Celebrating your loved ones is great, but whether you’re single or in a relationship – nothing beats the loyalty and comfort of a friend that just gets you.
And if you’re a woman, well no one needs to tell you the power of a solid female friendship even when you’re going through the toughest of times!
In life and in media, women are often pit against each other, but in reality female friendships can be nuanced, uplifting bonds that can see you through life’s best and worst moments.
This Galentine’s Day we look at 10 amazing female friendships across pop culture across film and TV, books and even real life (plus a little bonus one – which we would say is our personal favourite female friendship! )
Meredith and Cristina — ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
If Galentine’s Day celebrates the friend who stands beside you through every version of yourself, Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang set the gold standard. While viewers obsessed over Meredith and McDreamy, Grey’s Anatomy quietly built its greatest love story elsewhere.
From their first day as surgical interns, Meredith and Cristina chose each other — as dance partners in dark kitchens, drinking buddies after brutal shifts, and the steady constant in a hospital defined by chaos and catastrophe. In a residency designed to pit ambition against ego, they recognized the same drive and darkness in one another and chose solidarity instead.
Remember when Cristina told Meredith, “He’s very dreamy, but he is not the sun. You are”? That distilled the ethos of their friendship. They did not shrink for love, nor let men define their orbit. They fought, outgrew cities, endured loss, but never stopped being each other’s person. That fierce, unsentimental devotion — chosen, tested and unwavering — is why they remain pop culture’s blueprint for female friendship goals.
Vasu and Radhika – ‘Snegithiye’
Everyone has a friend at school or university they think is their ride or die – which of course fades away as life and responsibilities catch up to you.
But 2000 Tamil film Snegithiye, Vasu ( Jyothika) and Radhika (Sharbani Mukherjee) portray a friendship and a sisterhood that is a pure celebration of the deep loyalty. When a friend defends you in petty classroom squabbles and then also goes on the run when you’re faced with murder charges – you know you’ve found your person!
Their friendship is one filled not just with fierce protection over each other but quiet fears of drifting apart once their college days are behind them. And you know they are secure in their friendship when at the end of the film they accept a former bully – who accepts to simply being envious of their friendship – into their tiny world of two.
If reading about this movie and the dynamics between Vasu and Radhika reminded you of any old – seemingly forgotten – female friends, take this Galentine’s Day to try and reach out?
Anne Shirley and Diana Barry — ‘Anne of Green Gables’
Anne Shirley and Diana Barry are pop culture friendship goals because they treat girlhood devotion as something grand, not secondary. When Anne declares Diana her “kindred spirit,” it is not childish exaggeration; it is the language of someone who has finally found home in another person. Their bond is tender, dramatic and occasionally chaotic, filled with raspberry cordial disasters and heartfelt vows, yet anchored in unwavering loyalty.
They bicker, they misstep, and they nearly get torn apart by adult interference, yet they choose each other every time. Their bond feels sweeping and romantic in intensity, yet remains unmistakably platonic — a reminder that first great love stories do not always involve a man.
Kim Hye-jin and Min Ha-ri – ‘She Was Pretty’
In 2015 Korean rom-com drama She Was Pretty, the friendship between Hye-jin (Hwang Jung-eum) and Ha-ri (Go Joon-hee) is a heartwarming journey of loyalty and forgiveness.
The two characters – one conventionally attractive and the other considered less so in their society – are more sisters than friends. When Ha-ri pretends to be Hye-jin to preserve a childhood crush’s memory of what Hye-jin looked like in the past, what unfolds a test of loyalty between between the two friends.
What could have easily become an embittered fallout over romantic feelings for the same man instead becomes an encapsulation of what it means to forgive each other and root for each other.
In a drama where the romantic chemistry is consistently adorable, it truly says something about Hye-jin and Ha-ri’s bond that we walk away from the series remembering their friendship over the romance.
Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues – Indian Women Cricketers
When we see female friendships portrayed on screen or in media it can be easy to brush it off as something we idolised or romanticised rather than realistic.
But Indian athletes Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues are proof that if you meet the right person, friendships don’t just endure, they flourish even in the toughest, most competitive environments.
Whether its genuine joy for each other’s achievements on the cricket field, silly social media moments – that have gained them the fond nickname “wrong sisters” among fans – or Jemimah’s selfless decision to put professional commitments on the back burner to support Smriti through a personal struggle, these two national treasures capture our hearts with much more than their sporting performances.
Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bridget — ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’
Like Anne and Diana before them, Bridget, Carmen, Lena and Tibby feel almost cosmically aligned — except their shared magic arrives in the form of a weathered pair of jeans that somehow fits them all. The denim becomes more than a quirky plot device; it becomes a sharp metaphor for girlhood. Different bodies, different lives and different cities — yet one thread pulling them back together. As they leave Maryland for their first summer apart, the jeans travel where they cannot, carrying reassurance that growing up does not mean growing away.
