Females are strong as hell, from Hermione Granger to Buffy Summers. Here are 50 female characters I love.
This all started when I had five minutes to spare on an idle afternoon and decided to post one of the many ‘1 like – 1 x’ memes that have been going around Twitter recently.
I’m always hesitant to do this because, well, what if no one likes it?! But this one seemed like fun; if nothing else I’d get to share my appreciation for Buffy Summers and Clarke Griffin, and maybe three or four more characters.
The joke was on me, though, because the post right now has almost 200 likes. I now had to list ~200 female characters I loved?! It should have been an impossible task. But to my delight, I quickly realized that I could literally keep thinking of characters off the top of my head, because there are so many great ones!
I think we’re sometimes led to believe that, because of the huge gender imbalance in Hollywood, female characters are somehow absent from our entertainment, or at least not great enough to warrant celebration. But while we obviously need a lot more female characters, and way more diversity across the board, it’s nice to be reminded that there truly are so many awesome fictional ladies to love.
Since this is my own personal list of the top 50 female characters, you might (rightly) want to point out that important characters are missing. No, I have not watched Empire or Sweet/Vicious (yet) and no, I don’t have enough knowledge of comic books to include those truly iconic, amazing female characters I know are found there.
But isn’t it great that even with gaps (like we all have), it’s still easy to make a top 50 list? Hopefully, my list will inspire you to make your own, and seek out even more works of fiction with inspiring female characters.
50. Tahani, ‘The Good Place’
The Good Place is a fun new comedy I urge everyone to check out, not least because of Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil) — a stuck-up, self-obsessed and hilarious character who has won my heart completely.
49. Brooke Davis, ‘One Tree Hill’
The women of One Tree Hill were all great in their own right, but none more than Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush), truly the purest soul who learned (and taught us) so much about self-worth over the course of the series.
48. Rebekah Mikaelson, ‘The Originals’
I struggle with The Vampire Diaries and The Originals because of their lack of likeable and morally sound characters, but Rebekah (Claire Holt) is the exception. She is a genuinely good person in an otherwise cruel world.
47. Furiosa, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Charlize Theron’s ability to disappear into visceral roles is remarkable, and Furiosa was an instant icon in Mad Max: Fury Road: A rare example of a female character who is allowed to shed her assumed gender-specific qualities and become completely raw and just plain human.
46. Annalise Keating, ‘How to Get Away With Murder’
Though I’ve only watched season 1 of How to Get Away With Murder, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) has already blown me away. Just a fantastic, raw, morally complex character.
45. Christina Yang, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
In the good old days of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith and Christina’s friendship ruled my soul. Christina was one of those wonderful characters that couldn’t care less about social norms, relating important truths about the human experience because she didn’t see the value in mincing her words.
44. Annabeth Chase, ‘Percy Jackson’
The book version of Annabeth Chase is, simply put, one of the best female characters in fiction.
43. Sydney Bristow, ‘Alias’
Alias was one of the last arrivals in the wave of female-led shows in the ’90s and early ’00s, and Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) struct a perfect balance between badass and vulnerable. I remember being pleasantly surprised by how emotional she managed to be while not losing any of her professionalism or strength.
42. Lyra Belacqua, ‘His Dark Materials’
His Dark Materials’ Lyra is a scrappy, no-nonsense heroine who does what she needs to do without too much fuss, and I love her for it.
41. Ginny Baker, ‘Pitch’
Although Pitch is still a new show (and might not get renewed for season 2), Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) is already an important female character that has left a huge impression on me. She may be a sports superstar, but she’s not superhuman, suffering both personal and professional setbacks even as she rises through the ranks.
40. Rosa Diaz, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
I’ve only just started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) is already the funniest, most relatable character on the show. I love how she gives zero f***s but actually gives all of them.
39. Waverly Earp, ‘Wynonna Earp’
Wynonna Earp is awesome, and Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) is a big reason why. Softer and sweeter than her big sister, Waverly is our point of view for most of the first season — and of course we can’t forget her beautiful romance with Nicole Haught!
38. Octavia Blake, ‘The 100’
I love The 100 (I know, you’re shocked) in large part because of its female characters, and I wanted to put all of them on the list — but then I wouldn’t have room for anyone else, ’cause there’s a lot of them! Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) definitely deserves a spot, partly because of her uncompromising brutality and partly because of the visceral way in which the show explores grief through her loss of Lincoln, which has twisted her into a dark, broken thing. This, unfortunately, feels very true to real life, and all I want is to see her claw her way out of the darkness.
