They Didn’t Need Saving
There was a time when forgetting these women seemed impossible.
They fought villains, took over movie and television screens and ended up on more than a few bedroom walls. Yet today, many of their names barely register. How many do you remember?
Anne Francis
Anne Francis became private detective Honey West in 1965, complete with a sports car, martial-arts skills and enough gadgets to make James Bond nervous. The show lasted only one season, but Francis created one of television’s earliest female action leads—and a crush that lasted considerably longer.
Screenshot from Honey West, Four Star Television / ABC (1965–1966)
Cheng Pei-pei
Years before most American movies allowed women near the action, Cheng Pei-pei was leading swordplay adventures in Hong Kong. Come Drink with Me, Golden Swallow and The Lady Hermit made her the “Queen of Swords.” She was not waiting for the hero. She was the hero.
Screenshot from Come Drink with Me, Shaw Brothers Studio (1966)
Pam Grier
Pam Grier did not merely appear in 70s action movies. She frequently was the entire movie. Coffy, Foxy Brown, Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster made her one of cinema’s first true female action stars. Villains underestimated her exactly once—and rarely enjoyed the experience.
Screenshot from Foxy Brown, American International Pictures (AIP) (1974)
Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg made Emma Peel stylish, brilliant and perfectly capable of throwing a grown man across a room without disturbing her hair. Millennials may recognize Rigg from Game of Thrones. Their grandfathers remember The Avengers—and probably have considerably clearer memories of the catsuits.
Screenshot from The Avengers, Associated British Productions / ABC Weekend Television (1966)
Angela Mao
Angela Mao trained in martial arts and headlined movies including Lady Whirlwind and Hapkido. American distributors retitled Hapkido Lady Kung Fu, and the name stuck. Audiences also saw her as Bruce Lee’s sister in Enter the Dragon. The appearance was brief. The impression was anything but.
Screenshot from Lady Whirlwind / Hapkido, Starring Angela Mao, Golden Harvest (1972)
Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch is remembered as one of Hollywood’s great beauties, but Hannie Caulder put her directly at the center of a gritty Western revenge story. She trained, fought back and carried the movie herself. The famous posters were impressive. This time, the character was considerably more dangerous.
Screenshot from Hannie Caulder, Paramount Pictures (1971)
Lynda Carter
There have been several live-action Wonder Women, but for Baby Boomers, the conversation begins and ends with Lynda Carter. She brought strength, humor and glamour to the role without making any of it feel forced. The famous spinning transformation was merely the victory lap.
Screenshot from Wonder Woman, Warner Bros. Television (1975-1979)
Jean Bell
Jean Bell—credited as Jeanne Bell—played the title character in TNT Jackson, a martial artist who travels to Hong Kong searching for her missing brother. Naturally, this requires her to fight nearly everyone she meets. The low-budget movie gave Bell a rare starring vehicle, but it did not lead to a long run of leading roles.
Screenshot from TNT Jackson, New World Pictures / Premiere Productions (1974)
Yvonne Craig
When Yvonne Craig joined Batman as Batgirl, the former professional ballerina brought a completely different kind of energy to Gotham City. She rode the Batgirl Cycle, handled the villains herself and looked terrific in purple. Suddenly, Batman and Robin seemed like supporting players in their own show.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Tamara Dobson
At 6-foot-2, former fashion model Tamara Dobson looked as though she had been designed specifically for a movie poster. As government agent Cleopatra Jones, she combined extravagant outfits, martial arts and enormous screen presence. Shaft was impressive. Cleopatra Jones looked as though she could have been his boss.
Screenshot from Cleopatra Jones, Warner Bros. Pictures / Max Julien Productions (1973)
Honor Blackman
Before she faced James Bond in Goldfinger, Honor Blackman was already handling trouble as Cathy Gale on The Avengers. She studied judo, wore leather and rarely needed John Steed to rescue her. By the time Bond met her, British television viewers already knew who the dangerous one was.
Screenshot from The Avengers, Associated British Productions / ABC Weekend Television (1966)
Claudia Jennings
Claudia Jennings became one of the queens of 70s drive-in action through The Unholy Rollers, ’Gator Bait, Truck Stop Women and Deathsport. She moved from roller derby and backwoods revenge to mob battles and post-apocalyptic combat without ever looking out of place.
Angie Dickinson
As Sergeant Pepper Anderson on Police Woman, Angie Dickinson went undercover, chased criminals and proved a woman could carry an hour-long crime drama. The show ran for four seasons and helped clear the path for several female-led series that followed. It also made police work look suspiciously glamorous.
Etsuko Shihomi
Etsuko Shihomi was a trained martial artist and member of Sonny Chiba’s Japan Action Club before leading the Sister Street Fighter movies. She performed fights that many male stars would have wisely declined. Unfortunately, American audiences never learned her name as well as they should have.
