The 15 Best-Written Female Characters In Cinema

Lee Holloway – Secretary (2002)

Before there was E.L James and her Fifty Shades Of Grey, there was Mary Gaitskill and her short story, Bad Behaviour – adapted for the big screen by Erin Cressida Wilson. The tale explores the BDSM relationship that blossoms between detached and isolated lawyer Mr. Grey (James Spader), and his new secretary, Lee Holloway – played with award-winning raw power by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Lee is released from a mental hospital following some kind of implied breakdown, involving self-harm. She returns to the family home and struggles to maintain her recovery while searching for a job and shouldering the expectations of those around her. Each person – including her boyfriend – seeks to force Lee into their idea of what she should be, both personally and professionally, and Lee finds herself instinctively pushing back.

Finding employment as the secretary of Mr. Grey, she also finds an awakening of both her personal aspirations and her sexuality. Gaining confidence in her desires, the relationship between Lee and Mr. Grey becomes something that they define for themselves, on equal terms, and through which they are both able to heal. When Mr. Grey rejects Lee, she refuses to accept it – feeling certain in the understanding she has developed of him.

In these ways, Lee Holloway is a beautifully written female character – being a complex woman who explores herself, learns about herself and ultimately accepts herself for who she is, as opposed to what everybody else wants her to be.

Merida – Brave (2012)

The character of Merida is historically significant for a number of reasons. Firstly, she is the first princess borne of the union of Disney and Pixar. Secondly, she is Pixar’s first female protagonist, and thirdly, she is the first Disney princess not to have a love interest. These are all important ‘firsts’ in terms of the way in which female characters are depicted in cinema, but it is the formation of her character that truly makes Merida one of the most well-written female characters in film – from the pens of Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell and Irene Mecchi.

While Merida’s mother, Elinor, has a more traditional view of things, Merida is not raised within a gendered structure. She is encouraged to do things based on her interests, rather than things based on the fact that she is a girl. It is for this reason that her father, the King, presents her with a bow and arrow for her birthday and, as a consequence of its use in the forest, Merida encounters the will-o’-the-wisp, the big bear named Mor’du, and the evil witch.

Merida is also railing against traditions that include arranged marriage, and exploits a loop-hole to avoid having to become a wife to a stranger. Her actions create conflict with her mother and conflict between clans, and she must work to restore peace to both. The beauty of Merida, though, is that she achieves peace without compromising her own principles – and she does so with ingenuity, creativity and determination.