Lauren’s 25 Most Influential Female TV Characters

The first piece of writing I was ever paid for was an op-ed in a statewide paper.

It was the week before the last Harry Potter film was about to come out, and I’d spent a year tweaking and developing a cheap college-aged budget cosplay of the villain. I wrote about what we can learn from villains, how the “dark side” is sometimes more appealing than freeing.

I didn’t know then that I would be reviewing television shows, and I didn’t imagine that there was a world of cultural criticism that I could align with, but it’s made me all the more thankful for having a series of female characters that had the ability to influence my impressionable young mind. 

Many of these women occupied different worlds and professions, but so many of them were strong, commanding, and self-assured. Even if I wasn’t realizing it the time, they each had something to teach me or a spark that I continue to gravitate to even though many years have passed. 

Television has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and so there are a lot of characters I’ve come to admire, and I’m excited to be a part of our Critics’ Picks list series honoring the female characters on TV who have influenced us the most.

I’ve combed through my memory and picked out 25 standout characters who have given me a little piece of them to stand on and become who I am today. 

1. Catalina (Space Cases)

I always say that Star Trek: Voyager was my introduction into sci-fi, but now I’m realizing Space Cases was my first sci-fi show. My favorite character on this 90s kid’s show was Catalina, the Saturian from Titan whose sonic scream could (potentially) level buildings. 

I’ll admit, at first, I liked her rainbow hair. (Cause what child didn’t want rainbow hair?)

What I came to love even more was her ability to stand up for herself. Even when everyone else around her thought she was nuts for talking to her imaginary friend Suzie, she always vehemently fought back with, “She’s not imaginary, she’s invisible!” 

She was also proud of her Saturian heritage and all the crazy customs that came with it. Growing up I saw so many characters running from who they were, and Catalina never did that. 

2. Fiona “Fi” Phillips (So Weird)

So Weird was the Disney channel show that no one wanted me to watch because they thought it was “too scary,” but I really loved this techy girl who was at ease with her own interests. 

Fiona “Fi” Phillips runs a website dedicated to the strange and unusual, and she looks for those experiences wherever she goes. Sometimes her experiences are scary, but she pursued them relentlessly, and I admired her for that. 

Fi ended up being written out for So Weird Season 3 with a character named Annie replacing her. Annie brought a more artsy style to the same pursuit, but I missed Fi and her technology-laden lifestyle. 

3. Sarah MacKenzie (JAG)

 

One of the first characters I recall really making an impression on me was Major Sara MacKenzie on JAG. This show used to be nightly viewing when I was a kid. I didn’t understand a lot of the cases in the series, but I remember seeing how Mac conducted herself. 

I very quickly realized that Mac was a character who lived in a male-dominated world. There was one particular episode where she was challenging the belief that female sailors didn’t belong on submarines and had to work a case on one.

After a trying run, she came away with the realization that submarines weren’t for her, but that anyone who wanted to be on a submarine should be allowed on one. 

4. Zelda Spellman (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)

After school, I used to love watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and I was always drawn to Aunt Zelda. The sitcom version of Zelda was intelligent and stern, but she always looked out for both her niece Sabrina and her sister, Hilda. 

She was also a scientist who wanted to break barriers and discover things people thought were impossible. That determination was infectious and really affected who I was as a person. 

Zelda was also one of the first women I saw on TV okay with the fact that she wasn’t in a relationship. While the societal norm seemed to weigh on her at times, and she did go on dates, she didn’t rush into relationships that didn’t suit her. 

That self-assured nature and value in herself are two things I try to keep in mind as I continue to walk through life. 

5. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager)

One of the first sci-fi fandoms I recall actively engaging in was Star Trek: Voyager. I was twelve-years-old and episodes aired nightly at 7 pm on channel nine.

The series quickly became appointment television for me and I would get dressed and ready for bed early because I loved watching this show. 

Not having a basis for the context of Star Trek, I wasn’t aware of the gravity of what Janeway represented. Fortunately, at the same time, there was the advent of broadband internet, and I was able to research and frame the series in my own mind. 

Seeing a woman in the captain’s chair, taking a definitive leadership role made a mark on my impressionable young mind. 

Over the years there are things I wish that they’d done differently with her character, but having her in the Captain’s chair and visible was an important step forward.

