Top 20 Strong Female Characters in TV and Movies

Throughout the decades there have been multiple female characters that kids, teens, and young adults have looked up to. From Buffy to Furiosa and Ellen Ripley to Sarah Connor, multiple such female characters are considered to be powerful. But how does one decide which female character can be characterized as "strong"?

Previously, a female character who could fight, use guns, swords, and other weapons with ease was thought to be a strong female character. But over the decades, the meaning of this phrase has changed. Now, people also want to see flawed female characters who are imperfect and fallible. In this article, we have listed out a few such characters.

20. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron)

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Where to Watch: Netflix

The film primarily focuses on Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky, but it also tells the story of Imperator Furiosa. In a post-apocalyptic world where there's widespread fights over resources- water, bullets, fuel, and women, Furiosa helps save the five wives of Immortan Joe.

She and Max team up to take these women to safety while also fighting off Immortan Joe's cronies with a variety of weapons. The film was hailed for its action sequences, many of which featured Charlize Theron's character.

19. Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh)

Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Where to Watch: Hulu and HBO

Michelle Yeoh might have found a resurgence in fame thanks to Everything Everywhere All At Once, but the actress wowed audiences first with her martial arts skills in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film follows Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) and Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat), who are tasked with a mission- to retrieve the stolen Green Destiny sword.

Along the way, they encounter a variety of obstacles. Yu Shu Lien's character arc isn't limited to her wielding a sword and taking down enemies. She also goes through emotional ups and downs from the beginning to the end. In fact, her story arc ends on quite a tragic note because of the loss she suffers at the end.

18. The Bride (Uma Thurman)

Film: Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Where to Watch: Kill Bill Vol. 1 is available on Netflix and Kill Bill Vol. 2 is available on Hulu. 

No list of strong female characters is complete without the OG- Uma Thurman’s Bride who goes on a revenge-fueled murder spree to avenge her dead lover and daughter. Many think that the movie caters to the male gaze heavily because of the violence that The Bride/ Beatrix Kiddo goes through initially.

However, by the end of the two films, it's quite clear that this is a woman on a mission who can and does cut down anyone on her path to kill the titular Bill. The same Bill who shoots her in the beginning and also the one who keeps their daughter alive while she's in a coma. The Bride's character arc is full of emotional twists and turns coupled with amazing action sequences.

17. Eve Polastri and Villanelle (Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer)

Series: Killing Eve
Where to Watch: Netflix

Killing Eve, the hit BBC America spy series follows Sandra Oh's Eve Polastri, who lives a normal life as a bored, desk-bound, and married MI5 agent. However, things change when she gets into a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase with the assassin Villanelle. Eve questions what she wants out of her life when she meets Villanelle, and feels drawn toward her.

Killing Eve has the gory murders and fights thanks to assassin Villanelle, but it’s also a story of exploration as the two flawed women wonder which path to choose in life.

16. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton)

Film: The Terminator 
Where to Watch: Apple TV and Prime Video

In 1984’s The Terminator, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), is initially shown as a fragile and unsuspecting woman who is the target of a T-800 Terminator sent from the future to end her. The reason- her unborn son, John Connor, is destined to lead the human resistance against Skynet, an AI that wants to end humanity.

But throughout the film (and in other movies of the franchise) she evolves from a damsel in distress to one who is resourceful and knows how to survive, all to save her son. While Arnold Schwarzenegger steals the show, over the years, Sarah Conner and her determination (plus gritty action scenes) have garnered her a dedicated fanbase. 

15. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence)

Film: The Hunger Games franchise
Where to Watch: The Hunger Games is available on Netflix. Also, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire can be found on Netflix. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is on Apple TV, and Part 2 is also available on Apple TV. 

Katniss Everdeen’s journey throughout the four Hunger Games movies is full of inspiration and bravery. Even before she enters the arena, the film makes it clear that she's the main provider of her family. She is also resourceful, knows how to use a bow and arrow, and can look after herself.

Often hailed by many as an ideal modern heroine who can wield a weapon and fight while also being soft and kind, Katniss begins her journey by offering herself up in place of her sister for the annual Hunger Games. But soon, she finds herself becoming the spark that leads a rebellion. 

14. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)

Film: Alien
Where to Watch: Disney+

Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley is often considered to be an iconic character who broke the mould of the damsel in distress during her time. From the beginning, Ripley is introduced as a disciplined third officer who is resourceful and tough.

When the crew detects a distress signal, they check it out, which begins the harrowing incidents that claim the other crew member's lives. However, Ripley survives the xenomorph attack on the Nostromo due to her resourcefulness and foresight.

13. Annalise Keating (Viola Davis)

Film: How to Get Away With Murder
Where to Watch: Hulu

Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating took the TV world by storm in How to Get Away With Murder. She couldn't wield a gun or fight in heels, but she was resourceful and often knew how to get herself and her clients out of trouble.

Over six seasons, the woman recruited a group of students as her interns and saved their lives, fought seemingly impossible-to-win cases, and was in general, just an unapologetic, morally grey woman trying to hold her own in society. 

12. Hermione Granger (Emma Watson)

Film: The Harry Potter Franchise
Where to Watch: Max

In the Harry Potter franchise, Hermione isn't the chosen one like Harry. However, it's tough to argue that Harry would have been able to accomplish his mission without her. Throughout the franchise, she guides him with her wisdom and knowledge.

