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10 Old-School Fictional Orphans We Heart

Jessica Booth — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:00:23 +0000

What is it about orphans that TV shows and movies find so interesting? Being an orphan is super sad, but somehow, the media has turned it into something that actually seems sort of… cool? Well, maybe not, but they definitely know how to take a depressing orphan story and turn it into a sort of fairytale. You know, a poor orphan is rescued by an amazing (maybe rich) family – and their life totally turns around.

So here are 10 fictional orphans from TV shows and movies that we here at Gurl.com definitely envied when we were kids (before we really understood the term ‘orphan’). And even if these stories are a little ridiculous, you have to admit they’re still kind of inspirational. Check out our favorite old-school fictional orphans from the ’80s, ’90s, and more:

Annie from Annie

If the story of Annie doesn’t give you hope that things will get better, then I don’t know what does. Annie just might be the cutest little redhead ever, plus she kicks some serious butt – just look at that punch she throws in the beginning of this trailer! Little orphan Annie has to be one of the most famous orphans of all time, and we’ll probably never stop watching this 1982 film, no matter how old it gets.

Punky from Punky Brewster

Penelope, better known as Punky, is one of the coolest fictional orphans ever. Punky Brewster was only on TV for about two years in the late ’80s, but I know I’m not alone in wishing that it lasted much longer than that. At only seven-years-old, Punky was a total rockstar – complete Gurl crush material!

Arnold and Willis Jackson from Diff’rent Strokes

Although Diff’rent Strokes is a pretty old TV show (beginning in 1978!), I know most of you have definitely heard of it. Arnold and his older brother Willis were left to fend for themselves in Harlem after their mother died. But luckily, they were rescued by her totally rich boss and started to live an awesome life. Fairytale ending! Does anyone know if they still play re-runs on TV now? Please say yes!

Luke from Growing Pains

Luke just might be my favorite orphan on this list, and I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that a young and adorable Leonardo DiCaprio played him. Okay, that might be a lie, but Growing Pains was always one of my favorite shows. As nerdy as the Seavers could be, they were still really awesome. What homeless kid wouldn’t want to be taken in by them?

All of the girls from Rags to Riches

You’re all familiar with Glee, right? Okay, well Rags to Riches was kind of like the ’80s version of Glee… except instead of being about high school kids, it was about five orphan girls who were adopted by a millionaire. It was the coolest show ever, because every episode featured a music video of a popular song of that time re-done by the cast. Can this come back on, please?

The Salinger kids from Party Of Five

For some reason, Party Of Five never got great ratings when it aired in the ’90s, which I will never understand, since it was one of the best shows ever. I mean, seriously. It was all about the five Salinger kids – Baily, Charlie, Julie, Claudia and Kristen – who became orphaned after their parents died in a car accident. Even though the idea was really sad, watching the five of them get by was pretty awesome.

Cinderella from Cinderella

Um, has anyone else noticed that the Disney princesses have some serious parent issues? Cinderella’s family life seriously stinks after she’s left with her evil stepmother and stepsisters. Believe it or not, the Disney movie came out in 1950… but she’s still one of the best princesses of all time.

Amanda from It Takes Two

Does anyone else remember when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made movies and weren’t fashion designers? Because I do. And let’s be honest, It Takes Two might have been their best movie ever. Amanda (played by Mary-Kate) was an orphan who just so happened to look identical to Ashley’s character Alyssa… even though they weren’t related. And then they do their best to become sisters. Movie perfection.

Jesse from Free Willy

Thanks to this movie, I still can’t look at killer whales without wanting to cry. Jesse was a 12-year-old boy abandoned by his mom who ended up in a foster home… and became best friends with Willy. It’s one of the cutest movies ever, and you seriously have to wonder how a mom could abandon someone as cool as Jesse.

Oliver Twist from Oliver Twist

I know I said Annie might be the most famous orphan ever, but I take that back – she probably ties with Oliver Twist. There have been tons of different adaptations of this story by Charles Dickens, but they all have the same basic plot: how Oliver gets treated terribly as an orphan. It will definitely always be a classic.

Who was your favorite orphan from this list? Who did we miss? Have you seen all of these shows/movies? Let us know in the comments!