When I’ve gone back and watched the series over the years, I’ve started to understand Janeway’s story on a deeper level, and I could see the isolation she was going through. Decades later I understand and relate to that much more, and I realize the moments when she didn’t try to shoulder her burdens alone were the most exalting. 

6. Sara Sidle (CSI)

I had a few things I wanted to be when I grew up, and I was pretty set on a lawyer until I caught an episode of CSI. 

I remember loving science at a young age and then picking up a thriller and being completely engrossed in solving the crime. Forensics married those two interests well and seeing the members of the Las Vegas Crime Lab focus primarily on evidence was interesting to me. 

I did a lot of research about the science of forensics myself in high school, but I also really enjoyed seeing Sara Sidle’s storyline on CSI.

As the series progressed and more and more information was revealed about the principle characters, I came to appreciate her vulnerability and even came to respect how formative some of Sara’s experiences were in choosing her career. 

I continued to want to be a forensic scientist for years but ended up not pursuing it. My love for science still remains, and I like to think CSI may have had a hand in sharpening my deductive skills. 

7. Piper Halliwell (Charmed)

To say my witch obsession runs deep might be an understatement. I discovered the original Charmed at the age of twelve and fell in love with the tale of three sisters who discovered they were the most powerful witches in history. 

Piper Halliwell quickly became my favorite. She was neurotic, a little bit insecure, but also had ambition. She went from being a chef to owning her own night club, and despite being different attempted to keep a witch/life balance. 

Sometimes Piper’s way of coping wasn’t entirely healthy and she leaned a little too much on magical intervention to get through an obstacle, but she always grew from the experience. 

8. Dana Scully (The X-Files)

I remember the first episode I saw of The X-Files.

It was The X-Files Season 5 Episode 12, “Bad Blood,” and it was the scene where Mulder and Scully were sitting on the couch outside of A.D. Skinner’s office, and Scully was trying to explain to Mulder that he should say he was drugged. 

That initial spark propelled me to watch the nine seasons of The X-Files that existed at the time and made me love this character that had staunch scientific beliefs. 

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that Dana Scully’s storyline isn’t just one of the scientist, but also one of faith and belief. From The X-Files Season 1 to Season 9, Scully has to learn how to be flexible when something truly didn’t fit the scientific findings.

It’s a long game that happens over the course of several seasons and episodes, and after spending a lot of time with Fox Mulder, but it happens. It’s a reminder that changes happen gradually, not in an instant. 

9. Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)

Gilmore Girls was a show I found entirely by accident. (To be honest, I was probably while watching an episode of Charmed.) I remember thinking that the tone of the show was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and I loved these fast-talking women.

At the heart of it, was Rory, a precocious and book smart young lady who was attempting to live between her quirky home life and her polished private school life.

Although I didn’t notice it as the time, in those early seasons Rory never compromised who she was when trying to fit into either of her worlds and at an age where everyone is so obsessed with fitting in, that was deeply important. 

Rewatching the series, I also came to respect Rory for evaluating her life and deciding she needed to take some time off from Yale. I’ve personally struggled with doing what I know I need to as opposed to what’s expected in my everyday life, and that storyline touches that part of me. 

10. Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Stargate: Atlantis)

I caught my first episode of Stargate: Atlantis on a Saturday afternoon. It was Stargate: Atlantis  Season 1 Episode 3, “38 Minutes,” and saw the members of the Atlantis outpost trying to save four people stuck in a spaceship that was stuck in a wormhole.

On paper, it sounds ridiculous, but on tv it was riveting.  

There was one arrogant scientist who confronted Dr. Weir when she refocused his priorities. The result was a stern shouting match in a very public section of the city.

I remember watching that scene and thinking, “This is the first time I’ve seen a woman in charge raise her voice in a professional setting.” While I realize that maybe it shouldn’t have escalated to a fight in the middle of the gate room, it was still an impressionable scene. 

That display of defense was so valuable and it was the impetus that made me want to buy my first DVD boxed set. 

11. Admiral Helena Cain (Battlestar Galactica)

I wrote my college admissions essay on Admiral Helena Cain. I’m not kidding. I wrote my college essay on Admiral Cain and got admitted to three of four schools I applied to. 

Admiral Cain was the character that drew me into the show. I caught a preview for Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Episode 12, “Ressurection Ship: Part II,” while watching Stargate: Atlantis and decided to give the series a shot. 

It was that episode that led to the boxed sets that later introduced me to Laura Roslin, Kara Thrace, and Number Six. 

