Here come the girls!
First, I need to say a huge thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes for my birthday, you are all fab and very sweet and I love you all! Yes, I love all of you! All of you! Yay! I had a lovely relaxed day with my family, we all ate some chocolate cake at my grandparents' house and then today my mum bought me a bunch of pretty clothes for my present. No doubt I will photograph them later for those who are interested.
Onto the thing that took me 2 freaking nights to finish! After the recent news that the folks at Criminal Minda have decided that female characters are easily expendable, I read some LJ posts that argued for the under-representation of female characters in media. After some pondering/some procrastination from more important stuff, I decided to write a list of 100 female characters I love. I didn't think it would be as difficult as it was and there was a bit of barrel scraping towards the end but overall I am happy with my list. I've written a few crappy paragraphs for explanations of certain characters I wanted to briefly fangirl over but feel free to enquire about others on the list. There weren't any real rules for the list - they all had to be fictional and could be from any medium.
100 Female characters I love:
1. Amelie Poulain - “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain.” (I think if I was to pick my all time favourite female character, she would be a contender for number one, certainly in the top 3. Amelie is one of my all time favourite movies and I can only say so much about how much I love it before I degenerate into a dribbling fangirl mess. Ms Poulain is like a fairy-tale character; sheltered and naive but with a huge heart and a never-ending imagination. I adore her view of the world and the way she describes it, the little things she does to improve the world, her introvert nature, her love for Nino, hell, I even love her hair! Amelie gets a lot of flack for being sickly sweet and over-exposed but I fall in love with it and her every time I see it, in some strange way, she makes me want to change the world little by little.)
2. Princess Leia - “Star Wars.” (The original arse-kicker from my childhood and still someone I sort of look up to to this day. Just ignore the incest thing.)
3. Buttercup - “The Princess Bride.”
4. Hermione Granger - “Harry Potter.”
5. Minerva McGonagall - “Harry Potter.”
6. Luna Lovegood - “Harry Potter.” (There was always going to be Potter ladies on this list. Out of the expanded universe of Hogwarts and its residents, these three ladies are the ones that have stuck with me throughout the series that consumed my childhood and adolescence and still has some sick hold over me. There’s the nosey and opinionated but loving and ambitious Granger, the coolest teacher ever (I want my own professor McGonagall, seriously) and the quirky Stargirl-esque Luna, who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her and sees the world like no-one else. Mini fact, I actually sent in a photo and form to Warner Brothers when they were looking to cast Luna - social outcast with long blonde hair and an eccentric nature? That’s me! - but even though I missed my chance at stardom, I’ll always have a soft spot for Luna, especially her quidditch commentary.)
7. Catherine Morland - “Northanger Abbey.”
8. Lizzie Bennett - “Pride & Prejudice.”
9. Elinor Dashwood - “Sense and Sensibility.”
10. Rita-Sue Dreifuss - “Carnivale.”
11. Libby Dreifuss - “Carnivale.”
12. Sofie - “Carnivale.”
13. Iris Crowe - “Carnivale.” (I am obsessed with HBO’s 2 season wonder Carnivale. I could wax lyrically about why it’s my favourite drama of all time and how it was unfairly cancelled but right now I’ll just talk about the main female characters. Everyone in the show is so well written and completely fascinating I can’t do them justice in this crappy list. Sofie is a quiet girl living in the shadow of her catatonic but extraordinarily powered mother with a shadowy past and living with secrets she doesn’t quite understand. Iris, the loyal but shady sister of Brother Justin, Is like a boiling pot, waiting to explode. Throughout the series you can see something building inside her and it’s fascinating to watch. Rita-Sue is the matriarch of the Driefuss clan, a family of ‘cooch dancers’ who strip and offer their services for cash, including her daughter Libby. She’s tough, often selfish and spiteful and sometimes quite cruel to her family but in the end she is fighting to stay afloat during the depression, including surviving a tough family tragedy, a brief love affair, her husband’s money troubles and frosty relations with her daughter, who wants the bright lights of Hollywood and something to call her own. Rita-Sue is my favourite character in the show; despite her many selfish moments, you can understand why she is the way she is. I’ve warbled on a bit here. In short - go watch the show!
