Top 10 Badass Lady Person Performances of 2024 (plus 5 Runners-Up)

 by Jan Bottiglieri

Badass Lady People have long been a mainstay of cinematic entertainment—but I think 2024 was a particularly good year for solid performances from female actors in roles that challenged common tropes about femininity.

Maybe audiences are tired of the usual ways "strong women" are portrayed in film: the "final girl," the "mamma bear," the "tough old gal." Even positive portrayals can feel limiting and vaguely sexist when they're so overused they've become cliché.

I'm delighted that so many Movie Lady People of 2024 found new ways to be badass. Women contain multitudes! We are creators and destroyers, friends and lovers, alphas and omegas, and we will NOT be shoved into boxes... unless being shoved into a box is EXACTLY what needs to happen for our badassery to save the day! Then just TRY to keep us out of that box.

Here are my Top 10 Badass Lady Person Performances of 2024. Please note that these performances represent only Movies I Have Actually Seen; I missed a lot this year. The movies may (Anora) or may not (Nightbitch) be on my "Top 10 Movies" list for 2024.

I've presented them in alphabetical order, because badass women are hella organized. I've included five runners-up, because badass women are always trying to include, not exclude. I tell you why I think these are not your usual badass women, because badass women are generous with their intellect. Bring the smelling salts, Mortimer, I'm positively swooning from empowerment!

1. Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat, Blink Twice. For me, the most badass and interesting aspect of this film was how it addressed the theme of female friendship—so I'm including both leads on my list. Ackie takes the "final girl" trope one step further by... becoming just like her abuser? Not sure how I feel about that, but I do love Lady Bosses.

2. Amy Adams, Nightbitch. Can we please agree to stop calling a certain type of female performance "brave"? Yes, Amy Adams is a force in this film, and she does it with no makeup and a few extra pounds and covered in mud. But I rock that shit EVERY DAY and no one calls me "brave." To suggest that dressing, behaving, or presenting oneself outside of societal standards for female beauty is "brave" is sexist as hell, because it implies that there should be negative consequences for doing so. To be honest, I felt Adams was miscast here; yet, she threw herself into the role and elevated a sometimes cringy script with her energy and commitment. Not "brave," but definitely badass.

3. Kirsten Dunst, Civil War. A terrific and deeply unsettling film that would make my Top Ten List... if I made a Top Ten List. Yes, journalist Lee Smith seems cold—but Dunst plays her journalistic detachment as a strength, not a failing. Lee is smart, dedicated, honest, and fearless, but Dunst manages to make her profoundly human as well. What's more badass than that?

4. Anna Kendrick, Woman of the Hour. I love it when Kendrick's game show contestant Sheryl rejects the show's sexist premises and goes "off script"—but the real badass-ness comes later, when she realizes that the man she's with may be more dangerous than he first seemed. Kendrick's smart, nuanced performance in these scenes amplify the tension of a scenario that will feel familiar to every woman in the audience. Every. Woman.

5. Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters. Another movie that would be in my Top 10. I'm a huge fan of Lyonne in anything she does. Here, what makes her character Rachel so badass is her vulnerability. Rachel doesn't "act" strong as the sister who has been caring for the ailing father; she simply is strong, without grandstanding or self-pity.

6. Mikey Madison, Anora. It's great to see Madison in a role that finally lets her fill the screen with her own vibrant light. Her Anora is independent, confident, and self-possessed—until someone breaks her trust. She's tougher than we expect, but sweeter too, and I think that's pretty badass.

7. Demi Moore, The Substance. I should probably throw Margaret Qualley in here as well—after all, the Two Are One—but my favorite scene in this terrific film is all Moore. As Elisabeth, she does a mirror check before her date with an old high school acquaintance and becomes increasingly displeased with what she sees. With a lesser actor, the scene could even be played for laughs; but Moore delivers a complex despair that renders the scene more deeply horrifying than any hunchback. It's a pivotal scene showcasing one of the film's least-talked-about themes: self-worth is not about how society treats us, but about how we treat ourselves.

8. Kristen Stewart, Love Lies Bleeding. One of my favorites of the year! I loved Stewart's portrayal of Lou, a Lady Person who has had a very fucked-up life but who really knows how to commit to love. And to commit murder. If you're thinking I should have chosen Jackie (Katy M. O'Brian) for this list, I ask you: Who is more badass, the giantess, or the one who loves so hard she creates the giantess?

9. Ana Taylor-Joy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. She's got mad driving skills and a degree in post-apocalyptic botany, and though she spends part of the movie in drag, she's still woman enough to CUT OFF HER OWN ARM when necessary. I loved Fury Road more, but ATJ brought more badass intensity than I expected.

10. Sarah Paulson, Hold Your Breath. Full disclosure: I've not been a big fan of Paulson, who I generally find too mannered; yet I thought she was quite interesting in this psychological horror western. Her performance turns the "emotional woman accused of being crazy" trope on its head. By the end we know she's definitely crazy—but it's for all the right reasons. Her devotion to her daughters is badass and adds nuance to the bleak ending.

RUNNERS-UP:

Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown: For her performance in one pivotal moment: In the space of a single song, Sylvie realizes she has no future with a man who will always keep her at a distance; she'll never know Bob the way that Joan can. It all plays out on Fanning's face as she watches them sing.

Rebecca Ferguson, Dune Part 2: Face tattoos. Also, there is nothing that takes more courage than letting go of your beloved child so they can become the Muad'Dib. I did it. I should know.

Jennifer Grey, A Real Pain: That was Jennifer Grey?! I had to read it in the end credits. We forgive you for "fixing" your nose, you gorgeous 64-year-old. Be in more movies!

Isabella Rossellini, Conclave: Sister Agnes is not putting up with this SHIT. Badass!

Sydney Sweeney, Immaculate: Messiahs are like nicknames—you can't force them, they need to happen organically. In other words, Sister Cecilia is not putting up with this SHIT. Rock of ages, cleft (this misbegotten hell-child) for me!