Since the beginning of cinema, female characters have been evolving and diversifying to include
a wide range of roles for actresses in current day Hollywood.
Although there is still a disparity between the number of leading roles offered to men
and women, the past 40 years have introduced viewers to a number of fantastic heroines.
Whether they're battling robots or aliens, leading a rebel resistance, or succeeding
where their male counterparts have failed, no one would dare call these female characters
damsels in distress.
Here are Screen Rant's 10 badass female characters in popular movies.
Ellen Ripley
One of the most iconic badass women in film is Sigourney Weaver's cat-loving heroine from
Ridley Scott's Alien franchise.
The role was originally conceived with a male hero in mind, but Scott decided to cast a
woman in an effort to flip convention.
The resulting movie gave fans a heroine who would be the final crew member of the Nostromo
left standing against the xenomorph.
Ripley would go on to be the hero of Aliens as well and cement her spot in the badass
female movie character hall of fame.
Katniss Everdeen
The archer from District 12 first earned the love of viewers when she sacrificed herself
as a tribute to Panem's annual death match in order to save her younger sister.
But, after defying the odds and winning in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence's character
went on to be the face of a rebellion as the Mockingjay and lead the districts against
the dictator President Snow.
Though Katniss has her moments of vulnerability, they only help to make her a more badass character
when she stands up and does the right thing for Panem.
The Bride
Not every badass female character has the most noble intentions, though it's debatable
whether the assassin seeking revenge against former colleagues in Quentin Tarantino's Kill
Bill is noble or not.
After The Bride's groom and entire wedding party are murdered by her ex-lover, Bill,
she goes on a mission of vengeance until everyone responsible is dead.
Described as "the deadliest woman in the world," Uma Thurman's character certainly earns the
title as she slices through the Deadly Vipers with ruthless drive.
Sarah Connor
After playing the waitress in distress when a Terminator cyborg from the future comes
calling, Linda Hamilton returned for the sequel to John Cameron's sci-fi action thriller as
a veritable badass.
Using what she learned from Kyle Reese, and other skills she picked up along the way,
Sarah Connor is as instrumental to protecting her son John in Terminator 2: Judgement Day
as the T-800 sent by his future self.
Plus, Sarah is the future leader of the Resistance against Skynet - though it isn't shown in
the film, it's easy to see the waitress-turned-badass as a rebel leader.
Black Widow
Making her first appearance as a S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent infiltrating Stark Industries in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson's spy and master
assassin has proven her skills over and over again within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Whether Black Widow is helping her fellow Avengers take on an alien army invading New
York City, or aiding Captain America root out the Hydra agents that have infiltrated
S.H.I.E.L.D., she has become one of the most notable heroines within the Marvel franchise.
Fans love the character so much, they've been calling for Black Widow to receive her own
standalone movie for years.
Yu Shu Lien
Ang Lee's martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon tells the story of a warrior
wishing to retire who bequeaths his sword to Michelle Yeoh's heroine in order to see
it safely delivered as a gift to his friend.
But, when the sword is stolen, Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai must team together in order
to retrieve it.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received overwhelmingly positive reviews for many aspects of the film,
including it martial arts scenes between Shu Lien, Mu Bai, and their adversaries.
Leia Organa
First introduced as Princess Leia and a member of the Rebel Alliance in George Lucas' Star
Wars: Episode IV, Carrie Fisher's character became an integral member of the heroic trio
in the original trilogy.
In the newly released episode 7, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Leia returns as a general
in the Resistance against the First Order.
In each of her appearances, Leia has been portrayed as a capable character and, as a
result, has become one of the most iconic heroines in Hollywood history.
Letty Ortiz
Introduced in The Fast and the Furious as the tough-as-nails member of Dominic Toretto's
crew of street racers and thieves, Michelle Rodriguez's character has been established
as a key member of the team throughout the series.
Although she was thought to be killed at the end of Fast & Furious, Letty overcame amnesia
of her former life with help from Dom in Fast & Furious 6 and returned to the fold in Furious
7.
Portrayed as a capable mechanic and member of Dom's team - as well as his wife - Letty
is certainly one of the most badass characters in the entire Fast & Furious franchise.
Imperator Furiosa
Played by Charlize Theron in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, this lieutenant to Immortan
Joe goes rogue during a supply run, making a break from the dystopian society in an effort
to save herself and the tyrannical dictator's five wives.
From the subtle scenes when she proves herself a better shot than Max, to her larger heroic
moments such as when she kills Joe, Furiosa steals the show in Fury Road as both a badass
female heroine and one of the most compelling characters in the film.
Éowyn
First appearing in the second film of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two
Towers, Miranda Otto's character is a noblewoman of Rohan and the niece of King Théoden who
wishes to be a warrior.
Though she may not get to fight as much as she would like throughout the film, she does
take part in the battle outside Minas Tirith in The Return of the King.
During this battle, Éowyn fights and defeats the Lord of the Nazgûl, giving fans of badass
female characters the iconic line: "I am no man!"
So what do you think of our list?
Did we miss any of your favorite badass female characters from popular movies?
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