50 Movies That Truly Nailed the ‘Strong Female Protagonist’

Have you ever been halfway through a film or TV programme and switched it off due to not being able to handle the writing? Perhaps there were just too many automotive foot races, or the lines delivered by the medical staff were just a little too far-fetched. Or maybe it was that the dialogue for the female characters was cringe to the point of physical pain.

I really can’t say why it’s so difficult to devise well-developed female protagonists, but it seems to be, because properly sketched leading women are anything but easy to google out of the ether. But if you want something to watch that lets you root for a person you can actually stand, we gotp ya. The other week on Reddit, film fans discussed their fave tough-as-nails female characters from the screen, so here are those celebrated examples below. Have fun browsing, and make sure to give those characters you stand behind the all-upvote as well!

1#

Ellen Ripley in Alien. She’s the OG.

jmorfeus:
Recently when I rewatched the film I distinctly thought that the film made it on purpose that the crew repeatedly dismisses or ignores her idea because she’s a woman (like it happens to so many women in professional setting even now, moreso back when it was shot) and that the film made it one of the explicit points not to do that (she was right all along, every time).

Strange how the mind works.

But at the same time it didn’t feel forced or fake like so many modern “feminist” movies/recasts and I think Ripley really is the perfect example of a strong female lead.

2#

Let’s add Uhura, then. She encouraged all girls and black people in general to aim their sights on space and science.

3#

Wednesday and Morticia Adams. They both are strong willed, confident females who don’t give an F about what other people think about them.

4#

[Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor]Icing on the cake is that John can immediately tell who the fake Sarah is in that scene. Cause his mother would never dare to risk his life to save her own.

Jahaangle:
[Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor]Stabbed through the shoulder, one hand reloading her shotgun, almost taking out the T-1000 herself only to run out of ammo.
Her first instinct is to protect John before the T-800 shows up.
That scene is brilliant.

SayNoToStim:
[Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor]Her escape from the mental institution is one of the best scenes in film, across any genres. Watching the cause of all of your problems walk around the corner just as she’s escaping from those said problems is going to break anyone, and two minutes later she’s leaning out a car window as it drives shooting at the T1000.

XchrisZ:
[Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor] yelling at John to get back under the bullet proof vests while shooting out of the back of a moving vehicle. Such a great example of a mother being a mother and a bad a*s.

5#

Dana Scully. Even caused an uptic of women in STEM studies.

Caira_Ru:
I’m very biased, because I was at a pretty critical age in my own development when Scully and Mulder were also developing, but there were so many things that they did so incredibly well that it’s been my favorite fiction show for decades. The X-Files shaped me to think the way I think, in a lot of ways.

Scary, funny, touching, horrific, wholesome, sexy but not contrived (for many seasons at least) or over the top and most importantly, the female lead had more to offer to most situations than the male.

Mulder was relatable sometimes and almost always adorable, but as a teen girl, Scully was EVERYTHING!

She was smart, capable, compassionate, confident, and funny. Logical but always able to see past social and scientific constraints. Aware in her femininity but not dependent on it. Full of faith without ever pressuring others to believe the same.

She also was fallible and vulnerable, questioned herself and others, and snapped sometimes when someone hurt her.

If I had to sum her up in 6 words: She owned it. All of it.

Edit: I also felt like I was maybe bi for a couple decades because of Gillian Andersen’s Dana Scully on the X-Files! Sure, I was attracted to the men – Mulder, that one guy who maybe was his brother, and Skinner especially – but I thought “wow… women can sure be attractive, too…”

I finally realized I just had a hard-on for Dana Scully AND men!

6#

Margie from Fargo. She’s the only moral, reasonable, responsible person in a town full of insanity. She deals with it all, while being pregnant and still finding the time to have emotions, but keeping them separate when there’s a job to do.

7#

Judy Dench as M.

8#

She may not have been the ‘main’ protagonist but Rachel Weisz as Evelyn in The Mummy (1999) was for me the perfect mix of feminine, brains and grit. Just loved her. And she wasn’t a mary sue either. She make mistakes.

9#

The original, animated Mulan.

They don’t make the mistake of having her just walk onto the training ground with the other rookies and just automatically know everything and be the best. She falls on her a*s and generally gets the s**t kicked out of her just like everyone else. And by the time she becomes a competent fighter, her comrades are all competent fighters with her. But she still has that little bit of an edge to her due to her intelligence.

My point being, she’s “done right” because she’s actually believable.

10#

Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

She’s not a one dimensional, no emotions having badass trope of a character. Her femininity wasn’t cut in order for her to be “strong”. She’s a whole human being.

11#

Did anyone say Princess Leia?

12#

[Clarice in Silence of the Lambs]It’s great because the movie acknowledges her strengths, weakness and challenges as a woman. Often lazy writers make a woman character strong by just making her more masculine. Clarice is a decidedly feminine lead (petite, soft spoken, etc) yet still a complete badass.

13#

Xena-warrior princess.

14#

Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager.

