There was a time in the ‘80s when a character like Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) was the female action hero, and by “the” I mean the only truly prominent one.
Because, while yes, we had shows like Charlie's Angels, and Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, Ripley was a new kind of hero. One who could confront the Alien Queen all by herself, and call it a bitch right to its face (it's one of the reasons why the first two Alien movies are some of the best sci-fi movies of all time). And, while we've come a long way since then with more women also directing action movies, we're not nearly far enough.
So, there's one actress who I want to talk about today who has truly solidified herself as one the queens of female action heroes, and that woman is Milla Jovovich. Here's why she’s such a legend.
Now, Firstly, She Doesn't JUST Do Action Movies
Now, I know I prefaced this by talking about Jovovich as an action hero, but she doesn’t JUST do action movies. In fact, she started out as a model, and made her film debut in 1988’s erotic romantic drama, Two Moon Junction.
She went on to star in The Blue Lagoon sequel, Return to the Blue Lagoon in 1991, and then went on to arguably more interesting projects like Chaplin, and Dazed and Confused.
Of course The Fifth Element was her big break, but I’ll get to that later. A more interesting film might be the movie Luc Besson made after The Fifth Element, that being 1999’s The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Jovovich played the patron saint of France, and while the movie was mostly panned, and it underperformed financially, I think it deserves reevaluation because it’s pretty good. However, that’s not why you’re here.
Come On Now, This Is Alice From Resident Evil
How many actresses can say they starred in six financially-successful action movies? I can honestly only think of one, and that’s Milla Jovovich (though, Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld movies comes close). Playing Alice in six of the seven Resident Evil movies, Jovovich played a character who wasn’t in any of the games, but still made her mark in the franchise.
It might be because she performed many of her own stunts, and also because she looks highly capable of kicking zombie butt.
But, it also just might be because she truly is awesome at being in action movies. While I wouldn’t consider any of the Resident Evil films to be one of the best video game movies of all time, I would say they’re all really fun, and mostly because of Jovovich’s charisma and credibility, which she carries into other action movies as well, which I’ll get into next.
Her Other Action Films Are Also Legit
I brought up The Fifth Element earlier, and that was definitely the first time I saw Jovovich in action. What a first impression she made on me! Bruce Willis was the star, but Jovovich was the main attraction. With her red hair, interesting language, and action moments, she blew me away as The Supreme Being, Leeloo.
But, she’s done so many other awesome action movies as well! Ultraviolet, The Three Musketeers, Survivor, Monster Hunter (which was surprisingly fun), In the Lost Lands - which was panned, but I liked it - and she’s still going! She was in the action-thriller Protector in 2025, and is said to be playing a villain in the upcoming film, Midnight.
So, when it comes to female action heroes (and villains, apparently), you can’t get much better than Milla Jovovich. As I said in the title, she’s a legend.
