Last year we listed some of our favorite fictional couples. This year, we’re turning the spotlight on some of our favorite fictional ladies who manage to ride solo (and one who does that literally. OH SNAP.), and still succeed. In order to qualify for this list, these ladies don’t necessarily have to remain single til their dying day, but they did need to remain independent, and getting their man could not be one of their main goals.
Hermione Granger
Perhaps it’s surprising that one half of my OTP is at the top of this list. But that’s exactly my point here–does Hermione really NEED a man to tell her what to do or how to do it? No. No she does not. And that’s the great part about being on this list, and being a modern lady. You can have a dude in your life but he shouldn’t be a crutch. He should just be a lovely red haired man who is particularly fond of pets and also whose parents are pretty much the best people on the planet. I’m digressing. The point here is that Hermione is smart, she’s resourceful, she knows how to make fire in a jar. Bam. Independent woman.
Runners up in the Harry Potter universe:
Luna Lovegood, who became a herione despite starting off as that crazy chick in the corner, and book!
Ginny Weasley, who is way cooler and more interesting than her wet-noodle movie counterpart.
Merida DunBroch
Merida is the best. When that movie ended and (spoiler alert) she was still chillin’ as a Princess with no Prince, it was like a breath of fresh air. Some people reacted by accusing her of being a lesbian. To which every feminist and most reasonable people on the planet responded, “And so what if she is?”. However, that’s not really the point. The point is, she can ride a gigantic horse, climb mountains without equipment, and quiet a castle mess hall full of rowdy drunk Scotsmen. Trust me–that is no easy feat. Merida doesn’t even care about all the guys trying for her hand, and what’s more, she points out that they shouldn’t be forced to love HER, either. That’s called equality.
Runner-up?
That goes to Queen Elinor DunBroch, who kicks ass in spite of her bumbling husband and defiant children. She’s a mom and a Queen and a fairly modern woman. For living in medieval Scotland, of course.
Leia Organa-Solo
Leia and Hermione have a lot in common in the man category, except that Han is just as independent on his own as Leia is on hers. Their courtship is nothing short of adorable, but Leia knows inter-planetary warfare isn’t the time to let her feelings get in the way of… inter-planetary warfare. Not to mention she essentially frees herself from Jabba and manages to kill him before taking off. Okay, so the first time we see her she’s in jail and the guys actually open her cell, but who has the best aim among them? Who gets the message to Obi-Wan in the first place? It’s Leia. Take the men out of the movie and she might have had a harder time getting out of these situations, but without jerks like her overbearing dad (sorry, Vader), maybe there wouldn’t have been the Star Wars to begin with.
On second thought, that would be a terrible idea. Let the men fuck things up so Leia can fix them.
Runners up all come from the Extended Universe:
Jaina Solo, Mara Jade, and Ahsoka Tano all squeak in behind Leia. That doesn’t mean they’re less heroic or independent. Ahsoka might still be a Padawan but she’s a heroine in her own right, and Jaina manages to save the entire universe from (surprise) her jerk of a brother. What is it with the Skywalkers and their descendants?
Ami Mizuno
While each of the sailor scouts kind of split the heroic action, they also split their time fairly equally between being heroic and drooling over boys. In the early seasons, it feels like Serena can’t do shit without fighting over Andrew, Darien, that Fish-eye guy, or (good looks, Usagi…) Amara. Ami, or Sailor Mercury, is the exception that proves the rule in this case. When she isn’t fighting evil by moonlight, she’s studying or helping Rini out with things, or just generally being a fine upstanding citizen. She’s like that friend who you a little bit hated because after they left your mom was always like, “Why can’t you be more like her?”. Not to mention, Ami is always way more on top of the whole fighting evil thing than probably any of the other scouts care to be. She takes everything very seriously. It’s like a pain in the ass to get her to come to the beach. Even in the summer. But all that focus pays off, and Ami frequently stays one step ahead of whatever suddenly anthropomorphic plant the girls wind up fighting.
Runner up in the Sailor Moon universe is Sailor Pluto.
She’s cool, and she doesn’t give a crap about Darien.
