List of female action heroes and villains

Last updated

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
A montage of actresses who have played female action heroes. From top left: Michelle Yeoh, Uma Thurman, Tia Carrere, Linda Hamilton, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Sigourney Weaver, and Lucy Liu. Female action hero actresses.jpg
A montage of actresses who have played female action heroes.
From top left: Michelle Yeoh, Uma Thurman, Tia Carrere, Linda Hamilton, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Sigourney Weaver, and Lucy Liu.
Are female action heroes truly empowering? – Dan Hassler-Forest (Utrecht University)

The following is a list of female action heroes and villains who appear in action films, television shows, comic books, and video games and who are "thrust into a series of challenges requiring physical feats, extended fights, extensive stunts and frenetic chases." [1]

Contents

Elizabeth Abele suggests that "the key agency of female action protagonists is their ability to draw on the full range of masculine and feminine qualities in ever-evolving combinations." [2]

Films

Animated theatrical films

Live-action theatrical films

Films based on comic books

DC
Marvel

Films based on novels

Films based on video games

Literature

Literary villains

Television

Animated television series

See also: female action heroes and villains in the section for anime.

Anime

Commercials

Video games

See also

References

  1. ↑ "AllMovie Genres:ACTION". AllMovie . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  2. ↑ Abele, Elizabeth. Home Front Heroes: The Rise of a New Hollywood Archetype, 1988–1999. McFarland, 2013:132
  3. ↑ "Ahsoka Tano". StarWars.com . Lucasfilm Ltd. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 176. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  5. ↑ "Sorry Katniss, Princess Fiona is still the best feminist action hero around". theweek.com. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Diaz, Poehler and More: A Magical Q&A with Shrek the Third's Fab Five Princesses
  7. ↑ Meinel, Dietmar. Pixar's America: The Re-Animation of American Myths and Symbols. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016: 173.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Female Action Heroes". The Boston Globe. July 9, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Bibbiani, William (November 17, 2015). "The Top Female Action Heroes in Movies". SuperHeroHype. CraveOnline . Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Beveridge, Chris (December 22, 2014). "Discotek Media Acquires 'Iria: Zeiram The Animation' OVA License". The Fandom Post. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 "From Snow White to Brave: the evolution of the Action Princess". The Guardian. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ↑ A Beginner's Guide to Ghost in the Shell
  13. ↑ Różalska, Aleksandra M.; Zygadło, Grażyna, eds. (2013). Narrating American gender and ethnic identities (1. publ. ed.). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publ. p. 40. ISBN   978-1443847841.
  14. ↑ "Sabine Wren". StarWars.com . Lucasfilm Ltd. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kick-Ass killer Hit Girl and 10 other ruthless heroines". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Staff (Fall 2015). "Beyond Badass: Female Action Heroes". TIFF.net. Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. pp. 51–55. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Why must action heroines wear S&M stripper outfits to kick butt?". The Guardian. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Staff. "9 Amazing Female Action Heroes". fandango.com. Fandango . Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  20. ↑ Surrey, Miles (22 June 2018). "Blue the Raptor Is the True Hero of 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'". The Ringer. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Stein, Ruthe (18 February 2005). "Weaver stands alone as female action hero". SFGate. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Rowland, Robin (2004). "Warrior queens and blind critics." CBC News
  23. ↑ "2015's Remakes, Sequels and Adaptations That Didn't Suck 12/28/2015". People. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  24. ↑ Supercop as Woman Warrior
  25. ↑ "Zeiramu (1991)". IMDb.
  26. 1 2 Kim, L. S. "Making women warriors: a transnational reading of Asian female action heroes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. No. 48, Winter, 2006.
