My So-Called LifeCreator Reveals How Barbra Streisand Inspired the Beloved High School Show (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Claire Danes and Winnie Holzman in 1994.Photo:ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment/getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment/getty

When Winnie Holzman looks back onMy So-Called Life,it’s with fondness and gratitude. Only 19 episodes aired before the show was canceled in 1995, but its effect on viewers and pop culture runs deep.

Holzman’s writing resonated with fans who identified with the Liberty High School students thanks to each character’s depth and complexity. “I was interested in the idea that there are these stereotypes that one takes on, these personas that one often is labeled in high school,” Holzman tells PEOPLE exclusively on the 30th anniversary of the premiere. “Like the good girl, the slutty girl, the bad boy, the smart kid, the nerdy kid. What I was playing with and exploring was the idea that people are a stereotype, but there’s so much more.”

‘My So-Called Life’ castmembers Devon Gummersall, Jared Leto, Devon Odessa, Claire Danes, Lisa Wilhoit, A.J. Langer, Tom Irwin, Bess Armstrong and Wilson Cruz.Mark Seliger/ABC/Getty Images

She continues, “It’s always stayed with me, the power of putting people on screen who maybe haven’t been depicted — or haven’t been depictedfairly— with respect,” she says. “I was doing that in general with teenagers. I’m not saying I’m the only person who ever did that, but I wanted to show respect for these people who were that age.”

Despite only lasting one season, the show lived on in syndication and is now streaming, earning a new generation of fans. Holzman says she’s “grateful” that people “still feel connected” to the show.

“You want to feel that you moved people, that they felt connected to the characters, that they maybe even loved the characters. … I love that it’s resonated for people, that it stayed with people. That makes me very happy.”

Rickie faced hardships, including homophobia and homeless, but remained positive. For Holzman,Cruzwas a “beacon of light” who instantly snagged the part. “You just felt his goodness and kindness,” she shares.

Devon Gummersall, A.J. Langer, Claire Danes, Wilson Cruz and Devon Odessa.ABC/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Thirty years later, Holzman admits she often hears from fans of the show — many being members of the LGBTQ+ community — who have thanked her for her work.

“It’s people who’ve come up to me and said, ‘I used to watch the show with my mom, and that was how I was able to come out to my mom,’” she adds. “Something like that makes you feel so, so good that you could have played a small part in helping that conversation to happen, or just people who imparted to me that they felt less alone, that they could see [themselves in] Rickie.”

For more on Winnie Holzman andMy So-Called Life, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

Claire Danes and Jared Leto on ‘My So-Called Life’.Mark Seliger/Abc Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

Mark Seliger/Abc Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

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For Holzman, success boiled down to one thing: “This is really the big lesson ofMy So-Called Life —it didn’t need to be a huge hit. It didn’t need to be a ratings juggernaut. It didn’t need to have more than 19 episodes to affect people. It just was what it was. And in its own small way, it did make this positive effect. So that became something that really taught me what success looks like.”

Adding, “I thinkMy So-Called Lifetaught me that it’s all about being true to myself, knowing that I put 100% of myself into it, and so did all of us together. It was such a group effort. Nobody was phoning that in. Nobody. We cared about every moment of that show. If you do that, that’s success.”

All 19 episodes ofMy So-Called Lifeare available to stream on Hulu.

source: people.com