The 20 greatest female leads in sitcom history

Tina Fey just has a mind for television. That woman knows funny and churned out one of the best sitcoms of all time based on her experience as the head writer at Saturday Night Live. 30 Rock would’ve been great no matter what, but her performance as Liz Lemon made it even better. 

The world needed Leslie Knope, and no one was better than Amy Poehler to bring her to life. Poehler cared about her character just as much as the fans, which always makes for a great performance.

Some of the best television performances in history have come from the people who created their show. A great example is Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag. Aspects of this short-lived series can be debated, but what’s certain is that Waller-Bridge was fantastic. 

See what we mean about actors who created their shows? Quinta Brunson shines as Janine Teagues in Abbott Elementary. She thinks of every last detail to make the character as real as possible, and Janine has definitely become a part of Brunson. 

We’ve got to give it up for the ladies who were leading their shows before it was commonplace. Mary Tyler Moore was excellent as Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She gave a master class in comedic timing. 

The Nanny had a lot going for it — great writing, a fun premise, and hilarious supporting characters — but none of that would’ve mattered if Fran Drescher hadn’t been so good as Fran Fine. The role defined her career, but Drescher defined that series. 

Mindy Kaling has great vision. She knows exactly what she wants out of a show, and that’s why her best work has come from her own creations. The Mindy Project wouldn’t have worked without Kaling as the lead, and she proved it in every episode. 

It would be hard for anyone to shine, regardless of gender, against a cast made of Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Lamorne Morris, but that’s how good Zooey Deschanel was in New Girl. She commanded attention in her scenes, always making her presence known. 

We probably still would’ve had female-led sitcoms without Lucille Ball’s influence, but they probably wouldn’t have been nearly as good. Ball was everything in I Love Lucy, and her impact went far beyond the six seasons of her show. 

Despite having more Emmy Awards than most sitcoms combined, Murphy Brown doesn’t get its due. But no more. Candice Bergen and the show deserve better. 

When thinking of ‘90s television, it’s impossible to ignore Ally McBeal. Calista Flockhart did what she does best and made Ally McBeal one of the most memorable pieces of TV from its time. 

Who would’ve thought that a country superstar could make such a good sitcom lead? Reba McEntire proved that she can do it all in her titular sitcom, and she became a comedic icon in the process. 

After her role in Barbie, some might say that that’s America Ferrera’s career-defining role, but sitcom fans will know that she was just as good — possibly better — in Ugly Betty. That show is legendary, and it’s thanks in part to Ferrera’s performance. 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has given stellar performances in every show she’s been in, but there was something special about her work in Veep. When people talk about actors being born to play certain roles, they’re talking about Louis-Dreyfus in Veep. 

Ellie Kemper doesn’t get enough credit for her performance in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt . Tina Fey and Tituss Burgess get recognition for their contributions — and rightfully so — but Kemper was the heart and soul of that series. 

Sex and the City was an ensemble show, but Sarah Jessica Parker’s performance as Carrie Bradshaw elevated the series. She had fantastic writing to work with, but the character wouldn’t be so maddeningly memorable if it weren’t for Parker’s outstanding work. 

Bea Arthur is another woman who doesn’t get enough credit for her contributions to television as a whole. Yes, she was great in The Golden Girls, but before that, she was the iconic Maude on her own show. Mind you, that character was only in two episodes of All in the Family and still warranted a spin-off. That is power. 

The Good Place was a damn near perfect TV series, and Kristen Bell was a damn near perfect lead. She made Eleanor Shellstrop, a character who had seemingly no redeeming qualities, someone the audience wanted to root for, and that is no easy feat. 

The sitcom actresses of the early days of television were putting in serious work. Elizabeth Montgomery filmed over 250 episodes of Bewitched, and she was spectacular in every single one of them. 

The premises of older sitcoms were much simpler — an astronaut comes across a genie, for example — but that shows just how good the performances were. Audiences didn’t care about the plot of I Dream of Jeannie. They just loved Barbara Eden.