14. Fa Mulan - “Mulan.”
15. Belle - “Beauty and the Beast.”
16. Yzma - “The Emperor’s New Groove.”
17. Tiana - “The Princess and the Frog.”
18. Meghara - “Hercules.”
19. Esmeralda - “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
20. Lilo - “Lilo and Stitch.”
21. Nani - “Lilo and Stitch.”
22. Captain Amelia - “Treasure Planet.”
23. Malificent - “Sleeping Beauty.”
24. Ursula - “The Little Mermaid.” (I put a lot of Disney ladies on this list and I didn’t realise just how many until I was about halfway done with the list. To be honest, Disney has been such a huge part of my childhood I couldn’t leave them out of this list. Despite the animation studio’s many problems which I could rant about until the cows come home - want to know why I can’t watch their version of Peter Pan? Just YouTube the ‘red Indians’ scene - but I adore so many of the Disney ladies, both good and bad, that it was difficult to ignore them. From the villains, both dark and comical, to the oft-franchised princesses - my favourite being Mulan - she counts under the princess canon - and Tiana - to the sassier underrated ladies - come on Disney, Meg and Esmeralda are kickass, why do you ignore them so? - I think there’s a Disney lady for everyone. All of the Disney ladies, bar one, are from the Renaissance period onwards and that wasn’t a deliberate move. I just enjoy the more progressive characters (although Malificent is the best female villain Disney has ever produced. A woman who sentences a baby to death by the strangest method possible because she wasn’t invited to her baby shower? That is spiteful! And how many villains do you know actually summon all the powers of hell to kill one guy?). I seriously hope Disney don’t let me down with Rapunzel...sorry, Tangled. But that’s a rant for another day.
25. Sally Bowles - “Cabaret.”
26. Satine - “Moulin Rouge.”
27. Donna Noble - “Doctor Who.”
28. Toshiko Sato - “Torchwood.”
29. Beatrice - “Much Ado About Nothing.”
30. Viola - “Twelfth Night.”
31. Rosalind - “As You Like It.”
32. Ophelia - “Hamlet.”
33. Clarissa Dalloway - “Mrs Dalloway.”
34. Sweet Dee Reynolds - “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” (She’s rude, self centred, thinks she’s better than everyone else, treated like crap, treats others like crap, often extremely offensive and disgusting and pecks at food like a bird. And she’s hilarious. It’s not often that the female character gets to be as rude and disgusting as the guys but Sweet Dee goes all the way. Like everyone in the show, she’s a nasty piece of work and it’s fun to watch her suffer. Equal opportunity comedy!)
35. Magenta - “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
36. EVE - “Wall-E.”
37. Mary Poppins - “Mary Poppins.”
38. Sally Lockhart - “The Sally Lockhart Quartet.” (Smart, resourceful, fiercely independent, tough, savvy, and a skilled shot to boot. I actually prefer Sally to Lyra in the canon of Pullman heroines. Damn you Billie Piper for ruining the TV adaptation for me!)
39. Lyra Silvertongue - “His Dark Materials.”
40. Lisa Simpson - “The Simpsons.” (Pretty much my hero when I was growing up. She gave an extremely erudite voice to nerdy bookworm girls everywhere! I wanted to play the saxophone because of her. Sadly I lack any form of musical talent.)
41. Maggie Simpson - “The Simpsons.”
42. Penelope Garcia - “Criminal Minds.”
43. Emily Prentiss - “Criminal Minds.”
44. Jennifer Jareau - “Criminal Minds.”
45. Mrs Danvers - “Rebecca.”
46. Daphne Moon - “Frasier.”
47. Roz Doyle - “Frasier.”
48. Liz Lemon - “30 Rock.”
49. Jenna Maroney - “30 Rock.”
50. Maid Marian - “Maid Marian and her Merry Men.” (Another one of my childhood heroes. Based on the oft-told Robin Hood tale but with the damsel saving everyone as Robin preens and distresses over her hair, I pretty much worshipped Maid Marian as a kid. She didn’t always succeed but she had the respect of all the guys and more than held her own in a fight. If you’ve never seen the show I highly recommend it. It’s supposed to be for kids but the writing by Tony Robinson - yes, Baldrick! - holds up for adults too.
