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ELLE honors 5 diverse TV actresses: Taraji P. Henson, Priyanka Chopra, Viola Davis and more

ELLE magazine took a radical move to highlight some diverse actresses stealing the spotlight on the small screen.
/ Source: TODAY

In its sixth annual Women in TV issue, ELLE magazine is shining a light on the must-see women to watch in 2016, highlighting five standout actresses to grace the covers of the February issue: Golden Globe winner Taraji P. Henson, Priyanka Chopra, Viola Davis, Olivia Wilde and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The covers are amazing and unprecedented, thanks to its diverse group of women. It's a nice reminder of the wide spectrum of beauty that is available to Hollywood if they just keep looking.

Here's a sneak peek at what the cover stars had to say about breaking stereotypes, aging in Hollywood, picking the right roles and amazing photos from the issue:

Cedric Buchet / ELLE

Priyanka Chopra

The actress from "Quantico" had this to say on the idea of women "having it all": "Why should a woman have to pick between global domination and having the love of her life?" she asks.

Priyanka Chopra in ELLE
Cedric Buchet / ELLE
Julia Louis Dreyfus
David Bellemere / ELLE

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

"Veep's" Dreyfus is counting her blessings playing no-BS, independent Vice President Selena Meyer. “Go to the movies — how many good scripts are you really seeing out there? How many good, meaty roles are there for women within those scripts? Not tons of them. Right now there are so many [TV] shows on with strong, complicated, powerful, not-so-powerful, interesting human beings who are women. And I am thrilled to be playing one of them.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in ELLE
David Bellemere / ELLE
Taraji P. Henson
Dan Martensen / ELLE

Taraji P. Henson

The 2016 Golden Globe winner who stars as Cookie on Fox's "Empire" knew she didn't want her character to be typecasted: "It was very important to me that [Cookie Lyon] not be sassy and neck-rollin' and eye-bulgin' and attitude all the time. Everything she does is coming from a place of fighting for her family. That's why she's not a caricature."

Tarji P. Henson in ELLE
Dan Martensen / ELLE

RELATED: Taraji P. Henson lists her Hollywood home — check it out

Viola Davis on ELLE magazine
David Bellemere / ELLE

Viola Davis

Viola Davis of "How to Get Away With Murder" knew women her age or size weren't seen on TV as sexual beings. “We’ve been fed a whole slew of lies about women.” By TV standards, “if you are anywhere above a size 2, you’re not having sex. You don’t have sexual thoughts. You may not even have a vagina. And if you’re of a certain age, you’re off the table.”

Viola Davis in ELLE magazine
David Bellemere / ELLE
Olivia Wilde on ELLE magazine
David Bellemere / ELLE

Olivia Wilde

Wilde who is starring in the upcoming HBO series "Vinyl" learned from a young age just how short-lived stardom could be. "One day all these people were bowing down to me and throwing free clothes at me and telling me I was the best thing since sliced bread, and the next day...all of that disappeared. That was great for an 18-year-old to learn, and I will never again take the BS seriously.”

Olivia Wilde in ELLE magazine
David Bellemere / ELLE

RELATED: See the fun way Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis' son, Otis, accessorized

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