Want more nostalgia? Check out these old-school girl bands!

12 ’90s Hair Trends We (Sort Of) Miss

Jessica Booth — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:33 +0000

90s Hair Trends
Let’s not kid ourselves: growing up in the ’90s (or early 2000s) was pretty awesome. But while most of my childhood memories seem so magical (like Furbies, duh!), some of the trends I remember are a little bit, um… odd. Take, for example, these crazy hair trends from the ’90s – you might not be able to imagine yourself pulling this off now, but I bet when you were a kid, you were all about them:

Butterfly Clips

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One of my favorite pastimes? Collecting as many different colored butterfly clips as I possibly could. Seriously, I’m not joking when I say I had full drawers of these. They had so many uses! And who wouldn’t want butterflies in their hair?! Come on, now.

Mini Ponytails

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One of those uses? Stylishly clipping back our tiny mini ponytails. True story: I recreated this look way too many times once Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen started showing it off. They were, like, the voice of our generation, guys.

Bra Strap Headbands

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GUYS. Don’t even pretend you didn’t wear these. I don’t know why, but I thought they were the best idea ever. Who knew bra straps could do more than hold up boobs? Even this model looks confused as to why this is on her head. I mean, I guess you can still wear them, but they scream ’90s.

Cornrows

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Let’s be honest: not everyone can rock cornrows. But I guess we all thought we could at one point. Especially when accented with pretty clips and mini ponytails.

Crimped Hair

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I’m a little ashamed to tell you how many nights I went to bed with wet hair braided in order to wake up to a head full of crimped strands. Because it was a lot, because my mom wouldn’t let me purchase a legit crimper. It kind of looks silly now, but back then? It was only one of the hottest styles ever.

Big Barrettes

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Huge barrettes were so popular when I was a kid – the bigger, the more colorful and the tackier looking, the better!

Hair Wraps

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Remember when you were little and every time you went on vacation you just HAD to get a section of your hair wrapped? I mean, duh! That was the only way people knew you went somewhere cool!

Headbands

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Thanks to Blair Waldorf, headbands are enjoying quite the comeback, but today’s options are definitely prettier and more delicate than what we had in the 90s. I have fond memories of large velvet ones that kind of took over your whole head.

Hair Impressions

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Who wouldn’t jump at the chance of pressing different shapes into their hair? Hearts, stars, zig-zags… we had so much fun with hair back then!

Mall Bangs

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These super perky, super fluffy bangs were all the rage back in the ’90s, and DJ Tanner (from Full House) shows that off the best.

Fake Dreads

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If there’s one thing to take away from ’90s hair trends, it’s that there was a lot going on. Like creating the dreadlock look by twisting your hair. When I saw Jennifer Aniston do this, I was SO JEALOUS. Now, I’m so confused.

Scrunchies

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A ’90s roundup wouldn’t be complete without mentioning scrunchies! Today, we all buy the skinniest hair ties possibly – but back in the ’90s? It was all about the biggest and most outrageous scrunchies we could find. And we wore them while rocking the side pony, obviously.

What did we miss? What’s your favorite ’90s hair trend? What do you wish would be brought back? Tell us in the comments!

Want more 90s nostalgia? Here are 25 things we miss from the ’90s!

90s Hair Trends

25 Things We Miss From The ’90s

Jessica Booth — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:00:17 +0000

I need this shirt...

Before the days of super smart phones, Facebook, and Justin Bieber; there were Nintendo 64s, Tamagotchis, and The Backstreet Boys— three of the most popular things in the ’90s. The toys and gadgets might have been more simple, and the TV shows and movies might not have been 3D, but one thing’s for sure: the ’90s rocked.

If I could list all of the things I miss about the ’90s, well… this would be a very, very long post. While some things have happily returned (reruns of Boy Meets World, Full House and Saved By The Bell, along with the ’90s Nickelodeon lineup), a lot of things seem to be gone for good. What we wouldn’t give to hear a brand new N*SYNC song…

We might not be able to get these things back, but we definitely can spend a lot of time reminiscing on how much we miss them. Check out the 25 most-missed things from the ’90s:

AOL IM: Don’t act like you don’t miss screen names. (Mine was xxprncsscutiexx. Don’t judge.)