Elle's 2016 Women in TV List Is Its Most Diverse Ever, Featuring Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Priyanka Chopra and More

Five of the 32 actresses receive their own February Covers

By Francesca Bacardi Jan 12, 2016 5:59 PMTags
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The past few years the idea of women in Hollywood has been an increasingly important topic. Whether it's the issue of diversity, wage gap or even nabbing a role when an actress is above the age of 40, the women of Hollywood are speaking out against everything they face. Elle magazine, however, is addressing a few of the issues in its February Women in TV issue.

The magazine's 2016 Women in TV list is easily its most diverse feature ever, including actresses such as Golden Globe winner Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis, Priyanka Chopra, Olivia Wilde and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. These five women receive their own covers, and inside their issues they open up about the struggles they face and what they're thankful for in their careers. The total list features 32 women.

Chopra, who stars in Quantico, debates the idea of women "having it all." "Why should a woman have to pick between global domination and having the love of her life?" she asks.

Although Empire's Cookie Lyon easily has become one of the most quotable characters on TV, Henson wanted to make sure that viewers took her character seriously and not be looked at as a joke. "It was very important to me that [Cookie Lyon] not be sassy and neck-rollin' and eye-bulgin' and attitude all the time," Henson tells the magazine. "Everything she does is coming from a place of fighting for her family. That's why she's not a caricature."

Dreyfus, who like Henson has dabbled in both film and TV, recognizes how many more quality opportunities there are for women on the small screen, which is why she considers herself #blessed to have found Veep. "Go to the movies—how many good scripts are you really seeing out there? How many good, meaty roles are there for women within those scripts? Not tons of them," she says. "Right now there are so many [TV] shows on with strong, complicated, powerful, not-so-powerful, interesting human beings who are women. And I am thrilled to be playing one of them."

How to Get Away With Murder's Davis is tired of the industry myths about women and their careers. "If you are anywhere above a size 2, you're not having sex. You don't have sexual thoughts. You may not even have a vagina," she jokes. "And if you're of a certain age, you're off the table." Given her success in both TV and film, Davis knows the realities behind Hollywood and isn't afraid to expose them.

Although Wilde's HBO show, Vinyl, doesn't premiere until Valentine's Day, her role is already making waves, hence her selection as a cover star. Her experience in TV has been vast, appearing on The OC and then securing a main role on House. Taking a break in between, Wilde learned how fleeting success can be. "One day all these people were bowing down to me and throwing free clothes at me and telling me I was the best thing since sliced bread, and the next day...all of that disappeared," she reveals. "That was great for an 18-year-old to learn, and I will never again take the BS seriously."

Watch: Taraji P. Henson on Dream Role & Winning Globes