Her power doesn’t lie in martial arts skills or wielding guns, instead, it is in her ability to be a steadfast reliable character who is smarter than the rest. Also, the fact that she is an almost-perfect magic user does help a lot though. 

11. Angela Abar (Regina King)

Series: Watchmen
Where to Watch: HBO

Regina King’s Angela Abar/ Sister Night is an underrated strong female character. The masked vigilante kicks-ass and punishes wrongdoers with a no-nonsense attitude. She also has the detective skills to back up her actions, which makes her a truly formidable character. While the Watchmen series was lauded by critics, it seems like her character has slipped under the radar. 

10. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)

Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Where to Watch: Hulu

Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the game for female-led action-adventure shows. The titular vampire hunter proved that one doesn’t need to be the biggest and baddest to save the world. Over seasons, she saved the world again and again by helping others with her courage and quick thinking. Also, she did all this while in high school. 

9. X-23/ Laura (Dafne Keen) 

Films: Logan and Deadpool and Wolverine
Where to Watch: Watch Logan on Disney+, and Deadpool and Wolverine on Disney+

Laura/ X-23 begins her journey in Logan as a female clone of Wolverine. She is mostly silent in the film, but the little girl takes out grown-ups with her retractable claws with ease. The movie ends with her accepting Logan as her father. 

Their reunion in Deadpool and Wolverine is bittersweet, especially since this Wolverine doesn’t know about her. But by the end, both seem to have forged a father-daughter relationship again. So, not just a formidable character, X-23 is also a young woman who grapples with losing and then finding her father (or a version of him) again. 

8. Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano)

Series: Wynonna Earp
Where to Watch: Netflix

Wynonna Earp, both the character and the show, are immensely underrated. The Earp heiress (she is the great-great-granddaughter of the legendary Western lawman Wyatt Earp) inherits a magic gun that has been in her family through generations. 

The gun only works for her, and so now it’s her job to send demons, skin-walkers, and vengeful spirits haunting the town to hell. Also, equipped with one-liners and an attitude, this flawed female character is strong in her own unconventional way. 

7. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)

Series: Grey's Anatomy
Where to Watch: Netflix

Including Meredith Grey in a list of strong female characters might raise some eyebrows. After all, the most famous dialogue of the character is, “Pick me, choose me, love me” to her love interest while he is married to another woman. But maybe that is why the character is so loved. 

She is a flawed and vulnerable normal woman who goes through life’s ups-and-downs while trying to be the best version of herself. Meredith is a doctor who is great at her job. She helps her patients and stands up for what is right multiple times in the series. 

Grey’s Anatomy has been running for more than two decades and over the years, Meredith has become a woman who has really come into her own. 

6. Xena (Lucy Lawless)

Series: Xena: Warrior Princess
Where to Watch: Apple TV

Before there was Wonder Woman on the big screen, there was Xena on the small screen. She and her sidekick Gabriel (Renée O'Connor) embarked on a journey where they took on whatever Greek mythology threw at them. The show’s focus on female friendships combined with an adventurous road trip was new and fresh for its time.

5. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson)

Series: The X-Files
Where to Watch: Hulu

Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully is a doctor and a skeptic who explored the paranormal with David Duchovny’s Mulder at the FBI. Before this decade-defining series, TV shows often portrayed the female character as the believer in all things extra-terrestrial, and the man was the skeptic.

X-Files flipped this dynamic and created an iconic show. In fact, Dana Scully became so iconic that she inspired women in real life to pursue a career in tech, science, and engineering. 

4. Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter)

Series: Jessica Jones 
Where to Watch: Disney Plus

Jessica Jones is a superpowered private investigator with deep trauma regarding an incident in her past. She drinks, is foul-mouthed, cares for her sister, and doesn't believe that humanity can be saved. This flawed superheroine quickly became beloved when the show premiered. However, as the seasons went on, it quickly became clear why she is the way she is, which made her character profile much more nuanced.

3. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)

Series: Stranger Things
Where to Watch: Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven quickly made a place for herself in people’s hearts when she wandered into the town and became friends with the boys. Her powers and duck-out-of-the-water behavior endeared her more to viewers.

Over the seasons, she and her friends have saved Hawkins, Indiana, from the Demogorgon, Upside Down, and more. Apart from her powers, fans have also lauded her character arc over multiple seasons. It will be interesting to see how her story wraps up in Stranger Things season 5.

2. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot)

Film: Wonder Woman
Where to Watch: Max 

Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman was the first time viewers saw the superheroine who is a part of the DC Trinity on their screens. The Amazonian princess saved lives in the modern world after she left her native home of Themyscira. However, it was Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman film that catapulted the character to stardom.

Strong, powerful, and yet kind (plus with great theme music), she gave girls a new hero to look up to. With James Gunn's DCU set to get off the ground soon, fans are hoping to see the character in live-action again.

1. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

Series: Game of Thrones
Where to Watch: Max

Daenerys Targaryen begins her journey in Game of Thrones with being sold in marriage to Khal Drogo. But her fate changes when her three dragon eggs hatch. Throughout the seasons, she faces hardships and setbacks but overcomes them all and goes from strength to strength.

Whether you agree with the series finale of Game of Thrones or not, Daenerys as a character had an immense impact on women, to the point that newborn girls were named after the character!