I want to be That Girl

Independent, optimistic, strong-willed, witty and fashion forward, Ann Marie, played by Marlo Thomas, embodies everything I subconsciously knew I always wanted to be. Over the course of five lovable, hilarious seasons, young women across the country watched as Ann Marie lit up the small screen, struggling to make it on her own as she went from one temp job to another never losing faith that she’d make it big as an actress in New York City.

That Girl premiered in 1966 as a revolutionary new series that for the first time focused on a young woman not as a wife, mother or secretary but as someone with a dream and a mind of her own. Not only this, but for the first time young women could look up to someone who wasn’t obsessed with getting married and settling down. While Ann may not have had many suitors (she had one steady boyfriend-writer Don Hollinger) she just the same, didn’t see her life’s sole purpose as getting married and having a family. In fact, despite a successful proposal in the fifth season, the series deliberately closes without a marriage–reminding women that not all stories end with an “I do.”

That Girl led the way for many other girls–Mary Tyler Moore, Murphy Brown, Rachel Green, Felicity Porter, Rory Gilmore, Carrie Bradshaw, me and the thousands more that each year leave their parents and hometowns behind for the big city.

Below is an 1966-1967 ABC promo reminding viewers to tune in earlier to see their favorite shows-Bewitched, Love on a Rooftop and That Girl.

If you’ve never seen That Girl (it’s okay, I somehow only discovered it two months ago when I happened to stumble upon season 4 at the library) click here to see when Ann Marie gets one of her first acting jobs–as a mop. Click here to continue the scene and see one of my favorite parts of the entire series-where Ann remembers the big picture and in response to her father’s concern, “it isn’t easy to send a girl to college for four years and have her end up as a mop” she replies, “daddy, will you try and understand something-today I may be a mop, tomorrow a garbage pail but eventually who knows, I may even get to play people.”

(don’t give up)