# Greatest female action star? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692 "2010-08-09T11:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![darkgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@darkgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darkgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/41 "2010-08-10T00:26:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Sigourney Weaver is second place; here are a few of Pam Grier’s movies > > You don’t support the claim you made in the first clause, and I don’t see why the second clause is relevant. Are you suggesting Pam Grier as a candidate for 53rd place? And who are you claiming is the top? The OP asked for female action stars, the statement was made “This discussion only needs one name and it’s Sigourney Weaver.” That statement found support, “True. Close the thread already.” I disagreed; pointing out that Mrs. Weaver wasn’t the first or last name in the female action star field. Mrs. Grier’s films may not be quality but I consider them “action”. They were made during a time when there weren’t many action roles for women. ---
**Author:** ![darkgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@darkgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darkgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/42 "2010-08-10T00:30:44Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > > [@darkgoddess](#): > > > > Sigourney Weaver is second place; here are a few of Pam Grier’s movies > > Hit Man 1972 > > Black Mama, White Mama 1973 > > Coffy 1973 > > Scream Blacula Scream 1973 > > Foxy brown 1974 > > Sheba baby 1975 > > Friday Foster 1975 > > I have seen Black Mama, White Mama; Coffy; Scream Blacula Scream; Foxy brown & Friday Foster. You know what, she is no Ripley in any of them and the movies themselves are pretty bad. I wasn’t aware the quality of the film was at issue. The OP asked for female action stars. I remember Mrs. Grier and her films because it was the first time I saw an attractive black woman kick butt on the big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/43 "2010-08-10T00:37:25Z")
The OP asked for the _greatest_ female action star. The quality of the films must surely be one criterion for that. Grier might have been before Weaver chronologically, but I think it’s a huge stretch to say that she’s greater. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/44 "2010-08-10T00:49:01Z")
> [@darkgoddess](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > I have seen Black Mama, White Mama; Coffy; Scream Blacula Scream; Foxy brown & Friday Foster. You know what, she is no Ripley in any of them and the movies themselves are pretty bad. > > I wasn’t aware the quality of the film was at issue. The OP asked for female action stars. I remember Mrs. Grier and her films because it was the first time I saw an attractive black woman kick butt on the big screen. The title of the thread is Greatest. I like Pam Grier and her movies clearly as I have seen so many but her movies were pretty bad sadly and Alien and Aliens and Galaxy Quest were all great movies with Weaver in an action role. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/45 "2010-08-10T01:09:14Z")
Ripley is so far above anyone else I can classify as a “female action hero” I will have to give it to Weaver. (heh) Just before Linda Hamilton in T2. But Pam Grier certainly deserves a place somewhere high on the list just because she did SO MANY action movies - and some of them are actually good. I’m sure quite a few 70’s Asian kung fu women should be here too, but I just don’t watch enough kun fu movies to remember any of them. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/46 "2010-08-10T01:24:22Z")
Peta Wilson. The scene in Nikita, “Falling Star” where she kills the redneck woman with her bare hands and she and Michael, handcuffed, team the 12 gauge to kill all the bad guys is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/47 "2010-08-10T01:41:38Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > It’s a shame I can’t come up with a good third movie for Linda Hamilton, beyond her two **Terminator** films. Beauty and the Beast was a romance, but some serious ass-kickin’ did take place. Plus, Ron Perlman never looked better. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/48 "2010-08-10T01:42:53Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > and Alien and Aliens and Galaxy Quest were all great movies with Weaver in an action role. To say that _GQ_ (as fun as it is) is an “action role” for Weaver is being exceedingly generous, given her only job on the ship is a running joke in the first place. She never holds a gun, operates a vehicle, or performs a stunt in the entire film! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/49 "2010-08-10T01:45:07Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Plus, Ron Perlman never looked better. Compared to whom, Piltdown Man? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/50 "2010-08-10T01:45:43Z")
Why not let a poll decide the issues here? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/51 "2010-08-10T01:54:22Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > [@JeffB](#): > > > > She did two Lara Croft movies. > > And _Wanted_ as some kind of ass-kicking assassin or something. Which is why I specified “memorable”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/52 "2010-08-10T02:13:17Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Why not let a poll decide the issues here? Sure, I left it open for a couple of days to see what the nominees will be. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/53 "2010-08-10T02:33:48Z")
I’m going with Michelle Yeoh - she gets much credit for actually doing the action in her action movies and she’s remarkably graceful about it. Watch some of her early HK action films, not the mediocre Hollywood stuff that many Asian stars got put into when people began paying attention to them in the US. We’re talking about a woman who jumped a motorcycle onto a moving train. No stunt double, no wires, no CGI. I think there’s a lot more to being an action movie star than grimacing fiercely in an action movie while doubles, poor lighting, special effects and too many fast cuts do all the real work. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/54 "2010-08-10T03:24:05Z")
Joanna Lumley’s character ‘Purdey’ in the seventies UK series “The New Avengers” would fit the bill. As a fourteen year old, it was always a toss up between her and Farrah Fawcett… ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/55 "2010-08-10T11:01:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > > > Plus, Ron Perlman never looked better. > > Compared to whom, Piltdown Man? > 🙂 Compared to Ron Perlman, of course.😃 I hate having to explain jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/56 "2010-08-10T14:07:05Z")
In addition to Michelle Yeoh, I’d throw in Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger & the House of Flying Daggers. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/57 "2010-08-10T15:40:34Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I’m going with Michelle Yeoh - she gets much credit for actually doing the action in her action movies and she’s remarkably graceful about it. Watch some of her early HK action films, not the mediocre Hollywood stuff that many Asian stars got put into when people began paying attention to them in the US. > > We’re talking about a woman who jumped a motorcycle onto a moving train. No stunt double, no wires, no CGI. [Obligatory link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOGLk-DzomM). And then of course, there’s [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OxQ-2gR1DU) (to pick a fairly well-known example). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/58 "2010-08-10T18:39:40Z")
How about Maggie Q? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/59 "2010-08-10T19:45:38Z")
It just occurred to me that nobody’s mentioned Carrie Fisher yet. And yes, I would consider Princess Leia an action character: For starters, she’s the only character in all eight movies who ever demonstrated an ability to shoot what she was aiming at. By the same token, Natalie Portman also qualifies, but I like Leia better than Amidala. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692/60 "2010-08-11T19:49:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It just occurred to me that nobody’s mentioned Carrie Fisher yet. And yes, I would consider Princess Leia an action character: For starters, she’s the only character in all eight movies who ever demonstrated an ability to shoot what she was aiming at. > > By the same token, Natalie Portman also qualifies, but I like Leia better than Amidala. Though she couldn’t hit for shit in _ **Blues Brothers** _ but I will assume she did not really want to hit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-action-star/549692.md?page=4)