Despite my love for the other characters and the series in general, I couldn’t shake my love for Admiral Cain.

She isn’t the nicest character on Battlestar Galactica. She comes in as villain for three episodes after having commanded her lone ship. In that time she had to make calls that few of her crew agreed with, which quickly took a toll on her.

When she finds Galactica and rejoins the Colonial fleet, she has a commanding and ruthless armor around her, and a defensive tongue I hadn’t seen since I watched Elizabeth Weir undress the scientist on Stargate: Atlantis. It was the reminder I needed and the push I needed to get through a hard time in my life.

KARA THRACE: I, um, only knew Admiral Cain for a short time, so what I have to say about her will be short. She faced things. She looked them right in the eye and she didn’t flinch.

That’s something that we do a lot around here. We second-guess. We worry. When I think about what she went through after the attack — all alone, one ship, no help, no hope — she didn’t give up. She didn’t worry. She didn’t second-guess. She acted.

She did what she thought needed to be done, and the Pegasussurvived. It might be hard to admit, or hard to hear, but I think that we were safer with her…than we are without.

The comments Kara Thrace makes at her funeral perfectly encapsulate who this character was and why I was drawn to her. 

12. Adelle DeWitt (Dollhouse)

Adelle DeWitt was one of several women who had a strong presence to them and a hidden history that I always regret was never uncovered.

The short-lived Joss Whedon show Dollhouse was an obsession of mine during my early college years. The premise of a secret underground organization, run by a corporation called Rossum, full of people who had their personalities replaced meant that some of the only characters who could be relied on for strong growth were the “bad guys.” 

Adelle DeWitt was the head of the Los Angeles dollhouse. Her job was to book clients on engagements with their “perfect date.” Yet Adelle didn’t seem to approve of some of what Rossum was doing. I remember suspecting that there was something more to her story, that she was tied to her job by something unspoken. 

ADELLE DEWITT: You can not have that body, Mr. Ambrose. It belongs to another soul and I will not sell these people off at any price.

One thing was clear though, she cared about the people she was responsible for.

She didn’t like seeing her actives hurt or being used as a resource. She advocated for them every chance she got, and I don’t doubt that her allegiance to them helped many of the main characters get out alive.

Since we’ll never know Adelle’s full backstory, I’ve come to see her as a model for holding your beliefs even if your circumstances don’t allow you to walk away. 

13. Donna Noble (Doctor Who)

Netflix and Doctor Who entered my life at exactly the same time. After several friends from college told me I should watch the series, I finally binged three seasons in a week, right before they added Season 4 to the lineup. 

Doctor Who Season 4 included the sassy Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and a storyline that had deep emotional resonance for years to come. 

Donna Noble didn’t think she was important. That was pretty standard to both Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, but Donna’s lack of self-worth seemed to go deeper.

DONNA NOBLE: Well, what d’you keep telling me for? What am I supposed to do? I’m nothing special. I mean, I– I’m not… I’m nothing special. I’m a temp! I’m not even that. I’m nothing.

The irony of her season is that while she goes through it saying that she’s nothing special, she turns out to be the most important woman in the universe. 

In her final episode, she saves the Doctor and his friends, returns Earth to its original position, and then has to go back to exactly where she started as her memory is wiped of all of the adventures she had with the Doctor.

It’s a tragic ending, but a reminder that progress isn’t just a straight line. 

14. Helen Magnus (Sanctuary)

Helen Magnus had an empire and then burned it to the ground over the course of four seasons of the sci-fi series Sanctuary. 

When I first started watching, I was drawn to Magnus’s intelligence and breadth of knowledge. She was a person who was hungry for knowledge, and after living for over a century had the chance to consume lots of new information.

She was also a very accepting person. All of her work centered around creatures that she called abnormals, but which the layman would know as monsters. She’d give them shelter, care for them, and she’d make sure they were safe in a world that was always trying to cut them down. 

That kind of acceptance and understanding is something that has stayed with me through the years, and I think viewers can learn a lot about empathy from Helen Magnus. 

15. Amanda Rosewater (Defiance)

When I watched Defiance the first time, I wouldn’t say I was a fan of Amanda Rosewater, but I grew to appreciate the second viewing of the series.

Amanda Rosewater was the mayor of the city of Defiance, and she gave everything she had to her town and its people. She’s good at what she does, but I also saw a lot of her actions as weakness the first time around. 

