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urbanemovies
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Wednesday, February 21st, 2018 9:40 PM

Live Poll: Who Is the Greatest Female Movie Character Ever?

The Hollywood Reporter asked industry insiders to vote for Hollywood's 50 Favorite Female Characters of all-time. Similarly, AMC asked movie fans to vote for the 50 Greatest Female Movie Characters. When the two surveys along with other trending data were compiled, these female movie characters scored the highest.

Which of these female movie characters, favored by Hollywood entertainment professionals and movie lovers alike, is your all-time favorite?

See the consolidated list of all-time greatest female movie characters here: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls023021799/
Poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/JCjGkt3B2Cs/

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Updated 

4 years ago

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kyle_perez_8yd0eqcwxu1mz

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47K Points

7 years ago

You have too many options now, but I assume you're going to narrow it down?

Anyway, my current vote would be Ilsa Lund

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urbanemovies

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Thanks. it was touch and go for Ilsa Lund, but I expanded the list from 25 to 35 options to give it some balance.

7 years ago

christopherleeidol1956

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4.6K Points

I like Contess Dracula played by Ingrid Pitt and Vamprella by Jane Fonda

5 years ago

dan_dassow

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7 years ago

urbanemovies,

I'm assuming you have the characters listed from high to low score. You may wish to reorder the poll slightly to make the images that crop better in the first five images. I do not have any good recommendations on which characters should be culled from the list to get it down to 35 choices.

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urbanemovies

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I fixed a couple images. All thirty-five options look centered to me now and are for the most part very visible head-shots. If there, is a specific issue with any (especially a top five) I can swap any out that you think need changing, if I know which ones and what the issue is?

I also tweaked the scoring a bit with other trending data to account for some character biases (children, villains, older and foreign movies) to help the legitimatize the poll intent. That of being a greatest conversation over a popularly or flavor of the month conversation. Some of the original honorable mentions have made it back on the final list, as a result. Any gross (top 10) omissions?

I removed the final introduction and shortened the title to keep the poll simpler.
Greatest Female Movie Character of All-Time?
The Hollywood Reporter asked industry insiders to vote for Hollywood's 50 Favorite Female Characters. Similarly, AMC asked movie fans to vote for the 50 Greatest Female Movie Characters. When combined with other trending data, these female movie characters were found to be legitimate contenders to be the G.O.A.T.

7 years ago

urbanemovies

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163.1K Points

7 years ago

HONORABLE MENTIONS
These usually ranked 15-30th on some lists, but not enough on multiple lists to make them a consensus option. They are all worthy ALL-TIME FEMALE MOVIE CHARACTERS candidates.


Faye Dunaway
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Parker


Julia Roberts
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich


Sissy Spacek
Carrie
Carrie White


Ingrid Bergman
Casablanca
Ilsa Lund


Uma Thurman
Pulp Fiction
Mia Wallace


Kathleen Turner, Amy Irving
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Jessica Rabbitt


Julie Andrews
The Sound of Music
Maria


Rachel McAdams
Mean Girls
Regina George


Renée Zellweger
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones



Karen Allen
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Marion Ravenwood


Noomi Rapace
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lisbeth Sanders


Rosamund Pike
Gone Girl
Amy Dunne


Anne Bancroft
The Graduate
Mrs. Robinson


Vivien Leigh
A Streetcar Named Desire
Blanche Dubois


Natalie Portman
Léon: The Professional
Matilda


Audrey Tautou
Amélie
Amélie


Sharon Stone
Basic Instinct
Catherine Tramell


Linda Blair
The Exorcist
Regan MacNeil


Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga
Mulan
Mulan


Margot Robbie
Suicide Squad
Harley Quinn

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urbanemovies

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ADDED HONORABLE MENTIONS
These Disney villains are usually in the conversation for ALL-TIME GREATEST FEMALE MOVIE CHARACTERS. But, due to their villainy are not near the top of most lists, but are often mentioned in the top five female villains of all-time. They also have compelling animated, as well as, animated portrayals.


Glenn Close
101 Dalmatians
Cruella De Vil


Angelina Jolie
Maleficent
Maleficent

7 years ago

urbanemovies

10K Messages

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163.1K Points

ADDED HONORABLE MENTIONS
These female characters are usually in the conversation for ALL-TIME GREATEST FEMALE VILLAINS.