51. Tracy Turnblad - “Hairspray.”
52. Sugar Kane - “Some Like It hot.”
53. Chihiro - “Spirited Away.”
54. Clarice Starling - “Silence of the Lambs.”
55. Lara Croft - “Tomb Raider.”
56. The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo - “Kill Bill.”
57. Harley Quinn - “Batman.”
58. Barbara Gordon/Oracle - “Batman/Birds of Prey.”
59. Harley Quinn - “Batman: The Animated Series.” (The psychology behind Harley fascinates me. She’s the ultimate fangirl gone crazy but can definitely hold her own in a fight. Yes, I am strangely charmed by her. And that voice.)
60. Marian Ravenwood - “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” (Like Leia, Marian led the way for kickass ladies in movies when I was growing up. Let’s just ignore the 4th movie.)
61. Turanga Leela - “Futurama.”
62. Mom - “Futurama.”
63. Ivy Walker - “The Village.”
64. Endora - “Bewitched.” (Because I freaking hated that sexist, prejudiced arse-face Darrin and loved to see him squirm at the hands of his theatrical mother-in-law!)
65. Veronica Palmer - “Better off Ted.”
66. Juno MacGuff - “Juno.” (I know Juno and Diablo Cody’s writing gets a lot of criticism which I definitely understand - like Tarantino, Cody writes like herself and not really like the characters. However, I can’t ignore Juno. Sure, she’s a bit bratty and too cool for her own good but like she acknowledges, she’s ‘dealing with stuff way beyond her maturity level’ and you see her grow up as her belly grows. Juno reminds me a lot of my sister, without the pregnancy bit, so maybe that’s why I love her so much despite her annoying quirks.)
67. Tara Gregson - “United States of Tara.”
68. Olive Snook - “Pushing Daisies.”
69. Mrs Brisby - “The Secret Of NIMH.” (Look, a non Disney animated female character! And she’s a mouse! Taken from Don Bluth’s best movie and made during the time when Disney’s output was less than satisfactory, The Secret of NIMH is a dark, surprisingly adult film with a stunning spectrum of colours and light that I seriously recommend to all. its refusal to talk down to kids can be seen in the lead character Mrs Brisby. She’s not a little child or a lost creature yearning for someone to save her. She’s not brave or particularly smart or special; she’s just a mum who wants to do what’s best for her kids and will fight to the end to make sure they’re okay. She’s a little twee and possibly a bit too traditional for some but her determination and bravery make her stand out, especially from other animated films of the time. it’s sad that Bluth isn’t making films like this anymore and hasn’t really made anything worth talking about since Anastacia, and even that was a Disney knock-off with less catchy songs. But if nothing else, he gave us Mrs Brisby.)
70. Amy Pond - “Doctor Who.”
71. River Song - “Doctor Who.”
72. Martha Jones - “Doctor Who.”
73. Temperance Brennan - “Bones.”
74. Matilda Wormwood - “Matilda.” (Another staple of my childhood. You can never have too many precocious bookworms on your kickass females list. She fulfilled one of my biggest childhood desires - to stick it to the people who put her down in the most gleefully sadistic manner possible that was allowed in a children’s book.)
75. Shoshanna Dreyfuss - “Inglourious Basterds.”
76. Bridget Von Hammersmark - “Inglourious Basterds.”
77. Kat Stratford - “10 Things I Hate About You.”
78. Nicola Murray - “The Thick of It.”
79. Susan Rodriguez - “Dresden Files.”
80. Lady Penelope - “Thunderbirds.”
81. Delia Dietze - “Beetlejuice.” (I will watch anything Catherine O’Hara does and her supporting role in Tim Burton’s funniest movie has me in stitches every time. She’s on here mainly for the quotability factor. ‘This is my art and it’s dangerous!’)
