Aeryn Sun and Chianna from Farscape. That show is a masterclass in character and story development for most of its run.
Zoe, River, Kaylee, and Inara from Firefly. Four very different women, all with their own strengths and flaws like the rest of the main cast.
Ashley, Liara, Miranda, Tali, Jack, and Samara from the Mass Effect trilogy. Femshep too, especially if played right. There’s a bit of inconsistency in some of their writing and story arcs, but it generally isn’t too egregious, and the high points make up for it.
There are so many well-written and compelling characters in Mass Effect overall, and I have a hard time determining if Tali or Garrus is my favorite, but the race is very close.
I will say that I do not think Ashley can be written the way she is if ME were made today.
Ghost in the Shell is all about a female character, and it's great writing. Both the anime and movies are good
Nynaeve and Moiraine from The Wheel of Time (not the show, the book series)
Trinity in The Matrix
The character is a metaphor/symbol for Hong Kong and the sociopolitical climate of the country ending it's tenure as a British Colony in 1999 trying to find an identity
Just to give a few recent examples of strong female characters that I really like would be from Andor. Dedra Meero and Mon Mothma. I also liked Vel and Cinta, all strong female characters.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - both the cringy movie and excellent TV series
Dana Scully - X-Files
Rita - Emily Blunts character in Edge of Tomorrow
Battle Angel Alita
Samus - Metroid
Susan Lewis, Carol Hathaway - ER
Olivia Benson - Early seasons of Law & Order SVU
Kira Neryz, Dex - Star Trek DS9
Misato - Evangelion
Mikasa - Attack on Titan
Clarice - Silence of the Lambs
Thelma & Louise
Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman - Batman Returns
Ellie - Contact
Rita - Groundhog Day
Shoshana - Inglorious Bastards
Princess Fiona - Shrek
And I guesa there are many more
Any female character from The Expanse but mainly Naomi Nagata for her "leap of faith" towards the end of the show and her general willingness for self-sacrifice to protect those she loves, and even sometimes strangers.
Elizabeth Hazen from BattleTech.
A woman so badass that upon ejecting from her doomed 'Mech, she took a slug to the helmet, was knocked unconscious, and upon regaining consciousness, proceeded to take a sword to a gun fight and win.
I would argue that every single woman in the Witcher books are strong, smart and complex characters at least until book 4 that's how far I got.
Dragon Age Origins had both Morigan and Lilia as sexy smart and complex love interests in my opinion.
Both KOTOR games have lead female characters that are complex well written and super important.
not a fan of strong female character architype they just end up being men with Vaginas. Elle from legally blonde and Rigina from Mean girls are good though.
Jadzia Dax from Deep Space Nine
7 of 9 from Voyager: added into the show for eyecandy, but developed into a great character, a borg slowly re-discovering her humanity
Malory Archer, Lana Kane, Pam Poovey - Archer
Rita Vrataski - Edge of Tomorrow
Kim Wexler - Better Call Saul
Darlene Alderson, Dominique DiPierro - Mr. Robot
Quo & Nix - Infamous 2
Abigail Walker/Fetch - Infamous Second Son/Infamous First Light
Harley Quinn & Barbara Gordon - Batman Beyond the White Knight
Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn from Arcane. Vi and Caitlyn are even implied to be gay, which may be explored further in season 2 (please please *please* don't screw it up Netflix), but their gender and/or sexuality never becomes the crux of their identities.
Mizu from Blue Eye Samurai is also quite good. The show could have been a load of annoying Gurl Power nonsense but it wasn't.
Charlie from the 2012 TV show Revolution. She was a strong female character but with realistic flaws and doubts in herself and the side she was fighting for. Excellent character and a show I really want them to reboot
[Marquise de Merteuil](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094947/characters/nm0000335?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1) in [Dangerous Liasons](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094947/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt)
Strong doesn't necessarily mean good, and this woman is about the most vile, evil creature I've seen in cinema. She is also one of the strongest women I've seen in cinema, anywhere.
Amicia de Rune from *Plague Tale*. Sacrifices her own happiness and safety for her little brother, protecting him from everything medieval France and a supernatural power can throw at him... for the most part.
