7 Southern Ladies Who Are Basically Your Idols

As a very wise lady once said, well-behaved women seldom make history. As it so happens, plenty of these rule-breaking, brash females are Southern born, bred, and buttered. From Dolly Parton to Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls, there's a certain set of famous Southern women who we basically all want to be. And if we can’t be them, we’d at least love to befriend them.

In pop culture, these particular HBICs have come to symbolize a certain essence of strong womanhood. Whether they’re real people or fictional characters, these women are quick with a clever comeback but just as quick with a Southern folk parable that will make you feel better about life. Basically everything that comes out of their mouths is an epigram worthy of a bumper sticker.

They’re tough as nails, totally themselves, and they don't give a hoot about what you think of them. In other words, they're inspirations to us all. This humble writer would love to share a drink with each and every one last one of these women.

We've teamed up with Bonnie Rose Whiskey to remind you of just a few of those famous girls raised in the South, both fictional and real, and why we're forever crushing on them.

Idgie Threadgoode

If you’re anything like me, you watched Fried Green Tomatoes several times a week when you were growing up. The heroine of this classic Southern coming-of-age flick, little Idgie Threadgoode, was probably your role model in that case. Resisting her traditional Southern Deb upbringing by refusing to be anything other than her tomboy self, Idgie is fiercely authentic, tenacious, and a poster child for doing you.

Blanche Devereaux

Always with a suggestive pun at the ready, The Golden Girls’ resident Georgia peach Blanche Devereaux is basically everything you want to be in the golden stages of your life. Or, you know, at any point in your life. She has a biting wit, she’s sexually liberated, and she doesn’t need a man to define her. Team Devereaux 4-eva.

June Carter Cash

I don’t know about you, but the movie of my life is basically scored to June Carter Cash’s music. Though she’s popularly known as Johnny Cash’s second wife, she’s SO much more than that. This Virginia-born country heavyweight with the exquisite voice rose to fame while she was a member of the Carter Family band. She infused all of her performances with her signature sense of humor. Watch some of her classic performances, and try not to want to learn the harp.

Tami Taylor

The no-bull Texan matriarch of the Taylor family on Friday Night Lights is basically our dream dinner guest now and forever. Girlfriend is a well of amazing life advice, she knows how to have a great time, and she knows the power of a well-timed "y'all." In Tami Taylor we trust.

Reba McEntire

If it were possible to have both fictional and IRL Reba adopt us as her nieces, our lives would be made. Real-life Reba, who is from Oklahoma, is such an HBIC that she released her first solo album by the time she was 22. As the heroine of her self-titled sitcom Reba, she plays the kind of wisecracking task master that everyone wants as their family’s matriarch. In both cases, she’s dream Aunt status.

Julia Sugarbaker

How do we love the most outspoken feminist of Designing Women ? Let us count the ways. Firstly, her power suits are perfectly ’80s. Secondly, she’s never afraid to share an unpopular opinion. Thirdly, she’s ride-or-die loyal to her sisters, no matter how dangerous their head-butting sessions may be.

Dolly Parton

This country goddess deserves to be on every list of amazing, badass women that will ever exist. Parton, who hails from Sevierville, Tennessee, is endlessly girl-crushable — from her heartstring-tugging, lovelorn songs to her endlessly quotable one-liners ("9 To 5," anyone?), to the fact that she has her own theme park. Long live the queen.

This post is sponsored by Bonnie Rose Whiskey. Enjoy responsibly. ©2015. Bonnie Rose and its trade dress are trademarks. Bottled by the Bonnie Rose Company, Fl. Corn whisky with natural flavor.

Image: Universal; NBC; Wikimedia Commons; CBS