  27. ↑ Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 245. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  28. ↑ "The Silent Westerns". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  29. ↑ Howard, Adam (22 December 2015). "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' hero Rey hailed as feminist icon". MSNBC. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  30. 1 2 "Make a woman the action hero and see how she flips the script". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  31. ↑ Janik, Erika (26 April 2016). "CHAPTER SIX: Girl Detectives". Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction. Beacon Press. ISBN   978-0807039380.
  32. ↑ Purse, Lisa (2011). Contemporary Action Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. p. 14. ISBN   9780748638185.
  33. ↑ Sneddon, Laura (4 October 2012). "Why Dredd 3D gets women in comics right". New Statesman . Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  34. 1 2 "10 Kick-Ass Female Comic Book Characters You Should Know About". Flavorwire. 15 October 2013.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lamont, Kevin (April 21, 2012). "The 10 best female action heroes – in pictures". The Guardian . Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  36. 1 2 3 "Women run the world in Marvel's new Avengers". CNN. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  37. 1 2 Porter, Lynnette R. (2005). Unsung heroes of the Lord of the rings: from the page to the screen. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. pp. 91–92. ISBN   0275985210.
  38. 1 2 Atkins, B. (2003). More Than a Game: The Computer Game as Fictional Form. Manchester University Press. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-7190-6365-7 . Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  39. ↑ Cox, Virginia (2013). Lyric poetry by women of the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 379. ISBN   978-1421408880.
  40. 1 2 "Women Are the Real Heroes of 'Game of Thrones'".
  41. 1 2 "'Game of Thrones': The 10 Greatest Heroes in Westeros". The Hollywood Reporter . 15 January 2016.
  42. ↑ "Razor girls: genre and gender in cyberpunk fiction" . Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  43. ↑ Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 52. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  44. ↑ Bennett, Pete; McDougall, Julian (June 25, 2015). Barthes' "Mythologies" Today: Readings of Contemporary Culture (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies). Routledge. p. 102. ISBN   978-1138925366.
  45. ↑ "Fictional Females: Shotgun Suzie, The Nightside Series". 19 March 2017.
  46. ↑ Grendel's mother#Agl.C3.A6cwif .28warrior.29 Aglæcwif (warrior)
  47. 1 2 Muir, John Kenneth (2007). A critical history of Doctor Who on television (Repr. ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 252. ISBN   978-0786437160.
  48. ↑ Inness, Sherrie A., ed. (2004). Action chicks new images of tough women in popular culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 13. ISBN   1403963967.
  49. 1 2 Forman-Brunell, Miriam, ed. (2001). Girlhood in America: an encyclopedia (volume 2). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p.  665. ISBN   1576072061.
  50. 1 2 3 Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. pp. 196–198. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  51. ↑ "Girlfriends: The Magazine of Lesbian Enjoyment". Girlfriends Magazine. 1999. p. 25. Batgirl on the original Batman television series — was probably TV's first femme action hero. (She even rode a motorcycle to work and did her own stunts, garnering more than a few lesbian fans.)
  52. 1 2 Pomerantz, Shauna; Kelly, Deirdre M.; Currie, Dawn H. (2009). 'Girl power': girls reinventing girlhood. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 43–44. ISBN   978-0820488776.
  53. ↑ "Ballerina suited to role as an action figure (The Vancouver Sun)". Canada.com. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  54. 1 2 Garcia, Frank; Phillips, Mark (2012). Science fiction television series, 1990–2004: histories, casts and credits for 58 shows. Jefferson: Mcfarland. p. 240. ISBN   978-0786469178.
  55. 1 2 3 4 Rogers, Dave (1989). The complete Avengers: everything you ever wanted to know about The Avengers and The New avengers (1st U.S. ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN   0312031874.
  56. 1 2 3 Stange, Mary Zeiss; Oyster, Carol K.; Sloan, Jane E., eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of women in today's world, Volume 1. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Reference. p. 19. ISBN   978-1412976855.
  57. ↑ Eramo, steven (November 2000). TV Zone. p. 18.
  58. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Inness, Sherrie A., ed. (2004). Action chicks new images of tough women in popular culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 70–72. ISBN   1403963967.
  59. ↑ Newcomb, Horace (2005). Encyclopedia of television (2nd ed.). New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 2604. ISBN   1579583946.
  60. ↑ "Review: 'Torchwood' Season 3 on BBC America". Los Angeles Times . 20 July 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  61. ↑ "'Maharakshak Devi' – superheroine lands on Indian TV". indianexpress.com. 11 March 2015.
