For their bravery, wit, general badassery, and unbroken spirit in the face of enormous challenges be they gender discrimination or acid-hissing aliens , we pay tribute to 87 Fearless Movie Women Who Inspire Us.
How did we arrive at our top 87? With the help of a fearless panel of women critics made up of some of the best writers in the industry, including a few on the Rotten Tomatoes staff. Starting with a long list of candidates, they whittled down the list to an initial set of 72 amazingly heroic characters and ordered them, crowning the most fearless woman movie hero in the process.
Want to know more about the ladies who voted? We included their bios at the end! Then, in addition to their contributions, which make up the bulk of the list, we also added a handful of more recent entries chosen by the RT staff. The final list you can watch every movie in a special FandangoNOW collection gives compelling insight into which heroes have resonated through the years, women whose big-screen impact remains even as the times change. We have the usual suspects along with plenty of surprises Working Girl , your day has come!
Take a look at the diverse space crews in Star Trek , Sunshine , or Alien , where people are hired based on nothing but competence, and none have proven their competence under extreme pressure as well as Ellen Ripley. Journey with Ripley into Aliens and we get to see her in a new light: mothering and nurturing with hints of deep empathy Sigourney Weaver was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for this performance , which only makes the Xenomorph-stomping side of her even more badass.
Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corp. The object of her scorn is her secretary, Tess McGill played by Melanie Griffith , who has her great ideas stolen by Katharine. Photo by Fox Pictures. Henson as Katherine G. Photo by. Of humble origins, scrappy Rey overcomes her circumstances living as an orphan in a harsh environment to become an essential component in the Resistance.