Donna Noble
BEFORE YOU GET UPSET – Yes I know that in her first episode her storyline revolves around getting and keeping a man. However. Compared to the rest of the Doctor’s companions, Donna is easily the most independent. She likes traveling with the Doctor because it makes her life more interesting, not because she feels bad for and eventually loves him, not because she’s in love with him from the get-go, and not because he promised her he’d be back when she was six and now she’s completely fixated on him. Donna is with the Doctor on her terms, and she gives him shit for being… the Doctor. I’d argue that most of the companions in new!Who are heroines in their own right, but they have at the very least romantically fond feelings towards the Doctor, and spend their time with him like some strange alien-human version of Hugh Hefner and every girlfriend he hasn’t married. They want to make him THEIR Doctor, but Donna just wants to hang out and be bros.
Runner up goes begrudgingly to Martha Jones.
Look, I don’t like her, but I get why people do. She’s in love with the Doctor and he’s a butthole to her, and she leaves. It takes her way longer than I would have liked to figure out he doesn’t feel the same way she does, but I guess she’s better than Clara, whose literal entire storyline revolves around saving the Doctor.
Bulma Briefs
If you’ve been with us since the beginning, you know we feel some kind of way about the women in Dragon Ball, Z, and GT, and this may be partially personal preference speaking, but Bulma is just the greatest. Again, she marries Vegeta, but I’m pretty sure that went something like, “OH OKAY WE’RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY HERE’S YOUR SUIT HERE’S MY DRESS ANNNND WE’RE DONE.” Bulma is ultra smart, and goes out on her own to find the Dragon Balls. Her independence has been hotly contested, but I remember Bulma, especially in Dragonball, as a strong woman who will pretty much take a sledge hammer to any man’s head if he disrespects her.
Runners up include Videl and Chi-Chi
Both of whom could beat the crap out of all of us, and without whom their husbands would have died early deaths from gluttony and stupidity. (Although I love them both very much.)
Elphaba Thropp
Elphaba is probably more commonly known to most of you as the Wicked Witch of the West. She’s the main character in the novel Wicked, and in the musical based on the novel. Elphaba’s gotten the shaft from every last man in her life, and from some of the women, too. That doesn’t stop her from honing her skills in magic, heading off to University, befriending people who only started chilling with her to make fun of her, and unmasking a major government cover-up. Elphaba wants to become the Wizard’s right-hand woman, but when she finds out what he’s really up to she risks her life to set things right. Even when she does get a man, she doesn’t let him change her direction or slow her down in her ultimate goal.
Runner up is, of course, Galinda the good. (No, I didn’t spell that wrong.)
Galinda is a little too focused on the men around her for my liking, and of course the whole point of Wicked is to reverse our expectations. But in the end it’s not about her relationships with men – not even the Wizard. The story is truly about how Elphaba and Galinda balance each other out and turn each other from caricatures into “real” people. Without one, the other wouldn’t be nearly as complex.
Sarabi from The Lion King
HAVE YOU SEEN THE LION KING? ALSO, DO LIONS HAVE LAST NAMES?
Sarabi. Gives. No. Fucks.
Runner up: Nala.
She tells Simba like it is and drags his ass back to pride rock.
Lara Croft
Again, if I need to back this one up, I don’t know where you’ve been living. Lara Croft is still one of the only female character in video games who has single-handedly headed up a massive franchise for the last 22 years. She’s gotta be smart and in good shape to do the kind of tomb raiding she’s been doing for decades, and you know you’ve made it when Angelina Jolie plays you in a film. Plus, she’s become more realistically proportioned as the years have passed. Go ahead. Name one man that Lara has had to lean on, for anything, ever. Okay?
That’s what I thought.
Princess Tiana
Tiana has one goal and one goal only: to open her own restaurant. She works hard to save up money to buy her restaurant. She makes lots of food because she wants to get better when she owns her own restaurant. She has the opportunity to cater a big party to get better exposure for her eventual restaurant. See the pattern here? Arguably, Naveen teaches her to love or something, but when they do get married, guess what he does? Goes to work in her restaurant. And guess who told her she needed other people in order to be happy with that restaurant? Mama Odie. Yeah. Tiana don’t need no man.
Runner up: Mulan.
Mulan came before Tiana, and she definitely busted through lady stereotypes and hated being all dolled up by the Matchmaker. However, she makes her sacrifice on behalf of her father, and takes part in the fighting… but doesn’t have her own “restaurant”.
Got any other super ultra badass babes you can think of? Let us know in the comments below!
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The lovely Ashley Eckstein
Kentucky native Ashley Eckstein has certainly made her mark in geek history. Currently voicing the only apprentice of Anakin Skywalker on the Clone Wars series, Ahsoka Tano, Ashley is also the creator of HerUniverse. If you have not checked out this website, DO IT. Ashley decided to create merchandise specifically targeted to women when she isn’t bringing life to the young Jedi!
