7. Courtney Cox (Jules - Cougar Town)
It's such a pity that Cougar Town has that unfortunate title (an issue addressed frequently in the opening titles of the show) as it is about so much more than a woman in her forties chasing after younger men. In fact, when the show's fifth season kicks off this January, the main character Jules, a woman in her forties, will have been married to a man her own age for over a year. Rather than mid-life crises or whatever it is the title might lead you to believe, Cougar Town is fundamentally a series about friendship in all of its forms, and how bonds can form in unlikely places between people you mightn't have anticipated. At the heart of the show is Jules, played perfectly by Courtney Cox who is best known for having played Monica on Friends, another strong female character. While Jules does have a tendency to be self-absorbed and narcissistic, she also has a heart of gold and is shown to care deeply for her son and the close-knit circle of friends she has in her neighbourhood. More importantly, we also think it's so refreshing to see a woman who is almost 50 holding her own as the lead character in a sitcom, and for that we take our hat off to Courtney Cox.