Glenn Close
Fatal Attraction
Alex Forrest

Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate 1962
Angela Lansbury
The Manchurian Candidate
Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin


Barbara Stanwyck
Double Indemnity
Phyllis Dietrichson

7 years ago

rubyfruit76

Champion

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7.6K Messages

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193.7K Points

Phyllis and Eleanor Shaw Iselin are definitely great characters and iconic, too.

7 years ago

urbanemovies

10K Messages

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More Honorable Mentions on the cusp of inclusion, but list is currently in flux.

Helena Bonham Carter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Bellatrix Lestrange

Keira Knightley Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Elizabeth Swann

Reese Witherspoon, Moonie Legally Blonde Elle Woods

Ellen Page Juno Juno MacGuff
 
Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice Elizabeth Bennett
Played by: Greer Garson, Keira Knightley and Lily James

Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen

Charlize Theron Mad Max: Fury Road Imperator Furiosa

Kathy Bates Misery Annie Wilkes

Bette Davis What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Baby Jane Hudson

Giulietta Masina The Nights of Cabiria Maria 'Cabiria' Ceccarelli

Octavia Spencer The Help Minny Jackson

Helen Mirren The Queen Queen Elizabeth II

6 years ago

rishabh_j7zvv0n5uyhgy

68 Messages

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1K Points

7 years ago

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dgranger

3.5K Messages

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85.6K Points

7 years ago

Ms Grainger.

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urbanemovies

10K Messages

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163.1K Points

7 years ago

INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY BUMP

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beverly_meldon

1 Message

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82 Points

7 years ago

Best female actress in my opinion was Bette Davis. She had a wide variety of roles, back in the days when movies actually had very good plots to them! 

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dgranger

3.5K Messages

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85.6K Points

7 years ago

I would like to add one but she originated in computer games before graduating to movies - Lara Croft.

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ladydeadpool093

1.3K Messages

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7 years ago

Clarice Starling

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rubyfruit76

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7.6K Messages

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193.7K Points

7 years ago

The list is really good but it's very white and very American.

FYC:

Foxy Brown from Foxy Brown (1974)
Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993)
Chihiro, Spirited Away (2001)

You could make two lists and add some of the "honorable mentions" from above and add some diversity.

Elizabeth Swann seems out of her league on that list. 

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dgranger

3.5K Messages

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85.6K Points

Animated characters?
While Chihiro from “Spirited Away” is a good pick, I think other characters from Studio Ghibli, like San ( Princess Mononoke) and Kiki (Kiki’s Delivery Service), would blow her away.
From Disney
- Mulan

7 years ago

Peter_pbn

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Urb's list is based on other sources, though, and is currently live-action only.

A second list of animated characters could be an option.

7 years ago

rubyfruit76

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Oh, Urb, if this is based on other sources, perhaps cite them?

And sorry, I thought I saw an animated character on here so I suggested another one.

:)

7 years ago

urbanemovies

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I started with the two lists but in the end I used a dozen lists with the end result being a consensus list with repeated mentions at or near the top to get a final thirty-five greatest. I don't think it would be accurate to cite lists I started with, as the list has been tweaked and the overlap could be found on most top female character lists..

7 years ago

rubyfruit76

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I recommended the citations mostly because the list is very white, and pretty American, too, and citing that you relied on outside sources could maybe insulate you a bit from criticism, although that kind of thing is a little better on GS. Last June, I made a list for Pride Month, like I always do, but that time got pummeled, and it's true that the list was not very diverse but, unfortunately, there wasn't much diversity in the movies within the parameters that I had to establish so that the list didn't go on forever. 

7 years ago

urbanemovies

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Thanks, I am just seeing your post now. I agree that other than Mulan and Miss Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West it is very white. I should either leave it as is and cite the original two sources or not cite them and tweak the list for a little more balance. I think it issue is rooted in the multiple mentions criteria I used. I usually ask myself those type of questions and try to make my lists gender and racially representive. 

