In the immortal words of Olivia Wilde, “We love America.”

Personally, I could not agree more with this sentiment, for I also love America Ferrera.

Throughout her career, the Honduran American has given me so much to be thankful for. Each project she is a part of becomes hers — no other actor matters. For those unfamiliar with her work, she was most recently in the news for her performance as Gloria in “Barbie” and the monologue of the summer. She is also that girl in both “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005) and “Superstore.” Most importantly, she is the star of the greatest, most realistic coming-of-age movie, “Real Women Have Curves” (2002). Basically, no one is doing it like her.

What I really want to talk about, however, is “Ugly Betty,” a 2000s telenovela dramedy based on the Colombian telenovela “Yo soy Betty, la fea.” The show follows Ferrera as Betty, a 20-something-year-old Mexican American woman who dreams of becoming a magazine editor. When she applies for a job at Mode magazine — a play on the infamous Vogue magazine — she is basically not given a chance because she does not fit the slim, conventionally attractive, mostly white image of the fashion magazine.

Betty is a mid-sized Mexican woman with bushy eyebrows and adult braces. This is what is supposed to put the “ugly” in “Ugly Betty.” Also, we are supposed to believe she dresses poorly, but from a 2023 lens — let me just say the TikTok girlies would worship her.

Through a series of events (just watch the show yourself to find out, it’s worth it), she becomes assistant to the editor-in-chief and begins her career at Mode. There she is subject to rampant harassment from her coworkers who call her fat (she’s not), ugly (she’s not) and make plenty of jokes about her Mexican ancestry.

I’m making the show sound serious, but it is truly very funny. It has all the telenovela elements my abuelita would have eaten up. It is truly a show that bridges generations.     

Betty rarely (if ever) lets them tear her down, and she never resorts to dissing them back. Betty is an amazing character but is the subject of constant ridicule based on her appearance and heritage. She played this “ugly” character for four years, and she played it with pride.

“When I’m playing Betty, I feel beautiful because she is such an enlightening spirit,” Ferrera told Entertainment Tonight in 2006. “She’s the most intelligent, kindest, warmest human being in any room she walks into. To play that is so empowering.”

Putting my feelings about this woman into an article feels impossible; she is simply incredible. I wish I could write a whole book just on that one quote. I mourn for the young me who never saw “Ugly Betty” and never got to experience Ferrera’s power and confidence. Maybe my childhood would’ve been different.

In elementary school and middle school, I would beg my mom to not come and speak to my Spanish classes. Please keep in mind, this is all coming from a “no sabo” kid. And that “no sabo”-ness is all my stupid fault, my internalized shame for something that should have been celebrated.

When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, my eighth grade homeroom period the next morning was filled with “Build the wall! Build the wall!” chants from edgy 13-year-old boys. They were probably joking, but I don’t really know. During the entirety of 2016 leading up to the election, I heard the vilest words about Mexican people that I never imagined would be muttered in the middle of the liberal Bay Area. The words spoken by my classmates still haunt me to this day, and I have actively worked to forget many of my middle school memories. 

However, Betty has made me question this tactic: Why do I have to still grapple with these middle school memories? My time at that school already took away years of my getting to know my heritage, and since then I’ve lost my abuelos — my ultimate connection to Mexico. Who knows what would have happened if I watched “Ugly Betty” and “Real Women Have Curves” before my college days? Maybe I would have rid myself of the “no sabo” name, or maybe I just would have been happier. At least I can hope Betty did that for others, and will continue to for ages to come. Thank you, Betty. And thank you, America, for everything.

Kimberly Aguirre is a junior writing about comedy. Her column, “Comic Relief,” typically runs every other Friday. She is also an associate managing editor at the Daily Trojan.