  62. ↑ Jowett, Lorna (2005). Sex and the slayer a gender studies primer for the Buffy fan ([Repr.] ed.). Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan Univ. Press. p. 20. ISBN   0819567582.
  63. ↑ Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. pp. 2–13. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  64. ↑ "27 Characters Who Took 2015 by Storm". 9 December 2015.
  65. 1 2 "30 groundbreaking female action heroes". dailylife.com.au. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  66. ↑ "Take a first look at Benoist as TV's Supergirl". USA Today. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  67. 1 2 Stuart, Sarah Clarke (2011). Into the looking glass: exploring the worlds of Fringe. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 13–14. ISBN   978-1770410510.
  68. ↑ Knight, Gladys L. (2010). Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 53. ISBN   978-0313376122.
  69. 1 2 Inness, Sherrie A., ed. (2004). Action chicks new images of tough women in popular culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 89–90. ISBN   1403963967.
  70. ↑ "Interview with Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha)".
  71. ↑ Reconstruction studies in contemporary culture Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  72. 1 2 3 Brown, Jeffrey A. (2013). Dangerous curves: action heroines, gender fetishism, and popular culture. [S.l.]: Univ Pr Of Mississippi. p. 165. ISBN   978-1617039409.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DeTora, L.M. (2009). Heroes of Film, Comics and American Culture: Essays on Real and Fictional Defenders of Home. McFarland, Incorporated Publishers. p. 220. ISBN   978-0-7864-5143-2 . Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  74. ↑ Edidin, Rachel. "Marvel's Agent Carter: Looking Back On The Ballsy, Brassy, Revolutionary First Season". Playboy. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  75. ↑ "Atwell takes Marvel action-hero challenge seriously". USA Today. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  76. ↑ Porter, Lynnette; Lavery, David; Robson, Hillary (2008). Unlocking Battlestar Galactica. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks. p. 143. ISBN   978-1402212116.
  77. ↑ DeTora, Lisa M., ed. (2009). Heroes of film, comics and American culture: essays on real and fictional defenders of home. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., Publishers. pp. 221–222. ISBN   978-0786438273.
    -Gentz, Natascha; Kramer, Stefan, eds. (2006). Globalization, cultural identities, and media representations. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN   0791466841.
  78. ↑ Jones, Norma; Bajac-Carter, Maja; Batchelor, Bob, eds. (2014). Heroines of film and television: portrayals in popular culture. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 192. ISBN   978-1442231498.
  79. ↑ Lamb, Sharon; Brown, Lyn Mikel (2007). Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes. St. Martin's Press. p. 82. ISBN   978-1-4299-0632-6 . Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  80. ↑ Brown, Jeffrey A. (2013). Dangerous curves: action heroines, gender fetishism, and popular culture. [S.l.]: Univ Pr Of Mississippi. p. 162. ISBN   978-1617039409.
  81. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Masane Amaha (Witchblade) – Rice Digital". 7 June 2023.
  82. ↑ Daily Video Classic: Ridley Scott's 1984 Apple Ad
  83. ↑ Losing Our Cool: Dublin Review of Books
  84. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken) – Rice Digital". 14 June 2023.
  85. ↑ Barba, Rick (25 October 2016). "Assassin's Creed: Liberation". Assassin's Creed: A Walk Through History (1189–1868). Scholastic Inc. p. 80. ISBN   9781338099157.
  86. ↑ "The Official Xbox Magazine". Issues 107–110. Future Network USA. 2010. p. 74. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  87. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Talim (Soulcalibur) – Rice Digital". 11 January 2023.
  88. ↑ "ANNO: Mutationem confirmed for Switch". 17 August 2022.
  89. ↑ "Ultionus: A Tale of Petty Revenge for Switch Game Reviews".
  90. ↑ "Game Jolt – Games for the love of it".
  91. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Fiona Belli (Haunting Ground) – Rice Digital". 19 October 2022.
  92. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Konoko (Oni) – Rice Digital". 26 July 2023.
  93. ↑ "Wife Quest (Switch) Review". 4 April 2022.
  94. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Nariko (Heavenly Sword) – Rice Digital". 2 August 2023.
  95. ↑ "Waifu Wednesday: Virginia Maxwell (Wild Arms 3) – Rice Digital". 21 July 2021.
  96. ↑ Player's default model is female (Gina), although a male model can be chosen.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.