What makes the quartet friendship goals is their refusal of manufactured rivalry. They face grief, divorce, body image struggles, first love and depression without turning on one another. When one spirals, another shows up. When one feels invisible, another listens. Their bond evolves, stretches and survives distance because it’s rooted in something sturdier than proximity. The story makes a strong case that adolescence feels survivable when you know your friends will catch you before you fall.
Nimmy and Sally – ‘Deshadanakkili Karayarilla’
Deshadanakkili Karayarilla is a 1986 Malayalam film from Padmarajan was far ahead of its time, exploring the concept of womance in a time where only bromances shined bright.
Capturing innocence, purity and complexity love within intricate layers, the film’s representation of the bond schoolgirls Nimmy (Karthika) and Sally (Shari) is as comforting as it is intriguing.
One (Nimmy) is sweet and gentle all sweeping skirts, long braids and bright smiles, the other (Sally) is brash, rebelling against the standards expected of a woman of her time ; short hair, bulky shirts and a protective, charming aura – so different from each other and yet two people who clearly cannot do without each other.
They are friends, yet there is an undertone of something more – peeking through just as much in their happy-go-lucky moments as much as it does in expressions of possessiveness. We are never explicitly told they are in love with each other, but their love exists – platonic, romantic or in a soft, warm space somewhere in between-and it is deep enough to push them to tragic sacrifices at the end.
Max and Caroline — ‘2 Broke Girls’
Max Black and Caroline Channing are proof that female friendship doesn’t need matching backgrounds, just matching commitment. One grew up with nothing, the other lost everything overnight, but from the second Max offers Caroline her couch, they begin building something far more valuable than comfort — loyalty. What starts as reluctant cohabitation turns into chosen family, woven together by late rent, failed business plans, sharp one-liners and the kind of hustle that leaves no room for ego.
They work because their strengths lock into place. Max’s street smart brings grit, instinct and an undeniable baking talent; Caroline brings structure, optimism and the relentless belief in their cupcake dream. They bicker, they stumble, and they make terrible decisions, but they never walk away from one another.
Caroline gives Max something to aspire beyond survival, and Max gives Caroline a solid ground after a free fall. It’s messy, loud and built under pressure — which is exactly why it feels real, and why they remain pop culture friendship goals.
Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye – Chinese actresses
Two popular Chinese actresses at the top of their game, and yet beneath the glitz and glamour Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye are just two besties whose bond brims with warmth, joy and a good dose of gossip.
The pair who first interacted in a variety show – soon after their respective breakout roles in The Untamed and Word of Honor – quickly hit it off, giving fans plenty of glimpses into their developing friendship during the show. But several years later, the pair still warm hearts with their cute interactions whenever they’re seen together.
Most recently, the pair who both made appearances at Weibo Night 2025 were seen whispering to each other, giggling and being just all round adorable as they had catch up in their own little bestie bubble in the middle of a glitzy awards ceremony.
When you look at Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye’s bond, you’re sure to be reminded of at least one friend you have – that one you can go ages without speaking to and when you do catch up it’s like no time has passed!
Boys World – “Girlfriends”
A celebration of Galentine’s Day without a girl power anthem to top things off? Not a chance!
Pop newcomers Boys World celebrate the “sisters over misters” mentality to perfection on their anthemic production “Girlfriends.” A catchy friendship bop that’s all about hyping your female friends and reminding their boys that they’ve got no place in your life if you can’t respect your relationship with your girls, this song is empowering, vibrant and just an overall celebration of female friendship.
If you’re also a fellow “sisters over misters” girlie, go ahead and send this pop banger to your bestie!
And finally…
Malvika Padin and Khushboo Malhotra – Lyrical Muse
That’s right – we’re taking Galentine’s Day to celebrate us. If there’s one thing that can be called the heart of this little publication, its our friendship.
From two young aspiring journalists in their early 20s to co-founders of our passion project, we connected for work, stayed friends purely out of love for each other and grew our friendship through work – coming full circle in a way.
We’re not perfect, our dynamics are unlike any of the bonds you just read about above. Chaotic, argumentative, with the dumbest jokes only we get and utterly incapable of showing love without banter – our bond and by extension our work is unfiltered, honest, passionate and comes straight from the heart.
If you’ve considered starting something with your bestie – take us as your sign to give it a shot.
And on that note, Happy Galentine’s to all!
[ Words by Malvika Padin and Khushboo Malhotra | Image Courtesy to respective owners]
What’s your favourite female friendship in pop culture? We’d love to know via Instagram . Don’t forget to check out the rest of our Valentine’s special series on Lyrical Muse.
Leave a Reply