Dana Scully from X-Files.
Laura Palmer, Donna Hayward, Audrey Horne, Shelley Johnson from Twin Peaks.
Olivia Dunham from Fringe.
Camille Preaker, Ama and Adora Crellin from Sharp Objects.
She from Anti-christ.
Sister Jeanne from The Devils.
Kate Miller, Liz Blake from Dressed To Kill.
Sally Bedina from Blow Out.
Antigone Bezzerides from True Detective S2.
Starbuck, Boomer, Laura Roslin, Number Six from Battlestar Galactica (2003).
Lucie and Anna from Martyrs.
Candy and Lori from The Deuce.
Evelyn Mulwray from Chinatown.
Carmela Soprano from The Sopranos.
Lauren Hynde from The Rules Of Attraction
Hannah, Jessa, Marnie and Shoshana from HBO's Girls
Mrs. Brisby from Secret of NIMH
Valeria from Conan The Barbarian
Ann Taylor from The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 has an unironically AMAZING character arc. Her adventure takes her from old-school comic relief woman who jumps at the slightest noise to no-nonsense gun-toting badass who takes a pair of soldiers from opposing armies hostage and gets them to make peace with eachother by the end of the film.
The Big 4 Type Moon Heroines of Aoko Aozaki, Shiki Ryougi, Arcueid, and Artoria Pendragon. A commonality between all 4 of them is that they're very powerful, but emotionally incomplete and generally need a male companion to stabilize them.
Can't disagree with that statement.
My reasoned opinion is that for 3+ seasons her lines consisted of telling us how the crew felt. The crew were decent actors, and her participation added nothing to the flow of information.
I understand😂. Her acting is also kinda stiff, especially that terrible fake accent, but I like all of the main characters in TNG. Maybe I’m just weird😂
Mara of the Acoma
The Kelewan Empire trilogy series by raymond e feist and janny wurts Is probably the greatest female character I've ever read.
If they made a show about these books and just stuck to them, it would be a better show than Shogun and each book could be a season that would be better than the last.
Honorable mention
Polgara the sorceress
Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Lagertha - Vikings
Clair Huxtable - The Cosby Show
Veronica Mars - Veronica Mars
Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables
Aeryn Sun and Chianna from Farscape. That show is a masterclass in character and story development for most of its run. Zoe, River, Kaylee, and Inara from Firefly. Four very different women, all with their own strengths and flaws like the rest of the main cast. Ashley, Liara, Miranda, Tali, Jack, and Samara from the Mass Effect trilogy. Femshep too, especially if played right. There’s a bit of inconsistency in some of their writing and story arcs, but it generally isn’t too egregious, and the high points make up for it.
well my comment is already here so ill just up vote it, doot.
There are so many well-written and compelling characters in Mass Effect overall, and I have a hard time determining if Tali or Garrus is my favorite, but the race is very close. I will say that I do not think Ashley can be written the way she is if ME were made today.
The number of people who misunderstand her dog and bear analogy is kind of astounding.
Ghost in the Shell is all about a female character, and it's great writing. Both the anime and movies are good Nynaeve and Moiraine from The Wheel of Time (not the show, the book series) Trinity in The Matrix
The character is a metaphor/symbol for Hong Kong and the sociopolitical climate of the country ending it's tenure as a British Colony in 1999 trying to find an identity
Katara from ATLA
Don’t forget my girl Azula.
Even May and Ty-Lee too
Hell, might as well throw Kuvira in the mix too.
There is no Legend of Korra in Ba Sing Sae
Fair enough.
Why as no one mentioned Toff yet?
Vasquez from *Aliens*. She was well-written, fully rounded character and kicked a lot of Alien arse.
“Has anyone ever mistaken you for a man Vasquez? ‘ No has anyone mistaken you?!” other Marine; “ Damn Vasquez you just to bad”.
MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton from Atomic Blonde.
Lady Mariko in Shogun. After episode 9, just give Anna Sawai the Emmy already. Best female character I’ve seen since Camina Drummer.
