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50 People Share Movies Where The “Strong Female Protagonist” Was Actually Done Right
Have you ever turned off a film or TV show half-way through because you just couldn’t stand the writing? Maybe there were far too many car chases, or the dialogue spoken by doctors was extremely unrealistic. Or perhaps, the way the female characters were written was painfully cringey.
I’m not sure why it’s so difficult for writers to craft complex female protagonists with depth, but apparently it is, because well-written leading women aren't always easy to find. But if you’re looking for something to watch that features a character you’ll actually love, we’ve got your back. Redditors have recently been discussing their favorite strong female leads from the screen, so we’ve got a list celebrating them all below. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the characters that you’re a huge fan of too!
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#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.
RELATED:
#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.
Dread Pirate Roberts 2 days ago
I love how while a fellow male cop is vomiting at the sight of a dead body, she's totally chill while heavily pregnant and just matter of factly takes notes on the crime scene lol she's so badass 😂
#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.
Daniel Atkins 3 days ago
Yes she was great she wasn’t just the love interest she got the expadition going.
#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.
DramaDoc 2 days ago
I teach Mulan in my seminar about Women and War, where the whole point of it is that she never wanted to fight, but did so out of filial loyalty. In the original Chinese ballad (c. 400 - 500 CE), Mulan is never "outed" the way she is in the Disney movie and is only discovered as female when she returns home. I absolutely love the final line of the ballad: “When a pair of rabbits run side by side, who can distinguish male from female?”
#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?
Sophia Athene 2 days ago
Best story of a mom naming her daughter Leia and somebody said, "Like Princess Leia." Mom comes back, "No, General 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.
Patsy Fine 3 days ago
That scene where she's in the elevator surrounded by men... cinematic masterpiece
#13
Xena-warrior princess.
#14
Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager.
Michael P. 2 days ago
Genevieve Bujold was initially cast as Captain Janeway but left after a few days of filming. Kate Mulgrew was her replacement and she played the role perfectly. The differences in the acting between Bujold and Mulgrew is night and day. With Bujold being subdued and passive while Mulgrew as the bold and assertive one.
#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.
WindySwede 3 days ago (edited)
And the medical [doctor] from there, even though she has not at much screentime as Sam. edit: spelling and the name och character: Dr. Janet Fraiser
#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.
Zoe Vokes 2 days ago
Personality yes they’re strong, but I hate the way he describes the physical characteristics of his female characters. I remember his description of Margaret (one of the main characters of witches),: “She is short, thin, decently plain, well scrubbed and has the watery expression of hopeless goodwill wedged between a body like a maypole and hair like a haystack.” A lot of his descriptions are similar where he describes all their physical faults.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
Sarah Pryde 3 days ago
i believe that eve ensler (vagina monologues) was a consultant on this film
#34
President Laura Roslyn from Battlestar Galactica.
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 3 days ago
Mary McDonnell had to talk Ronald Moore into having Laura die in the finale. Her character is introduced as having terminal cancer but Moore loved the character so much he tried to just imply her death in the original script and the actor had to insist that she die on screen to complete the story.
#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.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 days ago
I. LOVE. Nausicaa. It’s probably my favorite ghibli movie of all time.
#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.
#42
Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn is pretty fantastic.
Serial pacifist 2 days ago
Is there going to be Merida the Brave on this list? She deserves highest of honors!
#43
Avatar doesn't have a female protagonist, but all of its female characters are great .
Cosmos in your eyes 3 days ago
100%! And great diversity among them: young and old from all different walks of life and perspectives.
#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.
John Dilligaf 2 days ago
All the female characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender were done right. Heroes or Villains. ... But yea, Toph was done very right.
#48
Samus Aran, in any game besides Other M, we don't talk about Other M.
#50
Does Frieren count?
What do you think ?
Mike Crow 3 days ago
No one mentions Jessica Fletcher (Murder she wrote). She is the leading serial killer in TV shows and was never caught.
CanadianDimes 2 days ago
The three leads from Hidden Figures! Obviously based on real people and I loved that they were smart, capable, and vulnerable at times.
Aerial (Any pronouns/Canadian/Jewish) 2 days ago
Seriously, Kaylee is my girl!! She's so cool, she gets to be both really smart and also pretty feminine, which I really appreciate.
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Mike Crow 3 days ago
No one mentions Jessica Fletcher (Murder she wrote). She is the leading serial killer in TV shows and was never caught.
CanadianDimes 2 days ago
The three leads from Hidden Figures! Obviously based on real people and I loved that they were smart, capable, and vulnerable at times.
Aerial (Any pronouns/Canadian/Jewish) 2 days ago
Seriously, Kaylee is my girl!! She's so cool, she gets to be both really smart and also pretty feminine, which I really appreciate.
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