12 Female Friendships That Defined 2015

Without a doubt, 2015 has been the year of the squad. It felt as though every magazine and tabloid in the country was eager to celebrate the powerful packs of female friendship that were forming amongst the music, modeling, and film industries most powerful, talented and beautiful women in an inspiring, never ending party of BFF collages. And you know what? It's been beautiful. For so long, celebrity female friendships have been portrayed as being a distinctly catty affair, with gossip sites and magazines only interested in delivering news of scandals, arguments and petty competitiveness between women, but not in 2015. This year, it's been all about celebrating female friendship.

But they haven't just been a big deal in real life. On screen, we've also been gifted with some truly extraordinary portrayals of female friendship, ranging from the occasionally toxic and complex (UnReal), the hilariously honest (Broad City), to the ones that we never thought in a million years could work (Orange Is The New Black). Female friendships have been the defining feature of television in 2015, developing interesting and stunning characters through something that we've known to be true our whole lives: that in order to truly develop and become exactly who it is we want to be, that we need our favorite girlfriends by our side in order to do so.

Here are 12 of the most defining female friendships of 2015

1. Amy Poehler & Tina Fey

It feels like these two hilarious ladies has been friends since forever, which makes their reign over 2015 all the sweeter. With their movie Sisters being released on Dec. 18 (and their upcoming Saturday Night Live co-hosting gig), Poehler and Fey remind everyone that sometimes things are just way more fun with your best friend at your side.

2. Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer (Broad City)

Best friends on and off screen, Abbi and Ilana have one of the defining TV programs about female friendship, not just of 2015, but of all time. Season 2 of Broad City elevated their friendship to even greater levels of Yass Kween-ness, including a memorable episode in which Ilana had to save her bestie from a Whole Foods store, a few too many pain relief meds, and a mischievous cuddly toy called Bingo Bronson.

3. Amy Schumer & Jennifer Lawrence

If there was one friendship we all wanted to surreptitiously gatecrash a party of this year, then it was definitely Schumer and Lawrence's. The surprise friendship actually came as little surprise considering how insanely funny they both are, making the news that they're writing a movie together fill my little heart with such glee that I had to phone my very own best friends up to shriek about it.

4. Jessica Jones & Trish Walker (Jessica Jones)

Giving superhero stories a much needed estrogen boost, Jessica Jones not only gave fans an empowering, multi-faceted, and deeply emotional story to enjoy, but it also delivered the friendship of Trish and Jessica. As foster sisters, they share an unbreakable bond, but what made their friendship all the more powerful was their undying belief in each other and their unconditional love. I fully believe that their friendship is possibly even stronger than Luke Cage's unbreakable skin.

5. Amber Rose & Blac Chyna

Rose and Chyna were a force to be reckoned with this year. Combining joint political statements with fierce displays of friendship, they set up play dates for their babies to hang out together (adorable!) and made their political beliefs clear on the red carpet, supporting marriage equality at the BET awards in matching white suits and taking on feminised slurs by literally wearing them across their outfits at the VMAs.

6. The Taylor Swift Squad

Seriously, at this point in time, I've lost track of how many best friends Swift has had over the past year. It's been a lot, that's for sure. From bringing out her friends on stage during the 1989 World Tour to the BFF packed music video for "Bad Blood," Swift has been proudly celebrating the importance of female friendship and the power of a solid squad non stop during 2015. High fives to that, lady.

7. The Cailtyn Jenner Squad

When your life goes through a major change, sometimes you have to switch up your girl gang a little in order to gain the love and support you truly deserve. In 2015, Jenner did just that, celebrating a proud, public transition by surrounding herself with a squad of strong and proud LGBT advocates and activists, including Candis Cayne and Transparent's Trace Lysette.

8. Rachel Goldberg & Quinn King (UnReal)

What might have seemed to be a toxic relationship on the surface was completely turned around by the dramatic UnReal finale, in which a touching, if completely dysfunctional, moment was shared between the two when Rachel confessing her platonic love for Quinn (who, of course, calls her a weirdo in return. But that's just how some friendships flow!). They might have been passive aggressive about it, but their friendship was one of the most real things in a show about a fabricated reality.

9. Big Boo & Pennsatucky (Orange Is The New Black)

Though Season 2 of OITNB hinted at a possible friendship between proud lesbian Boo and the homophobic Pennsatucky, it seemed to be more in Boo's favour as she took great delight in teasing her new Christian friend about the "lesbian agenda." Season 3 showed a flourishing and touching friendship between the two, with both of them learning to accept and support each other for who they really are.

10. Nicki Minaj & Beyoncé

Just when you thought that Minaj and Beyoncé couldn't get any more powerful, they teamed up to produce one of the feminist anthems of the Summer with "Feeling Myself." Fun, fearless, and fierce, Minaj and Beyonce made all of us want to head straight to Coachella and co-ordinate outfits with our besties (while feeding ourselves some impressive looking burgers). They truly gave us some next level friendship goals.

11. Hanna, Spencer, Aria, & Emily (Pretty Little Liars)

As if I'd forget our Liars! Beginning Season 6 with a harrowing escape from the "dollhouse" which A had trapped them in, and ending the first half of the season with the shocking revelation of who A actually is, the PLL squad are proof that you can truly survive anything so long as you have your best friends by your side.

12. Gigi Hadid & Kendall Jenner

Hadid and Jenner are fun personified, and this past year they've completely taken over gossip columns by avoiding salacious scandal and instead being adorable friends who publicly celebrate each others awesomeness. They also look like they're having the best time whenever the other is around, which is the sign of true platonic love, you guys.

Ultimately, it hasn't just been a defining year for these female friendships, but for female friendship as a whole. Good work, ladies!

Images: Giphy; Netflix (2); Lifetime; ABC Family; Tidal