82. Sally Ragdoll - “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
83. Mary Jensen - “There’s Something About Mary.”
84. Tracy Samantha Lord Haven - “The Philadelphia Story.”
85. Kestrel Hath - “The Wind on Fire trilogy.” (This was one of my favourite series as a kid and it deserves much more attention. Written by William Nicholson, one of the writers of Gladiator, the series is at first set in a walled city with extremely strict rules and a complete lack of personal freedoms. Kestrel is fiercely loyal to her family and loathes the city. She refuses to submit, regardless of the consequences and even though she has her emo moments, especially in the 2nd book, she never gives up despite the many obstacles in her way. She’s also an extremely creative at swears! As a side-note, I am selling my copies of the trilogy in my book and DVD sale post!)
86. Jessica Rabbit - “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
87. Mma Ramotswe - “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”
88. Elphaba - “Wicked.”
89. Aoibheal - “The Midnight Court.” (The queen of the fairies from one of my favourite poems ever. She sentences the men to be tied up and flogged. And you wonder why I love her?)
90. Pepper Potts - “Iron Man.” (Movie)
91. Susie Derkins - “Calvin and Hobbes.”
92. Maggie Chester - “Peter’s Friends.”
93. Geraldine Granger - “The Vicar of Dibley.”
94. Peggy Olson - “Mad Men.”
95. John Holloway - “Mad Men.”
96. Cecily Cardew - “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
97. Offred - “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
98. Mia Thermopolis - “The Princess Diaries.”
99. Mina Harker/Murray - “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.”
100. Lucy Emerson - “The Lost Boys.” (I needed to get a Dianne Wiest character on here somehow. She was a cool mother in the film anyway so she definitely counts.)
So what did I learn from this list? It didn't take me long to realise that I could have done a 100 male characters I love post in half the time and I think it's pretty obvious there's a huge difference in male to female characters in all creative mediums. But I think it's getting better, slowly but surely. Now, who's going to show me their list?
Onto the thing that took me 2 freaking nights to finish! After the recent news that the folks at Criminal Minda have decided that female characters are easily expendable, I read some LJ posts that argued for the under-representation of female characters in media. After some pondering/some procrastination from more important stuff, I decided to write a list of 100 female characters I love. I didn't think it would be as difficult as it was and there was a bit of barrel scraping towards the end but overall I am happy with my list. I've written a few crappy paragraphs for explanations of certain characters I wanted to briefly fangirl over but feel free to enquire about others on the list. There weren't any real rules for the list - they all had to be fictional and could be from any medium.
100 Female characters I love:
1. Amelie Poulain - “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain.” (I think if I was to pick my all time favourite female character, she would be a contender for number one, certainly in the top 3. Amelie is one of my all time favourite movies and I can only say so much about how much I love it before I degenerate into a dribbling fangirl mess. Ms Poulain is like a fairy-tale character; sheltered and naive but with a huge heart and a never-ending imagination. I adore her view of the world and the way she describes it, the little things she does to improve the world, her introvert nature, her love for Nino, hell, I even love her hair! Amelie gets a lot of flack for being sickly sweet and over-exposed but I fall in love with it and her every time I see it, in some strange way, she makes me want to change the world little by little.)
2. Princess Leia - “Star Wars.” (The original arse-kicker from my childhood and still someone I sort of look up to to this day. Just ignore the incest thing.)
