The Most Empowering Female Characters In Film

Most Empowering Female Characters

In an industry dominated by men, it is exciting to see women in film both off and on the screen. The following is a list of excellent female characters who reflect the strength, complexity, and grace of the women of the world, showcasing just how tough women really are. These are some of the most empowering female characters in film.

Elle Woods - Legally Blonde

Who said blondes were dumb? In Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon turns in a performance as one of the most iconic female characters in movie history. This movie is quotable, relatable, and flat-out hilarious. More than that, it features a female protagonist that grows into her role as a confident and independent woman without ever compromising her distinctly feminine identity.

When her boyfriend breaks up instead of proposing, Elle follows him to Harvard Law School in order to prove she has a serious side. This pink-clad Los Angeles sorority girl goes on a journey of self-discovery as she finds a platform for helping people through law practice. She proves her intelligence, earns her confidence, and grows to accept love that meets her where she is.

Imperator Furiosa - Mad Max: Fury Road

On a list of empowered female characters, there are sure to be several badasses. Furiosa is one of those badasses. Played by Charlize Theron, Furiosa is a woman on a mission in Mad Max: Fury Road. She leads the charge in helping a group of concubines escape slavery, aided by Tom Hardy’s Max.

Furiosa is a woman who is forced to fight for every inch as she claws toward her goals. The stakes of her mission are sky-high as she and the women she is rescuing are pursued by barbaric warriors.

Furiosa is an unstoppable female character. She is so cool that she is getting her own movie, with Anya Taylor-Joy taking the reigns from Theron to portray a younger version of this modern heroine.

Rey - Star Wars

What is more powerful than strength in the Force? When Disney reignited the Star Wars franchise in 2015, they set out to put female characters at the center of the story. What they got was Rey, one of the most powerful Jedi in the franchise.

Played by Daisy Ridley, Rey is a young woman who discovers she has a strong connection to the Force. As many people try to tell her what her destiny is, Rey resists the temptations of the Dark Side and the dogma of Light in order bring balance to the Force.

Rey is one of the most empowering female characters because she forges her own path, regardless of outside influence.

Mulan - Mulan

Disney has a long history with female characters at the heart of its movies, but Mulan changes the formula. Mulan is not a damsel in distress or a princess searching for love. She is a warrior who takes her aging father’s place in the army in order to save his life and her country.

So much of the fun of Mulan comes from the young woman trying to imitate a man and fit in the Chinese army. In doing so, she proves that women can be just as tough as men, if not more so.

Mulan is not just one of the most empowered female characters in Disney’s history, but in all of film.

Princess Leia - Star Wars

Sometimes power comes in the form of authority. Princess Leia goes from the role of kidnapped princess to General of the Rebel Alliance. She is, in many ways, the gold standard for female characters in blockbuster movies.

Leia shows from the very beginning that she is not afraid to stand up for what is right. She hurls insults at Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin like she eats bad guys for breakfast. She withstands imprisonment and torture to keep Rebel secrets safe, and when the boys show up to rescue her, she is the one who engineers the escape.

Princess Leia will forever be one of the most iconic and accessible female characters in film. Though Carrie Fisher has passed on, her legacy as Leia lives on in the hearts and minds of fans all over the world.

Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman has been saving the world in comics for decades, but it was not until 2017 that she got to shine on the big screen. When she did, she showed women and girls everywhere that beauty and toughness could be one and the same.

Wonder Woman is one of the greatest female characters because she exudes grace, confidence, and true strength. She is a woman who left her idyllic home to confront the culture of men. She has experienced love and loss, yet remains true to the cause of hope and justice.

The world of female characters in film changed with the arrival of Wonder Woman, and it will never be the same.

Clarice Starling - The Silence of the Lambs

Before the screen was dominated by superheroes, female characters were already rising through the ranks of male-dominated worlds to achieve their goals. In The Silence of the Lambs, that character is FBI agent Clarice Starling.

Played by the inimitable Jodie Foster, Clarice must consult with an imprisoned serial killer called Hannibal Lecter in order to catch the murderer Buffalo Bill. The catch: Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, is a manipulative psychopath with genius-level intellect.

Clarice’s introduction to the FBI involves a battle of wits with Lecter and a fight to the death with Buffalo Bill. She navigates the dangers of her profession and prejudice at the workplace with grit and class, making her one of film’s most empowered female characters ever.

Erin Brockovich - Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich is not only one of the most empowered female characters in film, but in life. Based on a true story, Erin Brockovich tells the story of a single mother who gets a job as a legal assistant and proceeds to unravel a water pollution scandal in California.

This powerful drama is about a woman who fights uphill battles every day and never relents. She does not compromise who she is, what she thinks, or how she expresses herself, no matter how many people try to impose their wills on her.

Julia Roberts delivers a striking performance as Erin Brockovich and cements this real-life woman as one of the most empowered female characters in movie history.

Ellen Ripley - Alien

There have been a lot of female action stars over the years, but none are quite like Ellen Ripley. Played by Sigourney Weaver, Ripley never wanted to be a warrior or a super spy. She was a Warrant Officer on a transport ship – essentially a space trucker – and she became a monster killing badass.

In Alien, Ripley uses her wit and grit to become the sole survivor of the USS Nostromo after an alien monster killed her entire crew. In Aliens, Ripley raises the bar for female characters in action movies.

She accompanies a group of Marines to a colony that has been wiped out by the alien creatures, and she becomes a mother figure to another sole survivor, a little colony girl named Newt. 

Ripley goes through hell and high water to protect Newt and destroy the aliens, even going toe to toe with the formidable alien queen. Ellen Ripley never wanted to be an action hero, but she became one out of necessity, and in the process, became one of the toughest, grittiest, most empowered female characters in movie history.