L: Let’s jump right in and talk a little about Ahsoka. She begins her journey as an 14-year-old when the Clone Wars begin. Was it difficult having that childlike mind frame and then having to switch to an older, more mature Ahsoka?
Her Star Wars counterpart, Ahsoka Tano
AE: Um, you know that’s a great question because I naturally have a young sounding voice and when I first went to audition for Clone Wars, I auditioned for Padmé and they stopped me before I could even get the first line out of my mouth. I literally….as I was saying it they stopped me and said, ‘no we’re sorry you sound too young for Padmé but would you mind reading for this new character?’ They didn’t tell me who I was reading for yet cause it was so confidential and um, my voice just naturally kinda fit that age range. Actually my voice is pretty high-pitched and it sounds real young! It was actually pretty easy in the beginning to play a 14-year-old girl and as the show’s gone on I’ve had to speak in my lower register. I’ve definitely had to become a lot more darker, more serious. Dave Filoni jokes with me in the studio that I have to ball up any cuteness, any girly-ness I have and throw it out the studio because she’s definitely grown a lot and really I try to put myself in her shoes. The Clone Wars have gone on for 2 years now in the series and it’s really taken its toll on all the Jedi. There are battles day in and day out and I have to keep that mind when I’m doing the episode.
L: Great insight! I’d never have imagined stuff like that coming into play.
AE: The Clone Wars were a tough time!
L: Were there any episodes or story arcs that were more fun to do than others?
AE: I have to say, personally, from this past season, season 3, I loved the Mortis trilogy! It was a fun trilogy or story arc to do because it was so challenging and covered so many emotions. I had to play an older Ahsoka in her 20s in a vision and play a dark side Ahsoka where she was evil and taken over by the Dark side and you know, Ahsoka died in those episodes and then I had to play her in present day. Just that wide range was fun to do. More so than that, the story and writing was fantastic. The animators really upped their game in those three episodes.
L: I know the inclusion of a brand new character not in previous Star Wars canon upset a lot of fans. In fact, I have not sat and watched much Clone Wars, not because of Ahsoka, but because it rendered one of my all time favorite story lines non canon. Did the fans original aversion to Ahsoka bother you?
AE: Well, you know, I have to admit that when the movie first came out, all the backlash began and it was nerve-wracking thinking ‘Oh my God, I’m the new Jar Jar.’ We’d been working on Clone Wars for 2 years before the audience saw anything and we’d become so emotionally attached to these characters and we’d completed the entire first season before the movie came out. I knew after the first season she would go in a direction the fans would like her to go and I knew they would be pleased with her evolution over time. After the movie which was 4 episodes strung together, she came across as overbearing. No character is perfect at first. In order for a character to grow they have to start somewhere. You have to have flaws and things that will improve. I think they appreciate how far she’s come but in the beginning it was definitely nerve-wracking.
L: Odd question, I know but if real, honest to God aliens landed in front of you and offered you any position on their planet, what position would you want?
AE: Um…wow. Okay this is where some fans may roll their eyes but I’m definitely a romantic at heart. I love all the fairy tales at heart. I was a huge tomboy growing up and something happened as I got older and I had to play catchup and watch all these romantic comedies and get a feel for things. I love princesses and not just Disney princesses…I’ve watched a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones and what’s her name….
L: Which one? I’m a big fan!
AE: The long-haired blonde one. Da…something?
L: Daenerys!!
AE: YES! I liked how at first she was unsure and now she’s discovering her power and I dunno, maybe going and being the alien princess? That was a long-winded roundabout answer but that’s what I’d be. I’d marry the alien prince.
L: As a voice actress, do you have any freedom to ad lib?
AE: Um, every now and then we are. You know, that’s one thing that Dave Filoni is really great at, we’ve gotten to know our characters and it’s almost like we know their tone and slang, how they’d say things. I’m able to change a word or two but in terms of ad libbing beyond that, we don’t do that. The writing team is truly fantastic, top-notch, and we never really have to change anything. Every now and then there’ll be something. They had Ahsoka saying ‘yeehaw’ and while I’m a Southern girl at heart and I’ve been known to say that, Ahsoka wouldn’t say that. We’ve gotten to know them well enough to change things they wouldn’t ever say.
L: It probably helps it comes across more natural.
AE: Dave has let me bring my own sarcasm to Ahsoka and so I trust him in terms of what he thinks she should say. There’s a very fine line between being bratty and joking around.