3. Buttercup - “The Princess Bride.”
4. Hermione Granger - “Harry Potter.”
5. Minerva McGonagall - “Harry Potter.”
6. Luna Lovegood - “Harry Potter.” (There was always going to be Potter ladies on this list. Out of the expanded universe of Hogwarts and its residents, these three ladies are the ones that have stuck with me throughout the series that consumed my childhood and adolescence and still has some sick hold over me. There’s the nosey and opinionated but loving and ambitious Granger, the coolest teacher ever (I want my own professor McGonagall, seriously) and the quirky Stargirl-esque Luna, who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her and sees the world like no-one else. Mini fact, I actually sent in a photo and form to Warner Brothers when they were looking to cast Luna - social outcast with long blonde hair and an eccentric nature? That’s me! - but even though I missed my chance at stardom, I’ll always have a soft spot for Luna, especially her quidditch commentary.)
7. Catherine Morland - “Northanger Abbey.”
8. Lizzie Bennett - “Pride & Prejudice.”
9. Elinor Dashwood - “Sense and Sensibility.”
10. Rita-Sue Dreifuss - “Carnivale.”
11. Libby Dreifuss - “Carnivale.”
12. Sofie - “Carnivale.”
13. Iris Crowe - “Carnivale.” (I am obsessed with HBO’s 2 season wonder Carnivale. I could wax lyrically about why it’s my favourite drama of all time and how it was unfairly cancelled but right now I’ll just talk about the main female characters. Everyone in the show is so well written and completely fascinating I can’t do them justice in this crappy list. Sofie is a quiet girl living in the shadow of her catatonic but extraordinarily powered mother with a shadowy past and living with secrets she doesn’t quite understand. Iris, the loyal but shady sister of Brother Justin, Is like a boiling pot, waiting to explode. Throughout the series you can see something building inside her and it’s fascinating to watch. Rita-Sue is the matriarch of the Driefuss clan, a family of ‘cooch dancers’ who strip and offer their services for cash, including her daughter Libby. She’s tough, often selfish and spiteful and sometimes quite cruel to her family but in the end she is fighting to stay afloat during the depression, including surviving a tough family tragedy, a brief love affair, her husband’s money troubles and frosty relations with her daughter, who wants the bright lights of Hollywood and something to call her own. Rita-Sue is my favourite character in the show; despite her many selfish moments, you can understand why she is the way she is. I’ve warbled on a bit here. In short - go watch the show!
14. Fa Mulan - “Mulan.”
15. Belle - “Beauty and the Beast.”
16. Yzma - “The Emperor’s New Groove.”
17. Tiana - “The Princess and the Frog.”
18. Meghara - “Hercules.”
19. Esmeralda - “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
20. Lilo - “Lilo and Stitch.”
21. Nani - “Lilo and Stitch.”
22. Captain Amelia - “Treasure Planet.”
23. Malificent - “Sleeping Beauty.”
24. Ursula - “The Little Mermaid.” (I put a lot of Disney ladies on this list and I didn’t realise just how many until I was about halfway done with the list. To be honest, Disney has been such a huge part of my childhood I couldn’t leave them out of this list. Despite the animation studio’s many problems which I could rant about until the cows come home - want to know why I can’t watch their version of Peter Pan? Just YouTube the ‘red Indians’ scene - but I adore so many of the Disney ladies, both good and bad, that it was difficult to ignore them. From the villains, both dark and comical, to the oft-franchised princesses - my favourite being Mulan - she counts under the princess canon - and Tiana - to the sassier underrated ladies - come on Disney, Meg and Esmeralda are kickass, why do you ignore them so? - I think there’s a Disney lady for everyone. All of the Disney ladies, bar one, are from the Renaissance period onwards and that wasn’t a deliberate move. I just enjoy the more progressive characters (although Malificent is the best female villain Disney has ever produced. A woman who sentences a baby to death by the strangest method possible because she wasn’t invited to her baby shower? That is spiteful! And how many villains do you know actually summon all the powers of hell to kill one guy?). I seriously hope Disney don’t let me down with Rapunzel...sorry, Tangled. But that’s a rant for another day.
