Some Of Television’s Best Female Characters
In television, female characters often exist to support the male characters and have no life or backstory of their own. Thankfully, things are changing and there are more women characters with depth on television than ever before. Here are some of the best.
Emily Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Yes, the show was about Lorelai and Rory, but Emily Gilmore was crucial, not only as part of Lorelai’s story, but as an occasional antagonist and as someone to represent what Lorelai was running from. Emily’s WASPy savage one-liners and withering rebukes provided much of the show’s humor.
Emily Gilmore, You Are One Classy Broad: Part 1 | Gilmore Girls, Gilmore Girls
Wednesday Addams (Wednesday)
Wednesday Addams is a classic character from television and movies but with Wednesday, she becomes the central focus. With big shoes to fill, Jenna Ortega breathes new life to the character, now a bit older, and adding a neurodivergent subtext to the character.
Wednesday Addams Being The Ultimate Mood | Wednesday | Netflix, Still Watching Netflix
Clare Devlin (Derry Girls)
Clare is sweet but chaos surrounds her. Her empathy and her lack of restraint at times come into conflict but it makes for fun viewing and her struggles are always relatable.
The Best Of Clare Devlin | Derry Girls | Season 2, Hat Trick Comedy
Carol Peletier (The Walking Dead)
Carol is first introduced as a mousy and abused wife. With the onscreen attack on her husband, Carol finally putting him out of his misery with a bullet is a key moment. From then on, Carol becomes the most reliable and fearless member of the group. She is a strong character in what could have easily been shallow and two-dimensional.
the best of: Carol Peletier | The Walking Dead #1, Mr. Anybody
Clarissa Mullery (Silent Witness)
This BBC crime show provided a perfect opportunity to portray a wheelchair user as anything but helpless. Clarrisa is brilliant and witty, and the character is much more than a “scientist in a lab” or worse, a “disabled character”.
Silent Witness Liz Carr, Colin Wright
Eleven (Stranger Things)
Eleven’s presence in Stranger Things never ceases to be riveting. Her trauma and her grappling with superhuman powers are handled well, particularly as a scared, damaged girl discovering the outside world.
Stranger Things 4 - Official Clip | Eleven's Powers, MillieBobbyTime
Charlie Cale (Poker Face)
The always-reliable Natasha Lyonne carries this show; she’s the only regular character and she handles that burden well. As a contemporary riff on the classic Columbo, this character-on-the-run format works with Lyonne’s seemingly effortless performance.
Poker Face | Desvendando Mistérios com Charlie Cale | Universal +, Universal Plus Brasil
Polly Gray (Peaky Blinders)
Polly stood toe to toe with Tommy Shelby, and without falling for his charms. A strong matriarch figure in the clan, she holds her own during a period in history when women were not welcome to do that.
Polly Gray's BEST moments ❤️ Peaky Blinders – BBC, BBC
The 13th Doctor (Doctor Who)
This was a landmark casting for the venerable series. The burden was huge—being the first of anything always is. The 13th Doctor is energetic and charming and is every bit The Doctor as any of her male predecessors.
Best of the Thirteenth Doctor (So Far) | Doctor Who, Doctor Who
Ahsoka Tano (The Mandalorian)
Ahsoka Tano goes from sidekick to commander in one of Star Wars’ most welcome character arcs. Fans get to watch her go from naive teenager to badass adult while maintaining the charm of the character throughout.
Mando Meets Ahsoka | The Mandalorian S2:E13, Kenobi's Clips
Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack)
Anne Lister is an extraordinary character whose secret diary opens up a life that is rich and detailed. As a lesbian, Lister is invisible in her 19th-century world but her mind, self-confidence, and determination allow her to be visible, if only on television.
The extraordinary life of 'rockstar' lesbian Anne Lister | Gentleman Jack - BBC, BBC
She-Ra (She-Ra And The Princesses of Power)
This reboot of the 1980s animated series She-Ra: Princesses of Power is now a classic of LGBT animation. Extending the female empowerment of the original series, the reboot explores She-Ra’s relationship with Catra with an openness not possible in 1985.
Poussey Washington (Orange Is The New Black)
Poussey Washington was perhaps the most tragic character on Orange Is the New Black. Viewers loved her and hoped that she would be able to build a life outside the prison, but that wasn’t to be. Her character was a powerful challenge to stereotypes of Black women caught up in the judicial system in the US.