When I watched the series again five years later, I realized that Amanda’s dedication wasn’t just a role and a job, but a genuine passion. I came to appreciate her dedication and everything she did for Defiance and its people. 

16. Missy (Doctor Who) 

Doctor Who introduced the finale incarnation of the Doctor’s “best enemy” the Master at the end of Season 8. Having adapted her name to The Mistress, or Missy for short, she was intent on causing chaos in her friend’s life.

Whenever Missy appeared on screen, you knew that there was trouble brewing, and Michelle Gomez played the character with so much wit that it was hard not to be drawn in further. 

Missy was a gamechanger for Doctor Who. She paved the way for the Thirteenth Doctor, but Season 10 also gave her a meaty storyline that pushed the idea of whether or not people can change. 

MISSY: You know, back in the day, I’d burn an entire city to the ground just to see the pretty shapes the smoke made. I’m sorry your plus one doesn’t get a happy ending, but, like it or not, I just saved this world because I want to change. Your version of good is not absolute. It’s vain, arrogant, and sentimental. If you’re waiting for me to become all that, I’m going to be here for a long time yet.

Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 6, “Extremis,” featured a storyline where Missy was supposed to be executed. The Doctor, being “vain, arrogant, and sentimental,” decided he wasn’t going to let her die and kept her in the vault that was supposed to be her tomb instead. 

Missy’s Season 10 arc showed this complex character trying to change and doing so in a way that would ultimately cause her to betray her past self. (Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.)

Missy’s desire and attempt to change was profound, and Gomez’s performance really delved into the depth of the Master’s relationship with the show’s titular character.

The fact that Missy kept coming back and ultimately did side with her friend just showed how a person can grow and change, even if you don’t always see eye to eye with them.

17. Cristina Yang (Grey’s Anatomy)

Sandra Oh was about to exit Grey’s Anatomy by the time I watched it on Netflix, and I have regretted it ever since.

Cristina Yang was the character I felt most connected to from the first episode. She was determined, driven, and had a blinding passion for what she loved. Cristina was so certain of what she wanted to do that it was intimidating. 

That relentless certainty is what I found admirable in her, and her ability to prioritize herself and what she thought was important was revolutionary to me.

Yang’s influence went beyond the screen though. 

Years later, I listened to an audiobook of Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. In it, there’s a whole section where Shonda recounts Oh’s departure and how much it affected her because there was a lot of herself in Cristina.

Hearing Rhimes talk about how she handled that exit and how she made peace with putting Yang’s story to bed helped me make peace with letting go of characters that I loved.

As a fiction writer, it can be hard to let something go when you’ve spent so much time nurturing it, but hearing about how Rhimes developed Yang’s exit helped me start to put my work out there and eventually get some pieces published. 

18. Polly Gray (Peaky Blinders)

I remember reading this interview with Helen McCrory about how she wanted to play complex characters, and it immediately summed up what I loved about Polly Gray on Peaky Blinders.

From the press, I had no doubt that I would love Polly Gray when Peaky Blinders premiered.

She was a woman who had the gumption to challenge Tommy as he took control of the business. In the first season, she challenged him on his risky decisions, but through it all, she remained confident and self-assured. 

Now through the fifth series, Polly Gray has withstood and overcome so much, and while she’s still strong, she also trusts in something higher than herself. While she has faith, she’s also not afraid to challenge those who she knows to be doing wrong, especially where children are concerned. 

It’s a delicate balance, but it’s that complexity that keeps her true to life.

19. Eleanor Shelstrop (The Good Place)

Eleanor Shelstrop was the comedic character I didn’t know I needed. Eleanor comes onto the screen and is so secure with who she is, she self-identifies as “an Arizona trash bag.”

That self-deprecating behavior was a mirror of sorts, and I didn’t even notice it but as Eleanor went through the series, she stopped using that kind of language to describe herself. 

Eleanor was a lesson in learning to appreciate who you are and what you have to offer. She’s about accepting what’s good in your life, embracing it, and not letting it go until you need to. 

20. Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)

Eve Polastri is a geek and a fan and she’s not afraid to lean into her obsession. 

From the first episode of Killing Eve, I felt a connection to her. Seeing her drawn into Villanelle’s story and doggedly pursue her belief that a murder victim was killed by a woman was infectious.

Watching as she leaned into her obsession over the course of Killing Eve Season 1 was dynamic and beautiful.

