--- description: "It’s impossible not to feel empowered when you put it on," Benoist said of her costume title: How Melissa Benoist Felt When She Put on Her 'Supergirl' Costume for the First Time image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Melissa Benoist Felt When She Put on Her _Supergirl_ Costume for the First Time by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2015 12:41 AM CUT by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2015 12:41 AM CUT Melissa Benoist, the star of the upcoming television series _Supergirl,_ felt a range of emotions the first time she put on her signature leotard and cape to play Kara Zor-El—but most of all she felt empowered. “It’s impossible not to feel empowered when you put it on,” the former _Glee_ cast member told [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/02/supergirl-melissa-benoist-cbs-interview?xid=IFT-Trending "undefined"). “I feel like a different person almost. It really is an alter ego, where I feel inspired, hopeful and empowered.” > [](https://twitter.com/MelissaBenoist/status/573954883100934144) Benoist’s new show premieres on CBS in October. Read more at [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/02/supergirl-melissa-benoist-cbs-interview?xid=IFT-Trending "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/"},"headline":"How Melissa Benoist Felt When She Put on Her Supergirl Costume for the First Time","datePublished":"2015-07-03T00:41:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:45:10.872Z","description":"\"It’s impossible not to feel empowered when you put it on\"","url":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/","keywords":["Television","celebrities","entertainment","Comics","Supergirl"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/","name":"How Melissa Benoist Felt When She Put on Her Supergirl Costume for the First Time"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Supergirl - First Look","description":"Supergirl - First Look","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pnvubkq8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-13T22:52:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pnvubkq8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/","duration":"PT6M36S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3945365/melissa-benoist-supergirl/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```