Pssst, I own this shirt!
L: How did you go about creating HerUniverse.com?
AE: Oh jeez, I had the idea, uh, over 3 years ago and it took me a while to convince people there was a market for female sci-fi fans, you know, cause I found in my research that close to ½ of sci-fi fans are women and it didn’t make sense that there wasn’t any merchandise for the women to buy when 85% of the consumer market is women! So women are the ones doing all the buying and close to half of all sci-fi fans are women and it just wasn’t adding up. It’s like, why isn’t someone catering to this fan base, because there are so many passionate women who love sci-fi just as much as the men do.
L: Which is definitely true. Whenever I try to buy sci-fi clothes I skip over the girl clothes immediately because there’s never anything available and go straight to the guys, so HerUniverse.com DEFINITELY stood out to me as a fan.
AE: Yeah, exactly, exactly. I have to thank Lucas Films and SyFy cause we just announced a deal with them. Pretty much from the beginning, Lucas Arts gave us the opportunity to make Star Wars merchandise for women right out of the gate and then Syfy as well, they believe in their female fans, are listening to their female fans and I just have to thank them for the opportunity to play with their property.
L: I’m really excited. I cannot wait to see the SyFy designs. Do you personally approve every design?
AE: Yeah, I think the biggest misconception is that HerUniverse was started by someone else and I’m just endorsing the brand. It was my idea from the beginning and I’m involved in every single step. I’m not an artist so I work with an artist to create the look or I can go through Lucas Art’s style guide of images that I can pick out and mix and match things from. I’m involved from the initial concept to the hang tag to the wash and dry test of every shirt. I can’t stand when shirts I buy shrink to half their size so it’s something very, very important to me.
L: That warms my heart because a lot of times, things become commercialized and the personal touch is lost.
AE: HerUniverse is a full-time job. It’s what I do all day long. It needs extra attention and now that we have the new Syfy line coming out I wanna do my best and make sure everything is perfect.
Must have for any member of the Empire
L: I read somewhere online that you designed a dress when you were 11 or 12. Do you plan on expanding HerUniverse to all kinds of clothes? I for one, would embrace a Death Star skirt.
AE: Oh, that’s awesome. Yeah, I would love to, that’s definitely in the future. The hard part with HerUniverse is I feel there’s so much catch up to do because the guys have so many items. The women don’t have much of anything and it’s kind of overwhelming. Dresses are something I want to get into but it’s going to take a while. Everyone’s body is different and they have to be custom made and printed. We buy the blank t-shirt and do the printing ourselves so dresses are a bit more tricky. Definitely in the future.
L: Let’s talk a little about the Star Wars Tours.
AE: It’s a great event. We just finished the first weekend. It’s Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I actually host a show called Behind the Force which is a behind the scenes look into the Clone Wars. It’s such a fun show. We just had Dave Filoni and we’re gonna have Matt Lanter (voice of Anakin) and Tom Kane (voice of Yoda) and it’s just a fun time. I’m really excited because HerUniverse has 2 new shirts and kids shirts for the first time. They’re for sale at Disney which is a dream come true for me. They’re not available retail yet so to walk into Disney World and see them for sale is crazy for me. I was there at 5:45am before anyone else. I took video, I’m such a cheese ball.
L: Do you have any tips for people who want to get into the voice acting industry or just wanna start their own business?
AE: Practice, lots of practice. For voice acting and acting in general, I started out in community theater and got an agent in Orlando where I grew up. The actors unions are very important and must be joined. I’d look up SAG.org and do your research. Listen to people’s voices and get into mimicking until you can carry a full conversation in another voice. You know how people say it’s fun to people watch? Listen to other people. You need to be able to do all kinds of voices on cue. For a business, I don’t know where to begin. If you have a dream to do something, never give up. It sounds cliché and cheesy but it took a good 2 years for HerUniverse to get off the ground. I can’t tell you how many people told me no and it’d never work. If Plan A fails, go to Plan B. I think I went to Plan G before it actually happened. When a door slams, a window opens. I truly believed there was a market for this. Don’t give up and keep going.
L: It’s great that you’re enjoying what you do!
AE: You have to enjoy it otherwise you’ll be miserable!!
Many, many thanks to Ashley for taking the time out to call me. You can meet her at Disney’s Star Wars weekends from May 20th to June 12th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando or at San Diego Comic Con this July. Take a look at the clothing she has available at HerUniverse or check her out at her official website !
