Why not the real Annie Oakley herself? As a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show she helped to *invent *the Western genre.
More:
Debra Paget
Faith Domergue
Susan Cabot
Anne Baxter
Felicia Farr
Jeanne Crain
Julie Adams
Patricia Neal
Claire Bloom
Barbara Rush
I sort of cheated on this list by thinking of some of my favorite guys and checking the Westerns they made to see who their co-stars were! 
Pamela Reed as Belle Star in The Long Riders
Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane in Deadwood
Yes, indeed! Outstanding choices!
Whaddayaknow! We’re already over 50 names in just over 25 posts!
Updated list:
+++++++++ Female Westerns Stars – Movies and TV +++++++++
Julie Adams
Jean Arthur
Anne Baxter
Amanda Blake
Claire Bloom
Susan Cabot
Tantoo Cardinal
Jeanne Crain
Joan Crawford
Linda Darnell
Gail Davis
Dana Delany
Angie Dickinson
Marlene Dietrich
Faith Domergue
Joanne Dru
Dale Evans
Linda Evans
Felicia Farr
Rhonda Fleming
Jane Fonda
Jodie Foster
Susan Hayward
Betty Hutton
Katy Jurado
Madeline Kahn
Sondra Locke
Virginia Mayo
Mercedes McCambridge
Vera Miles
Marilyn Monroe
Elizabeth Montgomery
Mildred Natwick
Patricia Neal
Maureen O’Hara
Joanna Pacula
Debra Paget
Jean Peters
Pamela Reed
Katharine Ross
Barbara Rush
Jane Russell
Laura San Giacomo
Jane Seymour
Jean Simmons
Barbara Stanwyck
Mary Steenburgen
Sharon Stone
Madeleine Stowe
Gene Tierney
Robin Weigert
Raquel Welch
= 52
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What’s going to be too cool is if we wind up with more women than men in the Final Poll!
Thing is, which woman can rival Clint Eastwood, or even John Wayne?
About time for a poll, don’t you think? I’ll give it a few more days to see what shakes out.
I thought Kim Darby kicked ass in True Grit!
Katharine Ross (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
I’m a little on the fence about whether to include Annie Oakley. An Ohio girl, she never went out west except as a performer. But, that describes most actresses as well, so…
If we’re including Sharon Stone, we should include Lucy Liu (Shanghai Noon) as well.
Watching this clip has reminded me of
Mary McDonnell from Dances with Wolves Dances with Wolves (1990) - IMDb (1990)
Sacheen Littlefeather who did some acting but may best be known for delivering Brando’s refusal note for his Oscar!
Rita Coolidge from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070518/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6 (1973)
… among others.
Melody Patterson from F Troop.
I’m trying to remember a performance like The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982) (Raquel Welch) that was similar in theme and intensity to Robert Redford’s Jeremiah Johnson (1972).
The main character had to face all manner of hardship and peril and it made the faint-of-heart want to curl up on the Barcalounger with a six-pack or a group of Martinis.
Does that sort of thing ring any bells? Which woman would be good at that sort of sustained stamina and determination?
I’d like to modestly propose that you cannot be a western STAR if you’ve only appeared in ONE western. So the various one-offs provided just prove that they may be talented actresses, but with no real relationship to the genre. That will thin things out a little…
It is my hope that when it comes time to vote on these actresses, criteria such as the one you’ve mentioned will affect voters’ choices. I’d prefer not to drop names from the slate based on my own judgment of their long-term Westerns status.
Susanne Pleshette, in one of the Support Your Local ____ movies.
Dianne Lane, in Lonesome Dove
Patricia Blair, in both The Rifleman and Daniel Boone.
To get a feel for which of these nominees are actually popular I’ve started
First pass at Your Favorite Westerns FEMALE Stars
06-04-2015, 09:00 PM
Please continue to add names – either here or in that thread.
A follow-up poll is also now up at
Second Pass – Your Favorite Westerns FEMALE Stars
06-09-2015, 01:55 AM