Hollywood is notorious for failing to come up with strong, interesting female characters, especially for older actresses. But there are still hundreds of brilliant characters in TV programmes, books and films. These are the best I could think of (not in any particular order), although I'm sure I've missed some great ones.
The Wicked Witch of the West
I only recently saw the musical Wicked, so my only knowledge of the Witch came from The Wizard of Oz where she's just plain mean to pretty little Dorothy. In Wicked, her name is revealed as Elphaba, and her back story is told. She turns out to be clever and full of integrity, plus more principled than Glinda the Good Witch. I love her. I want to paint myself green in homage to her.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
She's tiny and she kills vampires, has lines like "I may be dead, but I'm still pretty," and she generally defies stereotypes about small, cute-looking girls. Which, obviously, makes her cool.
Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I actually always preferred Willow, even though she wasn't the heroine. She's quieter and a bit more behind-the-scenes, but still an important part of the vampire slaying. If I could choose, I'd like Buffy's ability to kick people, combined with Willow's ability to steer clear of that Angel twat.
Dorothea Brooke, Middlemarch
Until recently Middlemarch was my favourite book. Then I re-read it and realised it does in fact contain around 30,000 words on English politics in the 1700s (BORING). But it's still worth ploughing through (just skim those bits) because Dorothea is full-on amazing. She exists at a time when young, pretty women are told they're incapable of thinking straight, and she somehow manages to combine incredible intelligence with an indefatigable ability to accept her lot.
She never moans, even when her stupid family let her marry that revolting old man and she realises how miserable she's going to be. If I was a better person, I'd be like Dorothea. But I'm not, so I'm going to keep complaining about stuff like late trains and lack of sleep.
The Bride or Beatrix Kiddo, Kill Bill
This one is kind of obvious. In films like this, women are usually constrained to some kind of "sexy" role. The Bride is ruthless. She tries to leave her assassin life behind her but her former lover (Bill) turns up at her wedding to a new man and kills everyone. She is left in a coma and Kill Bill is her story of revenge.
OK, so it doesn't necessarily teach us the nicest lessons, but I forgive its amorality purely for the bit where she kills the orderly who's been selling sexual access to her comatose body. (Having written that sentence, I've decided Quentin Tarantino officially needs sectioning.)
Sue Sylvester, Glee
Glee often veers off into a schmaltzy hell, and it's Jane Lynch's character Sue Sylvester who drags it back and makes it brilliant. I've included her because she's funny, responding to the slightly wet Will Schuster asking her to let the kids express themselves with "I'm going to projectile express myself all over your Hush Puppies". There are others: ''I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits. That's the smell of failure, and it's stinking up my office," (and after she went for an eye-lift) "While they were in there, I told them to go ahead and yank out those tear ducts. Wasn't using them." LOVE. HER.
The Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland
The Queen gets to run around in a temper, yelling OFF WITH THEIR HEADS whenever she fancies it. But before I get yelled at for promoting murder or whatever, very few people actually ever get beheaded. She's just saying it, really. She gets fed up with how incompetent and twattish people are and she wants to express this annoyance. Who among us can't relate to that?
Joanna Kramer, Kramer vs Kramer
A Meryl Streep character had to be in here somewhere, and Kramer vs Kramer is a great film because of the way it challenged assumptions about family life and the role of men and women within it. Joanna Kramer not only had the strength to leave her unfulfilling life (and get a job paying more than her ex-husband's), but also the magnanimity to admit her son's true home was his father.
Nessa, Gavin and Stacey
She won't be so well-known in the US but Nessa is the best bit of this sitcom. She's fat, Welsh and hilarious, and Ruth Jones who plays her and co-writes the programme is (I'm pretty certain) the brains behind it all. She's completely no-nonsense in a Welsh kind of way, and endlessly matter of fact. Quotes don't really do it justice though, so you'll need to watch it if you don't know what I'm on about.
Juno MacGuff, Juno
I think Juno may be my favourite film ever. It takes the phrase "pregnant 16-year-old girl" and turns it from something that immediately makes you think of council estates and benefits to something synonymous with a sharp tongued, bright young woman. It's the script that makes it great, and writer Diablo Cody has become a well-known feminist name.
Cruella De Vil, One Hundred and One Dalmations
I have a weakness for over-the-top female villains, especially ones who can pull off a cigarette lighter, fur coat and two-tone hair in a way I can only dream of. As a child I hated her, and I still can't bring myself to agree with the whole dog-killing thing, but she's undeniably fabulous - especially when compared to Disney's usual insipid female characters.
Rory Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
I can't really put it any better than Laetitia over at MademoiselleRobot.com, who's a Rory fan. Rory cares more about learning stuff than being popular, she reads, and she's ambitious. Her mother, Lorelai, is pretty cool too.
Thelma and Louise
Not the most original choice, but it's a bit difficult to leave them out. It's inspired a million other stories (including Gaga's and Beyonce's latest video) and is one of the most famous feminist films.
Nora Helmer, A Doll's House
She's tiny and childlike, treated like an imbecile and emotionally abused by her husband. The fact that she leaves him may not sound that huge to us, but it was when this play was published in the 1900s. She's one of the first female characters in a play to tackle issues like these, and to take control of them.
Jo March, Little Women
Without a doubt the best one of the four sisters, because of her passion, intelligence and her desire to do something "great". I'm not the biggest fan of these books anymore but growing up she was definitely a good role model to have.
Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials
Lyra must be one of the best female characters ever written, combining a fierce curiosity with courage, a strong tomboyish streak and a well-honed ability to lie. It helps that she's the central role in such a fantastic story, but is also a great antidote to the pretty, quiet little girls that often feature in stories. She even gets to have a sexual awakening, and there's nothing like a good sexual awakening in a parallel universe is there?
Hermione Granger, Harry Potter
Hermione is undeniably cool - she's the cleverest and the best witch, and she's mouthy. I like mouthy people.
Edna Pontellier, The Awakening
Edna is another 19th century woman struggling to come to terms with her role in society, but this makes her assertive, complex and isolated - all interesting traits in a fictional character. The Awakening is in a similar vein to Edith Wharton and Henry James, but I'd probably choose to re-read this over others like it because Edna is so complicated.
Leigh-Cheri, Still Life with Woodpecker
I haven't read this book so I'm relying on the testimony of my friend Maria, who lives in a mystical place in the Middle East (Dubai. But 'mystical place' sounds more exciting). She says of Leigh Cheri, "She's everything you could ever want in a woman: red headed, former aristocracy, lives inside a packet of Camel cigarettes, falls in love with a unabomber, goes deaf after an explosion. Brilliant."
Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons
She's both the conscience and the brains of the whole Simpsons operation. Lisa is a beacon of hope to geeky girls everywhere, as well as a fellow long-suffering older sister to an extremely trying younger brother. I've always liked that Lisa and me have that in common.