Kathleen Martinez: The Real-Life Elle Woods

Kathleen Martinez was fired from her first job because she refused to make coffee. She wasn't a barista - she was a lawyer. Now, she's a TikTok sensation with over a million followers who runs her own all-pink law firm.

Kathleen Martinez is an immigration lawyer and mother of two from Oregon. She loves wearing glamorous makeup and dressing in pink. When she studied law, she wasn't taken seriously - she was told she would fail her exams. But she passed the bar exam, and once again has proven that you shouldn't put women in a box.

At her first job, she was fired because she refused to dress more conservatively, by wearing muted colours, and wouldn't make her male boss's coffee for him. Martinez has said that her boss constantly commented on her appearance, and once even demanded she change out of the green dress she was wearing to a trial, into a more modest colour, or they wouldn't go with her to the court. The funniest part? The judge apparently loved the dress!

Later, she decided she would start her own all-pink immigration law firm, where women are encouraged to embrace their personal style, not tone it down, because loving pink and fashion does not equal being unintelligent. Once again, people discouraged her, claiming that no one would want to work for an all pink law firm, but she employed 25 people within a year. Martinez Immigration even ran Kathleen's old boss out of business. He even applied for a job at her firm! She told him that they needed someone to make the girls coffee.

Because of her story, the internet has dubbed Martinez the real-life 'Elle Woods,' and from her bright pink wardrobe, feminist outlook, and skill in law, she certainly seems like it. Kathleen has stated that she drew her biggest inspiration from the film character, even going as far as to call Elle Woods her religion. She said that Elle showed her that she didn't have to fit in a specific box. Now, she owns 30 pink suits.