25. Sally Bowles - “Cabaret.”
26. Satine - “Moulin Rouge.”
27. Donna Noble - “Doctor Who.”
28. Toshiko Sato - “Torchwood.”
29. Beatrice - “Much Ado About Nothing.”
30. Viola - “Twelfth Night.”
31. Rosalind - “As You Like It.”
32. Ophelia - “Hamlet.”
33. Clarissa Dalloway - “Mrs Dalloway.”
34. Sweet Dee Reynolds - “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” (She’s rude, self centred, thinks she’s better than everyone else, treated like crap, treats others like crap, often extremely offensive and disgusting and pecks at food like a bird. And she’s hilarious. It’s not often that the female character gets to be as rude and disgusting as the guys but Sweet Dee goes all the way. Like everyone in the show, she’s a nasty piece of work and it’s fun to watch her suffer. Equal opportunity comedy!)
35. Magenta - “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
36. EVE - “Wall-E.”
37. Mary Poppins - “Mary Poppins.”
38. Sally Lockhart - “The Sally Lockhart Quartet.” (Smart, resourceful, fiercely independent, tough, savvy, and a skilled shot to boot. I actually prefer Sally to Lyra in the canon of Pullman heroines. Damn you Billie Piper for ruining the TV adaptation for me!)
39. Lyra Silvertongue - “His Dark Materials.”
40. Lisa Simpson - “The Simpsons.” (Pretty much my hero when I was growing up. She gave an extremely erudite voice to nerdy bookworm girls everywhere! I wanted to play the saxophone because of her. Sadly I lack any form of musical talent.)
41. Maggie Simpson - “The Simpsons.”
42. Penelope Garcia - “Criminal Minds.”
43. Emily Prentiss - “Criminal Minds.”
44. Jennifer Jareau - “Criminal Minds.”
45. Mrs Danvers - “Rebecca.”
46. Daphne Moon - “Frasier.”
47. Roz Doyle - “Frasier.”
48. Liz Lemon - “30 Rock.”
49. Jenna Maroney - “30 Rock.”
50. Maid Marian - “Maid Marian and her Merry Men.” (Another one of my childhood heroes. Based on the oft-told Robin Hood tale but with the damsel saving everyone as Robin preens and distresses over her hair, I pretty much worshipped Maid Marian as a kid. She didn’t always succeed but she had the respect of all the guys and more than held her own in a fight. If you’ve never seen the show I highly recommend it. It’s supposed to be for kids but the writing by Tony Robinson - yes, Baldrick! - holds up for adults too.
51. Tracy Turnblad - “Hairspray.”
52. Sugar Kane - “Some Like It hot.”
53. Chihiro - “Spirited Away.”
54. Clarice Starling - “Silence of the Lambs.”
55. Lara Croft - “Tomb Raider.”
56. The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo - “Kill Bill.”
57. Harley Quinn - “Batman.”
58. Barbara Gordon/Oracle - “Batman/Birds of Prey.”
59. Harley Quinn - “Batman: The Animated Series.” (The psychology behind Harley fascinates me. She’s the ultimate fangirl gone crazy but can definitely hold her own in a fight. Yes, I am strangely charmed by her. And that voice.)
60. Marian Ravenwood - “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” (Like Leia, Marian led the way for kickass ladies in movies when I was growing up. Let’s just ignore the 4th movie.)
61. Turanga Leela - “Futurama.”
62. Mom - “Futurama.”
63. Ivy Walker - “The Village.”
64. Endora - “Bewitched.” (Because I freaking hated that sexist, prejudiced arse-face Darrin and loved to see him squirm at the hands of his theatrical mother-in-law!)
65. Veronica Palmer - “Better off Ted.”
66. Juno MacGuff - “Juno.” (I know Juno and Diablo Cody’s writing gets a lot of criticism which I definitely understand - like Tarantino, Cody writes like herself and not really like the characters. However, I can’t ignore Juno. Sure, she’s a bit bratty and too cool for her own good but like she acknowledges, she’s ‘dealing with stuff way beyond her maturity level’ and you see her grow up as her belly grows. Juno reminds me a lot of my sister, without the pregnancy bit, so maybe that’s why I love her so much despite her annoying quirks.)