Orange is the New Black | Why We Love Poussey Washington | Netflix, Netflix
Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
The mother figure in the Gilmore Girls duo, Lorelai was very much a friend to her teenage daughter, having given birth to Rory when she was 16. Her image as the coffee-guzzling, fast-talking kook is tempered by her strength and determination to raise Rory and give her a life.
It Should've Been Lorelai | Gilmore Girls, Gilmore Girls
Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Rosa Diaz could easily be a tired stereotype—a tough, badass Latina—but her character goes beyond that. She is also a crucial figure for bisexual awareness, moving past the easy jokes with a well-rounded character.
The Evolution of Rosa Diaz | Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
June (The Handmaid’s Tale)
June is the stand-in for the viewers, and we see her world transform in the most horrific way. She could have simply been a stand-in for the suffering of women in this dystopian world but she’s more than that and her struggle for freedom is an essential element of the show.
The Handmaid's Tale | Final Season Trailer | Hulu, Hulu
Jill Baxter (It’s A Sin)
It’s a Sin is a heartbreaking series about young people during the beginning of the AIDs crisis in the 1980s. Jill Baxter is based on the real-life women allies who cared for dying men who had been rejected by their families and friends. One of the few left alive at the end of the series, we see Jill beginning her life as a support person for strangers, having lost most of her male friends.
It's A Sin | Jill helps Gloria in his hour of need, Channel 4 Entertainment
Michonne Hawthorne (The Walking Dead)
Michone was conceived and created as a badass character, wielding a samurai sword and initially walking two zombies on chains ahead of her. She grew into a core member of the group and was given her own moments of depth, whether it’s her recounting her former life, or her relationship with Rick.
the best of: Michonne - The Walking Dead #1, Mr. Anybody
Ellie (The Last Of Us)
As a child of the apocalypse, Ellie only knows that world. She’s grown to be tough but still filled with the emotional contradictions of any teenager. Her surrogate daughter/father relationship with Joel is a departure from the video game source material and is a highlight of the first season.
Ellie’s Best Moments From Season 1 | The Last of Us | Max, Max
Sophia Burset (Orange Is The New Black)
Laverne Cox’s homage to LGBTQ+ activist and transgender woman CeCe McDonald cannot be overestimated. Cox’s Sophia Burset suffers a similar fate having been incarcerated in a men’s facility, fighting off assaults and trying to survive. Sophia Burset is a key symbol of the transgender struggle, especially for Black and other trans women of color.
Orange is the New Black | Clip: "Meet Sophia" | Netflix, Netflix
Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)
Lisa Simpson is now an iconic figure: the intellectual and moral heart of the family, a brilliant but flawed child prodigy, and a strong image for nerds everywhere. Over the course of the show’s unprecedented run, Lisa has been challenged over her beliefs, all the while remaining strong and confident.
Daenerys Targaryen (Game Of Thrones)
Daenerys is the apparent future queen of Westeros and she spends much of the series’ run working towards that inevitable crown. Along the way, we see her flail and sometimes do the wrong thing in her quest for her destiny—and it’s that belief in destiny which is her undoing. As such, she’s a flawed figure and all the more real for it.
Game of Thrones | Official Daenerys Targaryen Trailer (HBO), GameofThrones
Willow (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
Where Buffy was the kickass leader, Willow was her sidekick who represented the heart of the show. Her impact on the storylines, and on Buffy in particular, is important and even with her turn to the dark side, viewers were still supportive of Willow.
Willow Being A Lesbian for 4 Minutes | Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Samantha Jones (Sex And The City)
Let’s face it: Samantha was the only one of the four main characters who embodied the title and the ethos of the series, and in the end, she was the only likable of the four. Part of that is her forthrightness and openness. The others were riddled with hypocrisy while Samantha was unapologetically herself: independent and sexually mature.
Top 10 Reasons Samantha Jones Was the BEST, MsMojo
Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista (Pose)
Pose depicts the New York City ball culture of the 1990s and the show is one of the few LGBTQ+-centered shows on television, particularly one focused on the Black and Hispanic LGBTQ+ community. Blanca Rodriguez is the “mother” of the House of Evangelista and she is exactly that: a mother to those who were rejected by their biological families. Blanca is every bit the fighting mother stereotype of any conventional series.
Pose | Season 2 Ep. 1: Blanca's Plan Highlight | FX, FX Networks
Arya Stark (Game Of Thrones)
Arya Stark was the true hero of Game of Thrones. She was what used to be called a “tomboy” but is now a celebrated archetype of girls not bending to societal expectations. She learns to fight and works towards becoming an assassin, and in the end, she is a key figure in the conclusion of the story.
Arya Stark Fights Brienne of Tarth | Game of Thrones | Max, Max
Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder)
Annalise Keating is a defense attorney and law professor who becomes involved in a complex murder plot. Keating is an antihero in the classic male sense and that she is a Black woman is what is groundbreaking here, and more importantly, it is presented as almost beside the point: a Black woman can be flawed and can also be the hero.
● annalise keating ‖ how to get away with murder, Sasha
Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)
It’s not easy being the villain and even Lucille’s philandering and corrupt husband George gets away without being perceived as evil. Yet Lucille carries that burden well and, in a spectacular performance, Jessica Walter carried herself with dignity, even at the cruelest of jokes. She’s the villain and she doesn’t care.
Arrested Development: Best of Lucille Bluth, The Rewind
Cersei Lannister (Game Of Thrones)
Where Daenerys was the beautiful queen in waiting, Cersei was the real power behind Westeros, a deeply flawed but fiercely intelligent woman fighting for her family. She suffered the indignity of the Faith Militant cult but in the end, she had her revenge.
Game of Thrones Season 5: Episode #10 - Cersei's Walk of Atonement (HBO), GameofThrones
Stevie Budd (Schitt’s Creek)
The spotlight was mostly on Moira and Alexis but Stevie Budd was there to provide perhaps the only “normal” person on the show. A town performance of Cabaret with a reluctant Stevie in the lead role gives us a chance to see Stevie’s vulnerability, only hinted at when she was required to be the sensible, if sarcastic, voice.
On set with Emily Hampshire - Stevie Budd - Schitt's Creek, Liam Schitt
Elektra Abundance (Pose)
Elektra’s presence is a key reminder that transgender people have always been here; they were just mostly invisible. Elektra is a fierce and strong character and a welcome trans presence on television.
The One and Only Elektra | Pose | FX, FX Networks
Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)
Sandra Oh stars as a British intelligence investigator seeking a psychopathic assassin, Villanelle. Eve Polastri is a sharp contrast to the flamboyant Villanelle and Sandra Oh plays Eve as weary and damaged, but with deep intelligence.
Learn the Alphabet with Eve Polastri, Harley Alexandria
Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Broadchurch)
Before she was busy winning an Oscar and portraying queens, Olivia Coleman played closer to her real self (and accent) in two very different shows: the on-again off-again girlfriend Sophie Chapman on Peep Show and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller in Broadchurch. In both shows, she was the sensible woman dealing with difficult, self-possessed men whose issues dominate the cramped spaces they find themselves in.
Ellie Miller 'How Could You Not Know?', TheSongIsEnding
DSI Stella Gibson (The Fall)
The always reliable Gillian Anderson plays a Detective Superintendent holding her own in a male-dominated world. What grounds the character, and the show, is the unapologetic way Stella Gibson carries herself as a woman.
The Fall - The Best of Paul and Stella, Still Watching Netflix
Nia Nal (Supergirl)
Nicole Maines is an activist for transgender rights and visibility and in Supergirl, Maines plays the first transgender superhero on television. Nia Nal (code name Dreamer) has the powers of precognition and astral projection.
Supergirl 4x19 — Dreamer Comes Out as Transgender, TVLine
Elaine Benes (Seinfeld)
In a show that did not even have a female lead for its pilot episode, the character Elaine Benes holds her own. Not just as a too-perfect female presence in the coarse world of men—Elaine is just as bad as the three men on the show, just as deeply flawed and selfish, and she is frequently the author of her own misfortune.
Seinfeld | Elaine Benes, Vincent Clark
Peggy Olson (Mad Men)
Peggy is a secretary who, against all odds, becomes a copywriter in a 1960s advertising agency. She’s no feminist, at least by our understanding, but she manages to navigate the ever-present sexism to become a success in what was then still a man’s world. And she can drink with the best of them.
The best of MAD MEN 📺 First day at Sterling Cooper | HD with subtitles, Beauty will save the world
Ruth “Zoya The Destroya” Wilder (GLOW)
Ruth is a failed actress who stumbles into the world of women’s wrestling in the 1980s, developing the character of the Russian Zoya the Destroya (this was during the Cold War) and becoming a successful heel. Her personal life is a mess but she’s able to channel herself into her larger-than-life creation.
You May Also Like:
The Best Male Characters On TV
25 Side Characters People Loved More Than The Leads
Sitcom Main Characters We Love To Complain About And Why
Netflix's GLOW S1 E10 - Zoya The Destroya, Dawn Shepard
Source: 1