What is truly gratifying about Eve is her acceptance of her obsession and what makes her “weird.” I feel like this is one of the first women I’ve seen where her weirdness is what makes her good at what she does for a living, and it’s not a savant skill. It’s pure interest and a need to find an answer. 

That’s aspirational right there.

21. CJ Cregg (The West Wing)

I only discovered The West Wing thanks to Netflix, but thanks to Netflix I was introduced to CJ Cregg. 

What I loved about CJ Cregg was that she was strong and intelligent, but also clumsy and awkward, and somehow those two sides of her blended really well and made for an interesting character. 

CJ also always had her own beliefs, and while her job was the serve President Bartlet’s interests, she was never afraid to make her opinion known. It didn’t always have the effect that she wanted, but when she did it, it was cathartic.

She was the kind of person that I ultimately want to be when I grow up. 

22. Lilith/Madam Satan (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)

I went into Chilling Adventures of Sabrina not knowing what to expect. I knew that Kiernan Shipka was playing Sabrina but nothing about the tone or scope of the series. 

I didn’t even know that Michelle Gomez had been cast in the series when I first turned it on, but her character would end up being another influence on me. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina got me through a very uncertain period, and Michelle Gomez’s Lilith became a lighthouse as I attempted to navigate it. 

Lilith, or Madam Satan as she was called through most of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part I, was determined to accomplish her goal, but she couldn’t let anyone know about it. So she operated in the shadows playing her cards close to her chest.

Then, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part II came around, and Lilith went from a servant with something to accomplish to just being done. In that storyline, she cast away what no longer served her and went after what she really wanted: the crown of hell. 

Lilith’s determination was something I admired, and a trait that I needed to draw strength from.

Even though Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part III didn’t serve her character well, I am of the mindset that she’s waiting in the shadows again and will find her way back towards independence. 

23. B’Elanna Torres (Star Trek: Voyager)

Not long ago, I rewatched Star Trek: Voyager, and going through my memory I realized that the first episode I ever watched of this show was centered around B’Elanna. 

It was Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 Episode 12, “Lineage,” in which B’Elanna Torres had to deal with her own anxiety about becoming a mother. At the time I watched, I was twelve, and motherhood was far off, but that emotional depth and the ability she had to confront her feelings drew me in.

What I didn’t realize was exactly how much it took for B’Elanna to get to that point. At her core, she was angry. It took years of building trust to get her to feel comfortable letting her guard down and expressing emotions. 

B’Elanna had some extremely notable episodes during Voyager’s run.

Over the years, I came to appreciate her performance on Star Trek: Voyager Season 5 Episode 3, “Extreme Risk,” which dealt with clinical depression after finding out her friends in the Alpha Quadrant were slaughtered. 

There were other moments too, but so many of them focused on how B’Elanna expressed herself. Seeing her comfortable in her anger made me comfortable with recognizing the emotion in me, and I didn’t even realize she was influencing me that way. 

24. Zelda Spellman (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)

To me, Zelda Spellman was always the matriarch of the Spellman family.

On Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, she definitely controls the goings-on in the house and is very quick to assume a leadership role.

During Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part III, a whole new side of Zelda came out. She wasn’t just the protective maternal figure, but also a caring one who would make hard choices. She also wasn’t afraid to let her emotions show to those closest to her.

I came of age when the strong female character couldn’t show a sign of weakness, but Zelda is a character that isn’t afraid to show that softer side and let out her emotion when she had to. She’s broken down and at times leans on them and at times mends herself with them. 

It’s a hard lesson to learn in the real world, but Zelda’s been a good model for it.

25. Aeryn Sun (Farscape)

Farscape is a show that was basically made for streaming services. It’s got a strong narrative and it’s hard to keep it all in line if you don’t watch from the very beginning. 

I ended up buying a boxed set off eBay during a Farscape-drought before the 25th anniversary of the show and rediscovered this rich narrative and the heroine at the center.

Aeryn Sun is a fish out of water alongside Crichton on their ship, but she’s not willing to compromise. She grew up very regimented and ends up having to learn how to relate to people in ways that don’t involve shooting at them. 

The fact that she stuck with the crew of Moya and kept encountering things that challenged her was something I always found admirable. She had to open herself up to being hurt, and when she did it ended up being rewarding. 

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What female tv character has been a major influence on you? Let us know in the comments below. 

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