Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in 'Bridget Jones’s Diary.' Miramax/ViacmomCBSīut Bridget Jones was never meant to be aspirational. She wasn’t strong enough, independent enough, feminist enough (in one entry, Bridget famously writes: “There is nothing so unattractive to a man as a strident feminist”). “The fictional representation of a single girl in her 30s was way outdated,” explained Helen Fielding in a recent BBC documentary to mark the character’s 25th anniversary.Ĭritics of Bridget Jones thought she was far too fixated on her weight and finding a man, that the character played into stereotypes about single women waiting around for Mr. When she appeared in the mid-90s her character brought the lives and experiences of single women center stage in a way that felt new and quietly groundbreaking - and didn’t involve boiling your married lover’s pet rabbit, Fatal Attraction style. When it comes to cultural depictions of unmarried women in their 30s, few have had quite so much impact - or been quite so divisive - as Bridget (sorry, Carrie).Ī quarter of a century on, Bridget Jones’ legacy is a complicated one. Two sequels followed - including Bridget Jones ’ Baby, released five years ago.īridget Jones brought many things into our lives - enormous underwear, blue soup, Hugh Grant saying, “Hello, mummy” - but, of course, the thing she was, and is still, most famous for is being single. In 2001, Renee Zellweger brought Bridget to life on the big screen in a hugely successful movie that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. It went on to be published in 40 countries, sell 15 million copies, and spawn three more novels. Starting life as a fictional creation for a British newspaper column written by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones ’ Diary became a best-selling book in 1996.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding