Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

The 10 Toughest Ladies of Film

posted by ChickSpeak
Friday, September 11, 2009 at 10:53am CDT

For years women have been kicking butt and taking names but very few of them ever get the recognition they deserve. One place this isn’t true is on film. Although the following 10 ladies may not all be real they are all fine examples of powerful, tough and no nonsense women.

10. Mrs. Lovett of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Helena Bonham Carter portrayed the loopy, meat pie-making Mrs. Lovett in this bloody Tim Burton recreation of the classic Broadway musical. Mrs. Lovett is the very definition of doing anything for the man you love, even if that means chopping his sworn enemies up into bits and serving them in her meat pies.

9. Sarah Connor of Terminator

Even though she is being stalked by determined cyborg sent from the future to kill her, Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton) stands her ground and shows us what it means to be a tough chick. She holds her own against the relentless Terminator next to her soldier protector/lover Kyle Reese.

8. Alice of the Resident Evil series

If the world were ever to be overrun by flesh eating zombies you would want this woman on your side. Milla Jovovich kicked butt as Alice in the Resident Evil series saving all of those around her. At the same time she fights the “man” or, as they’re better known in the film, the Umbrella Corporation.

7. Ellen Ripley of Alien

Deep space, slimy aliens are no fun and nobody knows that better than Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver). As all of her fellow crewmembers on the ship are picked off one by one Ripley remains the last one standing and she still manages to look good in the process.

6. Gail of Sin City

Generally we don’t like to acknowledge the work of pimps whether they are male or female but Gail (played by Rosario Dawson) is a different story. This tough lady fights for the rights of prostitute posse and is willing to die to protect her girls and her pride, not to mention she has a pretty wicked faux hawk and a pretty sadistic side to her.

5. Hayley Stark of Hard Candy

This is one of the most brutal psychological thrillers ever made and Hayley Stark is what gave the film its haunting qualities. Ellen Page really stepped away from her Juno typecast and portrayed a girl set on getting revenge on the pedophile rapist/murderer who killed her best friend. She does so with a little at home castration and her handy taser. Stark takes revenge to a whole new level and proves that she will not be taken advantage of.

4. Beatrix Kiddo of Kill Bill

Few would argue with this name being on the list. Played by Uma Thurman, Beatrix Kiddo or The Bride as she was known in Volume I was beaten to a pulp, witnessed the murder of her soon-to-be husband and her unborn child. A hail of gunfire, samurai swords, knives and blood followed as she set out to take out the league of assassins responsible for it all. Kiddo took them all down with no apparent guilt whatsoever.

3. Evey Hammond of V for Vendetta

Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman) wasn’t looking to be a revolutionary but she had to rethink things when she met V. After seeing his passion for freedom and an honest government Evey was willing to risk everything to stand up for what she believed in. After seeing Portman’s real life political and social activism we have to guess that this role wasn’t hard for her to relate to.

2. Erin Brockovich of Erin Brockovich

Julia Roberts portrayed the story of this real life woman. Brockovich is a smart-mouthed, wonderbra-wearing, single mom who takes on a job as a legal assistant and ends up nearly bringing down an entire corporation in order to save lives. Brockovich is what all women aspire to achieve, making a difference through their work and being a beautiful and powerful woman while doing so.

1. Bonnie Parker of Bonnie & Clyde

Bonnie Parker (played by Faye Dunaway) stood by her man through hails of gunfire and countless robberies. We’d like to say she just stayed for the moral support but truth is, she seemed to love the life of crime as much as Clyde. Every wannabe gangster today aspires to the infamous example set by the crime loving couple and when it comes to the original tough ladies of film, we have to give some credit to Ms. Bonnie Parker.