67. Tara Gregson - “United States of Tara.”
68. Olive Snook - “Pushing Daisies.”
69. Mrs Brisby - “The Secret Of NIMH.” (Look, a non Disney animated female character! And she’s a mouse! Taken from Don Bluth’s best movie and made during the time when Disney’s output was less than satisfactory, The Secret of NIMH is a dark, surprisingly adult film with a stunning spectrum of colours and light that I seriously recommend to all. its refusal to talk down to kids can be seen in the lead character Mrs Brisby. She’s not a little child or a lost creature yearning for someone to save her. She’s not brave or particularly smart or special; she’s just a mum who wants to do what’s best for her kids and will fight to the end to make sure they’re okay. She’s a little twee and possibly a bit too traditional for some but her determination and bravery make her stand out, especially from other animated films of the time. it’s sad that Bluth isn’t making films like this anymore and hasn’t really made anything worth talking about since Anastacia, and even that was a Disney knock-off with less catchy songs. But if nothing else, he gave us Mrs Brisby.)
70. Amy Pond - “Doctor Who.”
71. River Song - “Doctor Who.”
72. Martha Jones - “Doctor Who.”
73. Temperance Brennan - “Bones.”
74. Matilda Wormwood - “Matilda.” (Another staple of my childhood. You can never have too many precocious bookworms on your kickass females list. She fulfilled one of my biggest childhood desires - to stick it to the people who put her down in the most gleefully sadistic manner possible that was allowed in a children’s book.)
75. Shoshanna Dreyfuss - “Inglourious Basterds.”
76. Bridget Von Hammersmark - “Inglourious Basterds.”
77. Kat Stratford - “10 Things I Hate About You.”
78. Nicola Murray - “The Thick of It.”
79. Susan Rodriguez - “Dresden Files.”
80. Lady Penelope - “Thunderbirds.”
81. Delia Dietze - “Beetlejuice.” (I will watch anything Catherine O’Hara does and her supporting role in Tim Burton’s funniest movie has me in stitches every time. She’s on here mainly for the quotability factor. ‘This is my art and it’s dangerous!’)
82. Sally Ragdoll - “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
83. Mary Jensen - “There’s Something About Mary.”
84. Tracy Samantha Lord Haven - “The Philadelphia Story.”
85. Kestrel Hath - “The Wind on Fire trilogy.” (This was one of my favourite series as a kid and it deserves much more attention. Written by William Nicholson, one of the writers of Gladiator, the series is at first set in a walled city with extremely strict rules and a complete lack of personal freedoms. Kestrel is fiercely loyal to her family and loathes the city. She refuses to submit, regardless of the consequences and even though she has her emo moments, especially in the 2nd book, she never gives up despite the many obstacles in her way. She’s also an extremely creative at swears! As a side-note, I am selling my copies of the trilogy in my book and DVD sale post!)
86. Jessica Rabbit - “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
87. Mma Ramotswe - “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”
88. Elphaba - “Wicked.”
89. Aoibheal - “The Midnight Court.” (The queen of the fairies from one of my favourite poems ever. She sentences the men to be tied up and flogged. And you wonder why I love her?)
90. Pepper Potts - “Iron Man.” (Movie)
91. Susie Derkins - “Calvin and Hobbes.”
92. Maggie Chester - “Peter’s Friends.”
93. Geraldine Granger - “The Vicar of Dibley.”
94. Peggy Olson - “Mad Men.”
95. John Holloway - “Mad Men.”
96. Cecily Cardew - “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
97. Offred - “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
98. Mia Thermopolis - “The Princess Diaries.”
99. Mina Harker/Murray - “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.”
100. Lucy Emerson - “The Lost Boys.” (I needed to get a Dianne Wiest character on here somehow. She was a cool mother in the film anyway so she definitely counts.)
So what did I learn from this list? It didn't take me long to realise that I could have done a 100 male characters I love post in half the time and I think it's pretty obvious there's a huge difference in male to female characters in all creative mediums. But I think it's getting better, slowly but surely. Now, who's going to show me their list?