After seeing Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Alien Covenant on the same day, I twice saw the trailer for Wonder Woman (and what looks to be the woeful King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). DC will be hoping for success for its empowering heroine to match films within the Marvel Universe. It got me thinking about what other Hollywood females have been inspiring viewers through the decades. How many did you get? Are there others that inspire you?
1. (1930s)
2. (1940s)
3. (1970s)
4. (1980s)
5. (1990s)
6. (1990s)
7. (2000s)
8. (2000s)
9. (2000s)
10. (2000s)
11. (2000s)
12. (2010+)
13. (2010+)
14. (2010+)
15. (2010+)
Answers below
1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. Mildred Pierce (1945)
3. Alien (1979)
4. The Terminator (1984)
5. Thelma and Louise (1991)
6. G.I. Jane (1997)
7. Erin Brockovich (2000)
8. Legally Blonde (2001)
9. Veronica Guerin (2003)
10. Changeling (2008)
11. The Blind Side (2009)
12. The Hunger Games (2012) – March
13. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) – December
14. Suffragette (2015)
15. Hidden Figures (2016)
Alex Raphael 
Great films you have listed here!
Thanks. I wanted a mix of kick-ass action characters and those who also fought with their hearts, mind and willpower.
You got it spot on 😉
That’s kind. Thank you.
Looking forward to Wonder Woman 😊
I’m hoping it will be successful and inspire there for be more films with a strong female lead.
I think it will 😊
I got 8
Gf8at stuff. Which was the one you last saw?
The Blind Side.
Phil Dunphy: Okay, huddle up everybody. Your mother’s right. She’s the quarterback of this family and we need to protect her like Blind Side did.
Luke Dunphy: She just said that mom was Blind Side.
Phil Dunphy: She’s confused. Blind Side was the black kid who played tight end.
Alex Dunphy: Offensive line.
Phil Dunphy: Sorry, African-American kid.
Haha. Got to love Phil
13 out of 15, I didn’t know 2 and 9.
Not too many people know Mildred Pierce. Veronica Guerin was a hugely courageous Irish journalist who was always risking her life to expose a big scandal.
I am going to try and see both films in the near future.
I actually got 7 – must be a record 🙂
Well done Derrick. If you haven’t seen Hidden Figures I really recommend you do. Really
think you’d love it.
Thanks, Alex. I haven’t seen it
This was an entertaining quiz post of an idea Alex. It’s always fun to engage in them.
Coincidentally , I was also going to feature strong females that shone in movies sometime in a future post but that’s still in deciding.
My other inspirational favourites include..Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday, Mathildha from Leon, Juno and Katherine Watson in Mona Lisa Smile of a few that came into my mind as I wrote this. ☺
I hope you do. You raise some interesting suggestions. The Bride sure is lethal but she’s motivated by revenge so I didn’t see her as inspired more motivated. I did think about Lara Croft but she’s a male fantasy figure. In His Girl Friday she’s a great journalist but from what I remember she was very indecisive too. Juno’s decision to keep the baby Could be seen as brave but she didn’t strike me as inspirational during the film. I’ve not seen Mona Lisa Smile but it did come up in my first draft. I didn’t think about Leon. She’s hugely brave and does manage to change Leon.
That’s true. I think there is a difference between a strong lead female who can kick ass and then those who are inspirational..so I agree looking back on my comment. I suppose my heart spoke first when typing because of the emotional strain they go through which caused me think that way but I understand your view point with each. On a reminder, I’d like to mention Juiette Binoche in the movie Chocolat.
I’ve not seen it but I shall check it out 😀
13/15!
Impressive stuff. I knew you’d do well on this one.
10/15 – not my day 🙂
You have plenty of good ones though.
12/15. Great group of ladies!
That they are!
12/15, these are some inspiring and amazing women.
Thanks. I wanted a mix of women who inspired through their words, actions and battles.
And you certainly got that.
Awesome list!
Thanks Jay. I thought it out quite a bit to make sure they all added something.
13/15. Recognised Changeling but got the title wrong and didn’t know No. 2. Excellent idea for a quiz.
That’s an excellent score Lloyd. Not many people know Mildred Pierce. I wanted to include some from the last century to show that there are ones from before. Saying that, most of them were from the past 20 years so that’s a sign that the industry is coming a long way.
100% :O Including the movies I haven’t seen. This was quite easy actually!!
Full marks and a doff of the filmic cap. Especially getting Mildred Pierce.
My favourite is Legally Blonde, but I liked lots of these films.
That film really was an unusual kind of inspirational. I have a soft spot for it. I had I idea it was based on a book until I saw the film.
We need more uplifting stories in film after the horror in London last night and Manchester a couple of weeks ago.
It’s a very scary time.
Reblogged this on When Women Inspire and commented:
This movie quiz from Alex Raphael is a lot of fun. Don’t cheat! I knew 8 of them. Looks like I have some movie viewing to do soon 😉 Great to see all of these inspiring women in film. How many did you guess right?
Thanks so much for the reblog. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure there will be plenty more inspiring women on screen in the future too. The latest Wonderwoman film was brilliant.
wonderful!
thanks for pulling out
characters i recognized.
that hidden figure is
a must see 🙂
One of my favourite films of the year so far.
I got 10!
That’s good 🙂 Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Most I ever got on a quiz before was 3 or 4! Hope yours was great, too!
I recognized 10 off the bat. This year Hollywood seems to be shaping up to give strong female characters their due.
It’s great to see. What did you think of Wonderwoman?
Reblogged this on amycaudill.net and commented:
I came across this interesting quiz that highlighted decades of strong, female leads and had to share it. It’s amazing how many inspirational women we can find movies of all types, from dramatic romantic heroines to advocates of political change to military powerhouses. Film has long had the ability to capture the best, and the worst of us. Perhaps from this list you can reconnect with an old favorite or find a new one.
Thank you for stopping by and for reblogging. That’s exactly the response I was looking for when creating the quiz. I wanted to show that female empowerment comes through in various forms. The fact that so many people have done well is a great sign. As is the fact that so many are modern ones. Hollywood is going in the right direction.
Here are a few more inspirational women: I think Sally Field in “Norma Rae,” Hilary Swank in either “Million Dollar Baby” or “Amelia” and Cher and Meryl in Silkwood.
I missed #s 2, 10 and 14. This seems to be my average score, Alex. 🙂
Plenty would settle for an average like that 🙂 Nice shouts.
Oh, so glad Alex that you liked my shout outs! I figured at least one of them was nominated for awards! 🙂
Ha!