1) ELLEN RIPLEY (Sigourney Weaver, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection)
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s encounter with the acid-blooded menace,
isn’t just one of the most iconic female characters of the genre, she’s one of the most
iconic characters in cinema history. An appealing combination of toughness,
self-reliance, vulnerability and sexiness, Ripley is far from a conventional damsel
in distress. New layers were added to the character in Aliens, which saw Ripley proving to be tougher and smarter than a unit of marines, yet still finding time to form a motherly bond with Newt. The two subsequent sequels added even more dimensions, leading to one of the most critically analysed characters in the history of cinema. Interestingly, the character was originally written as a male role, but 20th Century Fox executive Alan Ladd, Jr suggested they change Ripley to become female to make the protagonist stand out in a male- dominated genre.