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The Most Badass Female Characters In The Walking Dead

By Rick Gonzales | Updated

The Walking Dead’s Most Badass Female Characters

There is no doubt that the men of The Walking Dead made the series tick. From Rick Grimes to Daryl Dixon to Glenn Rhee and everything after, the men gave the series its brute strength. If truth be told, though, when it comes to badass characters, the women of The Walking Dead hold their own. In many cases, they even far surpass the men.

They have sliced, shot, and stabbed their way through walkers, and they have done the same to the many villains they’ve faced. Beyond that, their heroics have saved countless lives in their groups. We have come up with 10 of the most badass female characters The Walking Dead has produced. Check ‘em out.

10. Beth Greene

When we first met Emily Kinney as Beth Greene, she came off as a weak individual. It could have been the fact that she was the youngest of Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) daughters. But as time went on, fans got to see Beth grow.

Whether it was to protect her family or her newfound friends, Beth never shied away from anything. She may not have been part of many physical altercations, but strength and badassery can be shown in many different ways, which she did.

9. Judith Grimes

Okay, it might look like we are going off script here, but bear with us. Cailey Fleming portrayed the young Judith, daughter of Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), taken in by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) after Lori died giving birth to Judith.

As a child of the zombie apocalypse, Judith had to learn how to survive from the start. To top it off, she forged a friendship with Negan, one of The Walking Dead’s most notorious characters. Regardless of what some of you may think, this young girl was a true badass.

8. Sasha Williams

As Sasha Williams, Sonequa Martin-Green provided The Walking Dead with one of the most heroic and badass decisions to be seen. It was this selfless act that put her on the list.

Sasha finds herself being held captive by the Saviors and knowing her fate, decides to let herself die so she can turn into a walker in an attempt to take out Negan. Her plan almost works.

7. Andrea Harrison

Not all of the badass female characters on The Walking Dead have fallen on the side of good but with Andrea Harrison, she falls more in the gray area between good and bad.

Played by Laurie Holden, Andrea first fell in with Rick’s group until season 3, when she chose to side with The Governor (David Morrissey). Either way, it didn’t make a difference which side of the bread she buttered, she never shied away from conflict, physical or other, and was one of the more complex characters the series had.

6. Connie

Being deaf in a zombie apocalypse and surviving is one of the more badass things seen on The Walking Dead and that is what Connie (Lauren Ridloff, who is deaf in real life) did.

What made her a true badass is that Connie never turned away from a fight, despite her inability to hear. The only time she ever showed any softness was whenever she would flirt with Daryl.

5. Rosita Espinosa

Christian Serratos joined the cast of The Walking Dead as Rosita in season 4, the same episode that brought Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt). Rosita was a badass from the start, but nothing made her more of one than her daughter Coco.

Nothing proved this more than when she rescued her daughter and while carrying her, they fell into a pit of walkers. Coco would come out unharmed while mama Rosita ended up with a gruesome and heartbreaking bite on her shoulder.

4. Alpha

As we mentioned, not all of the badass women on The Walking Dead did it for the good. Alpha was probably the most lethal in this respect as Samantha Morton played her with maniacal glee.

She was the ruler of the Whisperers, a deadly group who wore masks made of human flesh that allowed them to walk amongst the zombies. She made her mark in gruesome fashion when she killed off 10 people, a few were main characters, and put their reanimated heads on a pike for all to see.

3. Michonne

As one female character who had an amazing introduction, Michonne has proven time and time again that she deserves a spot on The Walking Dead’s most badass female character list.

Played by Danai Gurira, Michonne did her deadly business with the assistance of her famous katana. Always cool and collected, her ability to judge right from wrong made her one of the more badass ladies of The Walking Dead.

2. Maggie Greene-Rhee

Our top 2 is a tough call because you could flip-flop these badass ladies and not bat an eye. We are settling with Maggie Greene-Rhee as number 2 this time around. Maggie became a badass early on, teaming up with her future husband Glenn on a number of deadly occasions.

But it was her being tied up watching on helplessly while Negan literally bashed the brains out of Glenn that turned her from a survivor into a badass survivor.

1. Carol Peletier

There isn’t anything that Carol Peletier has not done in fighting for the people she loves. When we first met Melissa McBride’s Carol, she was a timid mother stuck in a marriage with her abusive husband. She began her badass journey by leaving him.

But things looked bleak for her when she found out her daughter had turned into a zombie and had to watch as Rick put her down. From then on, Carol was a warrior in every sense of the word, forging a great bond with Daryl Dixon. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of Carol.