I like Elle Woods' character. I think there's a misconception that you have to look or act one way to be smart or dedicated that puts some young women off education or certain careers.
A few things have the great 'ugly Betty' message that you don't have to care about your looks or be a girlie girl as long as you're a good, smart person which is a very good message to send, but what about people who act that way not because they feel they should, but because they like to?

In things where the smart girl is the hero the girlie girl is usually used as either comic relief or an enemy for the hero. Well, that or the hero gets a makeover and realises 'hey, I'm hot now, what was I thinking reading books? I'll never do that again'
I love the fact that they didn't feel the need to make Elle less perky and girlie to have her expand her mind just as much as I love that in Ugly Betty they didn't feel the need to have the 'oh what a relief, she was secretly a trendy hottie all along' moment. Well, I'm not up to date on my Ugly Betty, they hadn't done that last time I watched and I hope they don't :)

No, Ugly Betty's still that way and they don't seem to be changing direction.

I also like Elle because of how utterly accepting she is of everyone, no matter what. She's so positive and sweet, and even while everyone is judging her, she never looks at them negatively. Instead, she just proves herself.

I'm a fan of Elle too. You guys have pretty much covered the reasons. She was smart when no-one expected her to be without changing herself and when people doubted her and judged her she didn't yell or hate them or give up she was just even more cheerily determined to show what she could do.

When you really think about it (which I hadn't until I saw this forum), she's an excellent role model. She's a positive, generous woman who loves to help others. She's ambitious, but not unscrupulous. And she remained true to herself even when faced with contemptuous judgment.