37. Dana Scully, ‘The X-Files’
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is one of the founding mothers of female-led television, and while I was never a huge X-Files fan (it was too scary for me!), her influence on future characters hasn’t escaped my notice, and I love her for that.
36. Kate Austen, ‘Lost’
Kate (Evangeline Lilly) definitely got lost in the love triangle in later seasons, but I choose to blame the writers for that, not the character. There was an inherent selfishness and fear in her past that motivated her and which she fought to overcome on the island, and that made her an uncommonly flawed, interesting leading lady in her own right.
35. Rebecca Logan, ‘Greek’
Rebecca (Dilshad Vadsaria) was the ‘villain’ of Greek until she wasn’t, one of those characters who hide their goodness behind a ‘mean girl’ act. She kissed a girl and tried dating her before deciding that she liked men, a variation on the sexual discovery storyline that reminded us it’s okay to be unsure, and to figure out what you really want.
34. Sara Lance, ‘Arrow’
Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) is a badass bisexual vigilante — what’s not to like?! And remembering that she started out helping Oliver cheat on her sister just makes her growth into the amazing leader she has become on Legends of Tomorrow even more remarkable.
33. Liz Lemon, ’30 Rock’
Played by Tina Fey, Liz Lemon is the closest thing I’ve ever come to seeing myself represented on screen, and it’s both amazing and terrifying.
32. Guinevere, ‘Merlin’
Merlin turned a lot of the Arthurian Legends on their heads, including making Guinevere (Angel Coulby) a servant who eventually fell in love with Arhur and became Queen of Camelot, left to rule alone after his death. That’s a pretty powerful story, even if there were some hiccups along the way.
31. Starbuck, ‘Battlestar Galactica’
The epitome of a badass, Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) never played by the rules, and proved that there are many ways to be a female character — because newsflash, they’re just human. Starbuck was so messed up, and never really found her way, but then again, she was under no obligation to.
30. Pippi Longstocking, ‘Pippi Longstocking’
Raised in Scandinavia, I grew up with Pippi Longstocking, being lulled into a false belief that girls were naturally the heroes of the story and that they were in no way confined to gendered stereotypes. It’s still weird to think that a character like Pippi could be considered unusual.
29. Robin Scherbatsky, ‘How I Met Your Mother’
Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) is living her best life and is pretty much #goals as far as I’m concerned. She stayed true to herself and her quirks, rose up the career ladder at her own pace, and never settled.
28. J, ‘Awkward Black Girl’
Awkward Black Girl will forever be my favorite webseries. Lead character J (Issa Rae, now rocking on HBO with Insecure) goes through the most awkward, absurd and oh-so-relatable experiences.
27. Rachel Green, ‘Friends’
My favorite friend and the one I secretly always wish I could be (I’m not cool to be any of them except maybe Ross, which I guess also helps explain my love for Rachel).
26. Veronica Mars, ‘Veronica Mars’
Kristen Bell’s Veronica Mars is like Buffy the Teen Detective, with her own unique personality quirks. How could she not be on this list?
25. Mindy Lahiri, ‘The Mindy Project’
Mindy Kaling is a genius, as her work on both The Office and The Mindy Project proves. On the surface, Mindy Lahiri doesn’t exactly seem like someone you should model your life after, and yet, and yet… she always goes after what she wants and never compromises. Is that really so terrible?
24. Jane, ‘Jane the Virgin’
Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) would probably be even higher on the list if I’d seen more than a season of Jane the Virgin. She’s so sweet, so fierce and so wonderful.
23. Éowyn, ‘The Lord of the Rings’
Tolkien may take a lot of flack for his lack of active female characters (Tolkien also lived in the 1930s and is dead now, soooo), but Éowyn’s “No man am I” moment is pretty damn incredible even by today’s standards.
22. Willow Rosenberg, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) had unbelievable character development through the seven seasons of Buffy. She found strength and confidence first through her friendship with Buffy, then witchcraft, then her relationship with Tara, and almost destroyed herself in grief after losing the latter, unleashing the potential for evil that had been locked away inside her all along. Luckily she came back to herself by the end, proving that you can rise even from the deepest darkness.
21. Max, ‘Dark Angel’
My not-so-secret favorite show Dark Angel was led by Max Guevarra (Jessica Alba), a genetically engineered supersoldier with post-traumatic stress disorder driven by the desire to find her ‘siblings’ and bring down the corporation that created her. Seriously, guys. The reboot we need.
