Updated June 23, 2023 34.3K votes 3.8K voters 73.8K views
Over 3.8K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best and Strongest Women Characters
Voting Rules
Vote up your favorite women bad*sses.
Looking for more strong women characters in your life? This list of awesome women in literature, TV, and film has all kinds. One owns the love of dragons with the desire to become a queen. Another wields a sword in battle to seek atonement for the mistakes of her past, and help the weak combat the oppressive. Yet another fights against entertainment stereotypes and still others speak up for themselves and for women - and people of any gender - everywhere.
These females are the fighters, they are brave in battle, and stand up against injustices in the workplace. They protect and serve, yet never complain. These are the strongest, most bad*ss female characters in the history of film, books, and television.
This Ranker list has it all, from detectives to textile workers. Good girl characters form unions and sometimes need to stand alone in order to unite. It's not always easy for a female to lead, to upend media stereotypes, to essentially be a heroine when no one thinks that you can win. But not every hero needs to stand six feet tall with the ability to bench press 300 pounds. Don’t think that a chick can save the day? Just ask Sarah Connor how many cyborgs she’s terminated.
We salute the many awesome fictional heroines with this list. From the courtroom to the battleground, these are the coolest, strongest, not to be messed with female characters on the silver screen, the small screen, and the pages of great literature. Be sure to make your voice heard and upvote the greatest, most memorable female characters.
What would you do if the entire fate of the human race rested on your shoulders? Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from the Terminator films went from regular working gal to pumped up heroine fighting Terminator cyborgs in order to protect her son John, and ultimately saved the world.
Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in four different Alien films, is not just considered one of the greatest female protagonists in cinema history. She's considered one of the greatest heroes ever, male or female.
The warrant officer is, in fact, the only character that has the brains and bravado to survive the attack in the first Alien film. Ripley is a true feminist icon.
Perhaps no female character in cinema history kicks more butt than The Bride (Uma Thurman) in Quentin Tarantino's two Kill Bill movies. The Bride awakes from a four-year coma and discovers that the child she was carrying is gone.
The former assassin seeks vengeance and goes after her former partners, who are responsible for ruining her wedding by offing several of her guests.
Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) appears in all eight Harry Potter films and is the glue that holds Ron and Harry together throughout the seven-book series. She is hyper-intelligent and some would - in fact, often do - call her a know-it-all.
However, her encyclopedia-like knowledge saved her pals Harry and Ron more than a few times. Hermione is also morally righteous and can always be counted on to be there for her friends.
Twin sister of Luke Skywalker and daughter of Darth Vader, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) more than holds her own in the male-dominated galaxy of the Star Wars films. Leia was the youngest senator ever elected to the Imperial Senate.
When she was kidnapped by Vader, the princess was severely tortured. However, she never gave in, and vehemently refused to give the enemy the location of the Rebel base.
Appears In: Star Wars Universe
Played By: Carrie Fisher, Amy Smart, Carrie Fisher