Screenshot from Sister Street Fighter, Toei Company (1974)
Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach played Russian agent Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me, entering the story as Bond’s professional equal rather than someone waiting to be rescued. She had her own mission, her own skills and her own reason for distrusting him. Bond eventually won her over. Audiences required less convincing.
Screenshot from The Spy Who Loved Me, Danjaq / Eon Productions / United Artists (1977)
Lindsay Wagner
Jaime Sommers first appeared on The Six Million Dollar Man, became so popular that viewers refused to let her disappear and quickly received her own series. Lindsay Wagner made The Bionic Woman powerful without making her emotionally mechanical. She even won an Emmy for the performance.
Screenshot from The Bionic Woman, Universal Television (1976–1978)
Gloria Hendry
Gloria Hendry became the first Black woman portrayed as one of James Bond’s romantic partners in Live and Let Die, but Black Belt Jones gave her the opportunity to join the fighting herself. She played martial-arts expert Sydney Byrd, helping Jim Kelly defend her family’s karate school. She was not standing behind the hero. She was landing punches beside him.
Screenshot from Black Belt Jones, Warner Bros. Pictures (1974)
Joanna Cameron
Joanna Cameron played a science teacher who transformed into the superhero Isis whenever trouble appeared. The Secrets of Isis became the first weekly American live-action television series built around a female superhero, debuting before The Bionic Woman and the weekly Wonder Woman series. Saturday mornings suddenly became much more interesting.
Screenshot from The Secret of Isis, CBS (1975–1977)
Erin Gray
On Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Erin Gray played Colonel Wilma Deering, a military commander who was smarter and considerably more competent than the man who had accidentally arrived from the 20th century. The future contained robots, spaceships and alarming disco costumes. Gray still became its main attraction.
Cheri Caffaro
Cheri Caffaro played undercover operative Ginger McAllister across three early-70s action movies. Ginger infiltrated criminal organizations, investigated kidnappings and took on assignments normally reserved for male screen spies. The films were shameless drive-in entertainment, but Caffaro was unquestionably the one running the mission.
Screenshot from Ginger, Derio Productions (1971)
Heather Thomas
Heather Thomas played stuntwoman Jody Banks, who regularly helped Colt Seavers with his bounty-hunting jobs, throughout all five seasons of The Fall Guy. Lee Majors may have received top billing, but Thomas became a major 80s pinup. Plenty of bedrooms contained her photograph—even when the television schedule did not contain her show.
Screenshot from The Fall Guy, ABC (1981–1986)
Melody Anderson
Melody Anderson played Dale Arden in 1980’s gloriously excessive Flash Gordon and later joined Chuck Norris in Firewalker. Surrounded by flying warriors, enormous sets, Queen songs and Brian Blessed shouting at maximum volume, Anderson still managed to stand out. That may have required superpowers of its own.
Screenshot from Firewalker, The Cannon Group (1986)
Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon played a wrestler in …All the Marbles before becoming an Amazon warrior in Hundra. She trained, fought and carried the sword-and-sandal adventure herself. The movie wanted its own female Conan. Landon delivered one—along with considerably better hair.
Screenshot from Hundra, Suburbia Films (1983)
Tanya Roberts
Tanya Roberts moved from Charlie’s Angels into fantasy adventures including The Beastmaster and Sheena, where she played the animal-commanding jungle heroine herself. Millennials may remember her as Midge on That ’70s Show. Their fathers remember a significantly different—and considerably more adventurous—portion of her résumé.
Screenshot from Sheena, Columbia Pictures (1984)
Sandahl Bergman
Sandahl Bergman’s Valeria in Conan the Barbarian was not standing behind Arnold Schwarzenegger waiting to be rescued. The Broadway-trained dancer performed her own stunt work, trained with swords and won a Golden Globe. She was athletic, elegant and entirely believable as Conan’s equal.
Screenshot from Conan the Barbarian, Universal Pictures / 20th Century Fox (1982)
Grace Jones
Grace Jones was never going to disappear quietly into the background. In Conan the Destroyer, she played Zula, a spear-wielding warrior who joined Conan’s quest and frequently looked more intimidating than he did. Schwarzenegger had the larger muscles. Jones had the considerably more dangerous stare.
Screenshot from Conan the Destroyer, Universal Pictures (1984)
Brigitte Nielsen
At 6-foot-1, Brigitte Nielsen arrived in Hollywood looking like the 80s had constructed its own action heroine. She played the title warrior in Red Sonja, taking on an evil queen while Arnold Schwarzenegger followed along. Subtlety was taking the entire decade off anyway, so she fit in beautifully.
Screenshot from Red Sonja, MGM / UA Entertainment Co. (1985)
Cynthia Rothrock
Cynthia Rothrock was not an actress pretending to know martial arts. She was a championship-winning martial artist who became an international movie star, first in Hong Kong productions and later in American favorites including China O’Brien. She was the real thing—and somehow mainstream Hollywood still nearly forgot her.
Screenshot from China O’Brien II, Golden Harvest / Imperial Entertainment (1990)
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