest book}

“Know that you are loved and you are able.” -Gillamon

12. Angela Thomas {Author/Speaker}
{Taught me that God calls Beautiful with her awesome Southern Accent}

“God’s love for me, God’s love for you, is romantic. A romance different from the one you may have known. A romance without pain and deep wounds. We are His beloved. We are His and He is ours. We belong to Him.” Do You Think I’m Beautiful?

13. Sarah Drew {Actress}
{Major respect for the woman who plays Dr. April Kepner and is a Christian}

“I’m a mess but a beautiful mess. I’m His masterpiece and that’s enough.” Ally (Mom’s Night Out)

14. Carrie Underwood {Singer}
{There is so much I could say but I just love her}

“If I can convince others that there is God and they need to know him then I’ve done my job.”

15. Katie Davis {Orphan Advocate/Author}
{This girl is doing big things for God in Uganda}

“It may take place in a foreign land or it may take place in your backyard, but I believe that we were each created to change the world for someone. To serve someone. To love someone the way Christ first loved us, to spread His light. This is the dream, and it is possible.” – Kisses from Katie

16. Veronica Roth {Author}
{Makes you think about your life goals, especially since she wrote Divergent at 22}

“I want people to come away from my book with questions. Questions about virtue and goodness. Not answers.”

17. Tina Fey {Screenwriter/Showrunner/Actress/Author}
{The Comedic Mastermind that gave the world Mean Girls and Best Friends with Amy Poehler}

“Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.”

18. Meryl Streep {Actress}{She’s brilliant, academy-awarding actress who is ageless and glamorous}

“You don’t have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you.”

19. Rachel McAdams {Actress}
{My Bioptic Star}

“I try to only do things that are interesting to me. Because if you don’t have passion for the subject matter, or person, or whatever their struggle is, it sorta inevitably falls flat. And if you don’t care nobody else will.”

20. Jennifer Lawrence {Actress}{24 year old Actress who is taking Hollywood by storm and isn’t afraid to speak her mind}

“I’m never going to starve myself for a part.I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner.’ That’s something I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong — not thin and underfed”

Who are some Famous Women Who Inspire you?

I’ll back next week with another list!