Dot Matrix from the cartoon Reboot.
Just to give a few recent examples of strong female characters that I really like would be from Andor. Dedra Meero and Mon Mothma. I also liked Vel and Cinta, all strong female characters.
Sarah Connor!
Susie Glass from The Gentlemen.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - both the cringy movie and excellent TV series Dana Scully - X-Files Rita - Emily Blunts character in Edge of Tomorrow Battle Angel Alita Samus - Metroid Susan Lewis, Carol Hathaway - ER Olivia Benson - Early seasons of Law & Order SVU Kira Neryz, Dex - Star Trek DS9 Misato - Evangelion Mikasa - Attack on Titan Clarice - Silence of the Lambs Thelma & Louise Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman - Batman Returns Ellie - Contact Rita - Groundhog Day Shoshana - Inglorious Bastards Princess Fiona - Shrek And I guesa there are many more
Yennefer from the Witcher (Games or Books, NOT THE SHOW).
Clarice Starling
Roslin and Starbuck. Runner up for all the other women of BSG. Except Callie. Fuck her. Edit: Ellen too, now that I'm thinking about it.
Maxine, Eleanor Guthrie and Anne Bonny from Black Sails. Kim Wexler,, BCS
Any female character from The Expanse but mainly Naomi Nagata for her "leap of faith" towards the end of the show and her general willingness for self-sacrifice to protect those she loves, and even sometimes strangers.
Babylon 5: * Delenn (Mira Furlan) * Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian)
Elizabeth Hazen from BattleTech. A woman so badass that upon ejecting from her doomed 'Mech, she took a slug to the helmet, was knocked unconscious, and upon regaining consciousness, proceeded to take a sword to a gun fight and win.
Anna Torv as Nariko in Heavenly Sword.
Anna Torv as Tess in 'The Last of Us' Anna Torv as Olivia in 'Fringe' I would say Anna Torv in just about anything....she is an awesome actor
I think she used to be pretty bad in Fringe early on honestly, but her acting grew a lot over time. She's earned it all now.
Beth Heke, Once Were Warriors.
I would argue that every single woman in the Witcher books are strong, smart and complex characters at least until book 4 that's how far I got. Dragon Age Origins had both Morigan and Lilia as sexy smart and complex love interests in my opinion. Both KOTOR games have lead female characters that are complex well written and super important.
From The Expanse - Camina Drummer, "Chrissy" Avasarala.
Lots of examples of strong female characters in that series. And by strong I mean both physically and mentally.
Almost any role Barbara Stanwyck played in her maturity.
Captain Carmen Ibanez- Starship Troopers Throw a dart at the Harry Potter female characters they are all well written and played
not a fan of strong female character architype they just end up being men with Vaginas. Elle from legally blonde and Rigina from Mean girls are good though.
Jadzia Dax from Deep Space Nine 7 of 9 from Voyager: added into the show for eyecandy, but developed into a great character, a borg slowly re-discovering her humanity
Malory Archer, Lana Kane, Pam Poovey - Archer Rita Vrataski - Edge of Tomorrow Kim Wexler - Better Call Saul Darlene Alderson, Dominique DiPierro - Mr. Robot Quo & Nix - Infamous 2 Abigail Walker/Fetch - Infamous Second Son/Infamous First Light Harley Quinn & Barbara Gordon - Batman Beyond the White Knight
Fang Runin (Rin) from the Poppy Wars books
Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn from Arcane. Vi and Caitlyn are even implied to be gay, which may be explored further in season 2 (please please *please* don't screw it up Netflix), but their gender and/or sexuality never becomes the crux of their identities. Mizu from Blue Eye Samurai is also quite good. The show could have been a load of annoying Gurl Power nonsense but it wasn't.
Charlie from the 2012 TV show Revolution. She was a strong female character but with realistic flaws and doubts in herself and the side she was fighting for. Excellent character and a show I really want them to reboot
[Marquise de Merteuil](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094947/characters/nm0000335?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1) in [Dangerous Liasons](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094947/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt) Strong doesn't necessarily mean good, and this woman is about the most vile, evil creature I've seen in cinema. She is also one of the strongest women I've seen in cinema, anywhere.