But, I also think it should include any characters that truly don't belong in the conversation. When I think G.O.A.T.s I think the character needs be iconic. If I pull from my previous but now closed character poll 02/16/17: Iconic Black Female Movie Characters (updated image version https://www.imdb.com/list/ls021905441/) Hattie Mcdaniels's Mammy, Pam Griers' Foxy Brown, Coffy and Jackie Brown. Dorothy Dandrdiges' Bess and Carmen Jones, Jennifer Beals' Alex Owens and to lesser extent some of the others are in that conversation, but not obvious locks. Likewise, i can think of some Italian, Japanese and Chinese cinema characters that should be in the discussion but I am sure they make the final cut. Bellatrix Lestrange, Elizabeth Bennett, Amélie, Ilsa Lund, Mulan are probably among the least questionable choices that tried to give the list some international balance.

I also don't think it should white wash the issue of how society truly views female characters and compromise the "spirit" of the poll. I could swap out a couple of the more recent popular options that haven't yet cemented iconic status and put in some of these equally worthy options. I need to rethink, but agree with your suggestions are in the conversation: Foxy Brown from Foxy Brown (1974),Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993), Chihiro, Spirited Away (2001) and Katherine Johnson, Hidden Figures  2017).

 I think you highlighted a fair issue. I need to rethink the list or the approach, my initial goal was to create the least debatable list possible, but that may be impossible.

7 years ago

urbanemovies

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163.1K Points

I have given your feedback some more thought. I decided to abandon using the Hollywood's 50 Favorite Female Characters, the 50 Greatest Female Movie Characters or any other top list like The 50 Most Iconic Female Characters In Film History, as the basis of my poll answer list.

I would agree the list is very white and very American, but that Anglo bias is actually normal. In part, it is a reflection of the disparity of iconic roles for women and even more so for minorities. 2018: Study· Women And Minorities Are Still Underrepresented In Film and 2017: STUDY: Women and minorities still underrepresented in film. Plus, there were actually ten actresses on the original list who weren't American. While, I don't want to force some options that don't belong and essentially whitewash the issue. I do think I can tweaked the list by removing some of the end of list Caucasian options and add some equally worthy minority options that I may have overlooked. I will still use those top fifty list in validate and corroborate the choices on the final list.

I agree Foxy Brown and Chihiro should make the list on their own merits. But, I am opting to include Pam Grier's better known, Jackie Brown role over her Foxy Brown role. I am finding that in a lot of cases, a well-known actresses most iconic role, may not necessarily be her best role. I am less comfortable adding roles based on real people with a few exceptions. I do feel comfortable adding Maria von Trapp from The Sound of Music(1965), but less so with Tina Turner from What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993) and Katherine Johnson from Hidden Figures (2017).

As of now, the poll answer pool has fifteenth foreign-born actresses and has seven minority characters (shown below) from the the total pool of thirty-five options.If I have overlooked any options, let me know.

Yifei Liu Mulan Mulan
Played by: Ming-Na Wen and Yifei Liu

Hattie McDaniel Gone with the Wind Mammy

Rumi Hiiragi Spirited Away Chihiro Ogino / Sen

Pam Grier Jackie Brown Jackie Brown

Halle Berry X-Men: Days of Future Past Ororo Munroe aka Storm

Michelle Yeoh Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Yu Shu Lien

Octavia Spencer The Help Minny Jackson

 P.S. I have no Latino character representation or Hispanic actresses. I can think of a couple, but they are for the most part are marginal choices when compared to the others.  The best I could come up with is Natalie Wood's Puerto Rican character in West Side Story and and Penélope Cruz's Maria Elena in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

6 years ago

rubyfruit76

Champion

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7.6K Messages

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193.7K Points

7 years ago

FYC: 
Katherine Johnson, Hidden Figures 

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urbanemovies

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Thanks, I like the role and character, but thought it best to avoid real-life greats.
It adds the wrinkle of confusing the person with the character. I could see a movie or character rising to level of becoming so iconic that an exception screams to be made, but I don't think Katherine Johnson or Hidden Figures qualifies.

6 years ago

urbanemovies

10K Messages

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6 years ago

Women's History Month 2019 bump

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urbanemovies

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5 years ago

bump

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Jessica

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5 years ago

Typo #9: Sarah Connor

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urbanemovies

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Thanks, corrected Sarah Connor.

5 years ago

christopherleeidol1956

115 Messages

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4.6K Points

I say its Ingrid Pitt playing Countess Dracula.

5 years ago

dan_dassow

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Urb,

Thank you for making the correction.

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5 years ago

dan_dassow

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5 years ago

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