20. Princess Leia, ‘Star Wars’
An icon of feminism that even the vaguely sexist 1970s Star Wars narrative couldn’t contain. Carrie Fisher was a force of nature.
19. Sierra, ‘Dollhouse’
I love Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, in no small part because of Dichen Lachmann’s Sierra/Priya: A ‘doll’ who had her personality erased against her will and claws back her sense of self over the show’s two short seasons.
18. Xena, Warrior Princess
Xena (Lucy Lawless) is effortlessly strong, fierce and fearless as she rides around on a horse saving the world with her best ‘friend’ Gabrielle. The ultimate escape, and how more female characters should be written today.
17. Agent May, ‘Agents of SHIELD’
Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is not only that badass-with-a-heart-of-gold character I can’t resist, but the way her physical strength and superiority is taken as a given within the story is really inspiring and important.
16. Alanna, ‘Song of the Lioness’
Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series and brutal, uncompromising lead character Alanna (who dressed up as a boy to join the King’s army) was one of three badass redheads who pretty much defined my childhood.
15. Ginny Weasley, ‘Harry Potter’
My favorite character from the Harry Potter book series, Ginny Weasley was allowed to develop between the pages of the novels, rising to rule the school in her own way, decidedly independent from Harry.
14. Lorelai Gilmore, ‘Gilmore Girls’
I watched Gilmore Girls last year, and Lorelai spoke to my soul. Haters to the left — Lorelai is amazing.
13. Sansa Stark, ‘Game of Thrones’
Sansa Stark has had amazing character development both in Game of Thrones and the Song of Ice and Fire series. She’s one of the few characters who hasn’t been broken or twisted by her experiences (yet) — she’s grown stronger for them.
12. Laura Roslin, ‘Battlestar Galactica’
Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) was the Secretary of Education before she was thrust into the role of President of the Twelve Colonies as the last survivors of the human race went on the run from the Cylons. No easy task, but she did the damn best she could.
11. Mulan, ‘Mulan’
My personal favorite Disney ‘princess,’ Mulan defied all the tropes, literally saving all of China.
10. Lexa, ‘The 100’
There’s a reason The 100‘s Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) has become an icon for the lesbian community, and it’s not just because of the horrible way in which she was killed off: Lexa was strong, wise, flawed, ruthless, and tender, and truly one of the series’ (many) best characters.
9. Wynonna Earp, ‘Wynonna Earp’
Think BSG‘s Starbuck, but in a supernatural Western setting: Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano) drinks too much, loves too hard, and fights monsters. What’s not to love?
8. Cordelia Chase, ‘Angel’
Objectively the best character in the Buffyverse until she really, really wasn’t, Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter)’s growth over both Buffy and Angel was the definition of character development.
7. Rey, ‘Star Wars’
The moment in Star Wars: The Force Awakens where it becomes obvious that Rey is the one with the Force, tears sprung to my eyes. Rey is awkward, rough and afraid, and she’s also this saga’s chosen one, and that means the world.
6. Peggy Carter, ‘Agent Carter’
Gone too soon (but the MCU will never forget), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) represented female empowerment at a time when such a thing was basically a crime. She was feminine but deadly — an epic combination.
5. Hermione Granger, ‘Harry Potter’
I’ve always loved Hermione, but there was something about Noma Dumzeweni’s performance in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stageplay that made it all click for me. I can finally, honestly say that Hermione Granger(-Weasley) is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and it feels good.
4. Leslie Knope, ‘Parks and Recreation’
A literal ray of sunshine, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is my go-to character (and Parks and Rec is my go-to show) when things are looking down.
3. Raven Reyes, ‘The 100’
The 100‘s Raven Reyes (Lindsey Morgan) lets nothing stand in her way. She’s smarter than any other character on the show, a fact which everyone (including herself) accepts easily. Even after sustaining an injury that has left her permanently disables, Raven fights on as fiercely as ever before, holding the line when other characters falter, yet never forgetting her own humanity.
2. Clarke Griffin, ‘The 100’
This generation’s Buffy Summers, Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor) embodies female empowerment, intersecting between badass and feminine, and an LGBT icon to boot.
1. Buffy Summers, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
I grew up with Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) telling me that I could do anything, that the power was there for me to take. A symbol of female empowerment, Buffy is so much more than a character in a TV show.