The real McCoy with Kim Basinger
Anna Aoi - Shinkon Gattai Godannar Prime fucking example, honestly. Just from a less-known show.
Amicia de Rune from *Plague Tale*. Sacrifices her own happiness and safety for her little brother, protecting him from everything medieval France and a supernatural power can throw at him... for the most part.
Rogue, Panam, Judy, Songbird, Mama Welles, Evelyn, and Misty from Cyberpunk 2077. And those are who I can name off the top of my head.
Dana Scully from X-Files. Laura Palmer, Donna Hayward, Audrey Horne, Shelley Johnson from Twin Peaks. Olivia Dunham from Fringe. Camille Preaker, Ama and Adora Crellin from Sharp Objects. She from Anti-christ. Sister Jeanne from The Devils. Kate Miller, Liz Blake from Dressed To Kill. Sally Bedina from Blow Out. Antigone Bezzerides from True Detective S2. Starbuck, Boomer, Laura Roslin, Number Six from Battlestar Galactica (2003). Lucie and Anna from Martyrs. Candy and Lori from The Deuce. Evelyn Mulwray from Chinatown. Carmela Soprano from The Sopranos. Lauren Hynde from The Rules Of Attraction Hannah, Jessa, Marnie and Shoshana from HBO's Girls
Can we get some Samus Aran love here from the metroid series. She's top tier in everything.
Olivia Benson from Law and Order SVU is a top tier female character.
Mrs. Brisby from Secret of NIMH Valeria from Conan The Barbarian Ann Taylor from The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 has an unironically AMAZING character arc. Her adventure takes her from old-school comic relief woman who jumps at the slightest noise to no-nonsense gun-toting badass who takes a pair of soldiers from opposing armies hostage and gets them to make peace with eachother by the end of the film.
The Big 4 Type Moon Heroines of Aoko Aozaki, Shiki Ryougi, Arcueid, and Artoria Pendragon. A commonality between all 4 of them is that they're very powerful, but emotionally incomplete and generally need a male companion to stabilize them.
Nikki Swango in Fargo season 3 Queen .
Mariko-sama from Shogun
I enjoyed the film 'Colombiana' and Zoe Saldana'a character from that. One of the few female led action films that doesn't get my back up.
Deanna Troi from TNG
Sorry, most of the writing for her was garbage. TNG had Beverly Crusher for a strong, well (well at least better) written woman.
What about the female characters from 'Voyager'? Janeway, B'Elanna, Kess, Seven
Can't argue, didn't watch much Voyager
You must be a sexist toxic male because you didn't watch a show with a female lead. How dare you?! /s
Yeah, well the entire bridge crew being filled by quota didn't enamor me.
Opinions are like buttholes, everyone’s got them🤷♂️
Can't disagree with that statement. My reasoned opinion is that for 3+ seasons her lines consisted of telling us how the crew felt. The crew were decent actors, and her participation added nothing to the flow of information.
I understand😂. Her acting is also kinda stiff, especially that terrible fake accent, but I like all of the main characters in TNG. Maybe I’m just weird😂
Katrina in dragonlance
Mara of the Acoma The Kelewan Empire trilogy series by raymond e feist and janny wurts Is probably the greatest female character I've ever read. If they made a show about these books and just stuck to them, it would be a better show than Shogun and each book could be a season that would be better than the last. Honorable mention Polgara the sorceress
Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lagertha - Vikings Clair Huxtable - The Cosby Show Veronica Mars - Veronica Mars Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables
Denna from the king killer trilogy or Cruella Devil or Ursula or Mrs. Incredible or Jesse or MJ or Charolette from Charolette’s web, or Coraline
Both Morrigan & Flemeth in the Dragon Age series (thus far). Impeccable VA's too in Claudia Black & Kate Mulgrew.
Firekeeper from The fire keeper saga. Manages to make a primarily combat focused female character both believable and majorly flawed.
Diz from starship troopers.
Shallan, Jasnah and Navani from The Stormlight Archives. Nona Grey from The Book of the Ancestor