The first one I thought of was Mara Jade.

Fuck you Disney!

Nobody in particular stands out, but a thought I had a while back is that Game of Thrones was one of the rare pieces of modern cinema with a host of great female characters who, for the most part, actually had to put in effort to earn their status rather than just being born with it.

For me, I respect female characters who are written strong but not mean or "buff". Your character doesn't need to be a dick or on steroids to be strong. A strong person can be kind and compassionate, just not capitulate under pressure. I also don't believe being "independent" means you can't love someone and lean on them in times of need, it just means you aren't defined by the relationship.

• Bastila Shan from KOTOR
• Mustang from Red Rising
• Rita from Groundhog Day
• Hermione from Harry Potter (if only JK respected ALL women)
• Dottie from A League of Their Own
• Mulan from Mulan
• Ellie from The Last of Us Part 2
• Freya from God of War

Alt: Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist

For me, Commander Ivanova from Babylon 5. Like the rest of the characters, she wasn't perfect, but she was so strong.

Only Brits or BBC International viewers will know this character but Catherine Cawood from Happy Valley.

And obviously Ellen Ripley, Dana Scully and Sarah Connor.

Princess Cimorene from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Granny Weatherwax

So the absolute first that comes to mind is a joke answer: Strong Woman, the vice Principal from South Park.

The actual answer is Phryne Fisher

To me, this is one of the most fully realized female characters in science fiction (at least):

Hyacinth Bucket (ITS BOUQUET)

1. No one has mentioned Princess Leia. Does she qualify? She later became a general but I haven't seen that episode.

2. All the characters I recognize in this thread are primarily written by men. That can't be good. I haven't seen Barbie though.

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Tiffany Aching.

About half the cast of Fullmetal Alchemist (Olivier Mira Armstrong, Izumi Curtis, Riza Hawkeye, Winry and Pinako Rockbell, Lan Fan, Mai Chang, Chris Mustang... and I'm sure I'm missing some).

Oh, and friggin' Chell, of course. Makes you almost feel sorry for GLaDOS.

I'm really liking the evolution of Shallan Davar in the Stormlight Archives at the moment.

Mirko!

Margot is also amazing, but she's not independent IMO. She's very emotionally hooked. Not in a bad way, mind you. She's like a shounen protagonist who screams for 5 episodes because her friend was threatened and somehow a nation collapses as a result.

Cate Blanchett's portrail of Elizabeth I (who I know was real, but I'm sure there was some creative license with the character).

Margot was so awesome. Really loved that show.

Edit: Well, I loved the first three seasons, anyway. 😑

Mirko from the popular My Hero Academia anime/manga series.

She doesn't take crap from anyone and fearlessly goes into battle.

Garnet (Steven Universe)

Off the top of my head - all of Lady Parts, Lydia West as Jill Baxter in It's a Sin, Toni Collette as Muriel and Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda in Muriel's Wedding, Parminder Nagra as Jess in Bend It Like Beckham, Milla Jovovich as Leeloo in The Fifth Element, Natalie Portman as Evey in V for Vendetta

Ignoring the shit show that is Rings of Power, Galadriel, Luthien, Arwen, Eowyn, and Nienna.

High King Margot is a great answer

For me, I thought of Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman and then Captain Rachel Garrett, commander of the USS Enterprise, 1701-C

Someone already said Susannah Dean so I'm gonna go with Roz from Frasier

First who popped into my mind was Friday Jones from Robert A. Heinlein's Friday.

Taarna

Hetty Lange