The Top Ten Women of Sci Fi

Movies and television have introduced many heroines and beautiful women into realm of classic sci fi. Here are some of the greatest female stars the genre has produced.

Princess Leia
Star Wars Episodes 4-6
She is the ultimate sci-fi heroine. Princess Leia Organa portrayed the quintessential space princess in the original 1977 Star Wars film. Through the course of the three films, she battled Darth Vader, portraying the damsel in distress, the capable leader, and the woman in love in a natural progression. She also produced iconic images in her white Princess Leia costume and the Slave Leia bikini she wore in Return of the Jedi.

Barbarella
This may be a case of style over substance, but wow - what the Barberella movie had style. Portrayed by Jane Fonda, Barbarella was slightly clueless as an intergalactic agent, but she what she lacked in interstellar espionage strategy she made up for with sex appeal. Due to her feminine wiles, she managed to complete her mission with her hair only slightly mussed.

Wilma Deering
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
A no-nonsense commander. She led Earth's elite star pilots against the forces that would threaten the planet. In the 1980s Buck Rogers TV series, Erin Gray portrayed the colonel with a self-confident command that even put Buck, played by Gil Gerard, in his place once or twice every Buck Rogers episode.

Trinity
The Matrix Trilogy
From her first scene in the original Matrix, Trinity was the epitome of cool. Played by Carrie Anne Moss, Trinity is clad in leather and able to float in the air, dodge bullets and fire automatic weapons at her attackers, it is no wonder she inspired so many cosplayers at sci fi conventions around the world to dress like her.

Padme Amidala
Star Wars Episodes 1-3
To the modern young audience who didn't grow up knowing Princess Leia, her mother was the Star Wars heroine. A tragic figure, she was a queen who became a soldier who gave birth to the savior of the rebellion and the destroyer of the Death Star. Too bad her greatest love was the greatest villain in sci fi cinema, Anakin Skywalker alias Darth Vader.

Ellen Ripley
The Alien Franchise
The Alien Slayer. As the heroine of the Alien movies, she has become the template for tough, no-nonsense women who battle aliens. Played by Sigourney Weaver, Ripley became what she had to in order to survive against the oncoming Alien horde. She is a product of her antagonist and tough as nails.

Sarah Connor
The Terminator Franchise
She survived the first attack in The Terminator to become one of the scariest heroines ever portrayed. Sarah Connor is also a result of the threats she has overcome. She had to become the ultimate warrior in order to evade the Terminators and protect her son.

Dana Scully
The X-Files
In the X-Files television series, Gillian Anderson played Scully, who was the sceptic to Fox Mulder's conspiracy theorist, portrayed by David Duchovny. She grounded him when he often supposed only the fantastic rather than the scientific. Her religious faith balanced her and gave much depth to what could have been a very negative character.

Captain Kathryn Janeway
Star Trek: Voyager
The only female captain of a starship in the Star Trek universe. While not a visceral as Kirk or as introspective as Picard, Janeway was if nothing, straightforward. She gave her orders efficiently and expected everything of her crew, but every-so-often, let her feminine side show through.

Starbuck
Battlestar Galactica
Out of all the hardened heroines, Starbuck is the lady you don't mess with. Conditioned by the war in which she grew up, Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck is the best pilot there is, and can go toe-to-toe with any of her male counterparts, be it drinking or fighting.

These characters all provoke images of the great moments in sci fi movies and television as well as reflect aspects of the fantastic stories they propel and the galaxies they influence.