Creating one of the strongest female characters ever to grace the silver screen, Ms. Weaver’s Ellen Ripley from the Alien films can be considered the first female action star.

In the 1986 sequel, Aliens, the tough yet vulnerable Ripley returns to the original planet where the alien nightmare began- both as a job to get re-instated by her former employers, but moreso to overcome the devastating demons that haunted her ever since her return to Earth.

Aliens, arguably superior to the original, pits Ripley and Earth’s colonial marines against a nest of aliens that has taken out the planet’s colony. The overconfident marines get more than they bargained for and it falls to Ripley to step up. Not only must she save herself and the surviving soldiers, she must also protect and rescue the child colonist they discovered.

The young girl, Newt, brings out Ripley’s maternal instincts and she’ll do anything to save her.
Sigourney plays the role pitch perfect, able to nurture Newt one minute, and blast flames on a nest of alien eggs the next.

Aliens stands out as not only one of the best sci-fi action/horror films of all time, but it also opened many doors for strong female action roles thanks to Sigourney Weaver’s Oscar-nominated performance. Thank you Sigourney.