15#

Elle Woods. I love how feminine she is. An absolute girly girl and yet she totally rocks as the main character. And when the other girl thinks she’s trying to sleep with the professor but instead they actually just talk it out instead of use miscommunication as a plot device? Such a good movie.

leobubby:
So happy this movie came out when I was 13 years old, her persona and the way she handled being girlie and pinkish and intelligent at the same time was so fundamentally important for my self development. I can be girly and funny and interesting AND smart all at the same time and I will not let anyone dull my shine!

trauma_queen:
And her innate kindness shows throughout the movie as well! It comes off as true security – not feeling the need to put others down or act superior, lifting others up! I am in a male dominated profession, and I am so grateful that where I work currently, the women are team players , secure, kind, and genuinely support one another. Elle woods is interesting and smart and girly… And the antithesis of a mean girl. I love that most of all

16#

[Samantha Carter from Stargate]They were originally going to have her in a more revealing outfit than the guys, but the actor protested, saying something along the line of: this this is the military, we would all be wearing the same thing.

Which I think ultimately helps with the show’s credibility.

Secret_Ad_1541:
A great character and one thing that really stood out, and was kind of unusual, was that she was not treated any differently by the SG-1 team because she was woman. She was an invaluable asset to the team, and everyone knew and acknowledged it. Jack, Teal’c and Master Bra’tac were all experience, elite warriors and Carter was respected and treated as their equal. And, even though Amanda Tapping was an attractive woman, I was glad that they didn’t turn her character into eye candy, like you would see in so many other shows and movies. Sam was awesome and a badass who didn’t have to strut around and tell people about it, because they all knew it.

17#

Eowyn.

18#

Fiona from Shrek. She was willing to admit when she was in the wrong and grow personally, stood up for herself and her friends and didn’t get sucked in by the pretty boy show off, she actually kicked his butt.

19#

I’m not overly fond of the movie overall, but Emma Thompson’s character in Love Actually.

20#

Any woman written by Terry Pratchett, really.

My favorite is Granny Weatherwax tho.

21#

Disney’s **Moana**. Y’all don’t have kids? 

That girl speaks truth to power, finds evidence, heads off on a dangerous trek, saves the world (basically), returns home and makes her small town better. And the whole time there’s no distraction from any romantic interest. 

Badass.

22#

Evelyn Wong in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

23#

Erin Brockovich.

24#

Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) in Fringe is my go to example of a strong female protagonist.

25#

Geena Davis as Samantha Caine in The Long Kiss Goodnight.

26#

All the Ghibli protagonists.

27#

Amy Adams in Arrival.

28#

The Bride and O-Ren from *Kill Bill*.

29#

Chrisjen Avasarala (The Expanse) – intelligent and ambitious, unapologetic, but also capable of personal reflection and growth.

AYASOFAYA:
[Chrisjen Avasarala (The Expanse)] Yeah all of the women in that show were good, but Avasarala is a good example of how to do this without making her physically strong as a trope.

YNot1989:
Chrisjen Avasarala and Bobby Draper.

30#

Lagertha in Vikings.

31#

Offbeat choice, but Helen Hunt’s character Carol in As Good As It Gets. She deals with all the c**p life has handed her, constantly cares for her son, deals with a horribly difficult man, and manages to maintain her sunshine and cheer in the face of it all. She lays down strict boundaries and gets right in Melvin’s face when he crosses the line. She doesn’t allow herself to get pushed around, but she doesn’t retreat into being a bully either. She’s amazingly patient and loving, and I love her.

32#

Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

33#

Furiosa from *Mad Max: Fury Road*—she doesn’t need a tragic backstory speech or a romantic subplot to prove her worth. She just drives into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, kicks a*s, and liberates people while rocking a metal arm like it’s no big deal. That’s the kind of energy I aspire to bring when I tackle my inbox on a Monday morning.

34#

President Laura Roslyn from Battlestar Galactica.

35#

Chihiro in Spirited Away… she starts out as a scared little girl who needs protection from those around her to becoming someone who, through her own decisions and courage, finds clever ways to protect herself and her loved ones.

FlightlessGriffin:
There’s a reason Spirited Away claimed the No. 1 spot as the highest grossing Anime of all time. Chihiro was a great protagonist. Maybe not what OP is looking for considering Chihiro is just a little girl but she’s worth mentioning.

If we’re mentioning Anime, any Miyazaki film does this in spades. Nausicca: Valley of the Wind, Howl’s Moving Castle (Sophie is amazing in that) and I should give an honorable mention to Princess Mononoke.

Edit: I said honorable mention as a response to the comment. I didn’t want to hijack theirs by saying my own pick, so I passed it off as honorable. Princess Mononoke was my individual pick as a response to OP.

36#

Veronica Mars.

37#

Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games.

38#

Charlize Theron in anything.

Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, Old Guard, etc.

39#

Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995). So strong, charming and thoughtful. What a lovely person.

40#

Lucy MacLean from Fallout.

41#

Tiffany Aching.

42#

Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn is pretty fantastic.

43#

Avatar doesn’t have a female protagonist, but all of its female characters are great .

44#

[Kim Wexler] is one of the most complex characters I’ve seen. She’s definitely a great example of a strong female protagonists done right. I always think of that line she says early on

“You don’t save me. I save me”

hellomolly11:
I finished Better Caul Saul about a year ago and I still think of how composed and disciplined Kim Wexler is, and how much compromising it must have taken for her to live a new, mundane life in Florida. She’s actually inspirational in her professionalism and dedication.

45#

Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

46#

Sidney Prescott.

47#

Both Jinx and Vi, whichever one you count as the main protagonist of Arcane.

48#

Samus Aran, in any game besides Other M, we don’t talk about Other M.

49#

Emily Blunt in Sicario.

50#

Does Frieren count?