Our love for actress Connie Britton and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand knows no bounds.
So when we learned that these two amazing women were roommates for part of their university days, it seemed like all of our BFF dreams had come true.
In an Oct. 8 interview with "Morning Joe," Britton, best known for her roles on "Friday Night Lights" and "Nashville," revealed that she shared a room with Gillibrand during a college summer program in Beijing. Both women were Asian Studies majors at Dartmouth, and were among the earliest Dartmouth students to travel to China after the country opened up to American students.
"I actually have some amazing stories, a couple of which I can’t tell,” Britton said of that summer. "We were there over the summer so we were there over Fourth of July and the American embassy had a big Fourth of July party and part of that was doing a lip sync contest and Kirsten and two other girlfriends of ours did a Madonna song. Can’t remember exactly which one but let me just say, we won the contest!"
Here are five other things we hope they did together:
1. Plotted world domination.
The pair might not have known just how famous they would each become, but we're sure they knew what they wanted.
“I’m a believer in pushing yourself outside your comfort zone," Britton said in an August 2013 interview with Ladies Home Journal. "That’s what keeps us feeling alive.”
We bet she had that attitude back then, too.
2. Discussed the importance of women in politics.
Both women are extremely vocal about the need for women to speak out politically, vote and run for office. In a May 2011 blog for the Huffington Post, Gillibrand wrote:
Now more than ever, we must get more women engaged at every level of public life. Because if women don't get off the sidelines, there are decisions being made every day about every aspect of our lives and they might not like what they find.
And in an October 2012 op-ed for USA Today, Britton protested Mitt Romney's use of the "Friday Night Lights" catchphrase "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." She wrote:
As women, let's take "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" back and use it as it was always intended -- as a motivator for progress, power, and greatness. Let's use our clear eyes and full hearts to vote early. Let's use our clear eyes and full hearts to tell every friend, family member and neighbor about what's at stake for women in this election. What's at stake for all of us. If we women make ourselves aware of the issues and make our voices heard, we most certainly cannot lose.
3. Talked about their love lives.
Is it unreasonable to hope that Britton was as wise then as her future "Friday Night Lights" character Tami Taylor?
4. Traded life advice, courtesy of their female role models.
Gillibrand credits Hillary Clinton for inspiring her. In a July 2011 interview for Marie Claire, Gillibrand said of the former Secretary of State: "I was so moved by what she did and what she said, it really challenged me to think about what I was doing with my life and whether I was making a difference." Britton has said that she was inspired by actresses like Goldie Hawn, who have consistently taken on complex female roles.
5. Thought about what kind of role models they themselves would be one day.
"I have a great sense of responsibility about what my voice is in the world, and as a woman in the world," Britton told Fast Company in late 2011. "I don't take that lightly."
What wouldn't we give to have roomed with these two for a summer...
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