Films or TV shows with strong female characters - recommendations for a 13 year old girl

Better pic because I messed up that last one.

Kind of prompted by this thread I just showed my 17 year old DD my favourite 1980s Italian barbarian film (no, seriously, trust me) Hundra.
It has the most awesomely awesome heroine. A sword-wielding warrior woman who make Xena look like a wuss. It's a vastly underacted piece of exploitation crap with a really strong feminist slant. Maybe not for a 13 year old but in a couple of years... My DD was delighted with it.

Freaky Friday (both versions)

Candleshoe, with a young Jodie Foster.

Made in Dagenham on I player. Just watched it with my 10 and 12 year old. Uses the f word and there is a sex scene at the beginning (bonk in car, no nudity), and a death by suicide. Bloody brilliant women, my god they were trailblazers!
Love the answer to the question from journalist 'how will you cope?'

Does she like science? I was thinking of Contact with Jodie Foster.I think it has some not really needed romantic thread, but is mainly about Jodie Foster as a woman amongst space geeks, who wont listen to her, when she really knows what is going on! From this US parenting web site it says it is rated PG parentpreviews.com/movie-reviews/contact

Also Little Miss Sunshine about an unlikely entrant in a young girls beauty pagent (which none of them really know what it entails) and how her family helps her get there (some of the family stuff maybe a bit adult). I thinks its a bit "indy" so may not be right for a 13 year old. UK certificate is 15.

Both old but get reshown occassionally.

Battlestar Galatica is possibly the best TV series ever but it's a bit violent and sexual for a 13 year old.

Hilda - Netflix
She-Ra - Netflix
Carmen San Diego - Netflix
All cartoons but all really really good and with awesome female leads.

There's also:
Hanna - Prime
Which features a badass Female lead.

Ahh, Starbuck 😁

Yep. All of BSG generally. But especially Starbuck

So say we all.

"And Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica"

Yep. All of BSG generally. But especially Starbuck

And I would second Firely! (From the creator of Buffy)

Strong Female 2nd in Command, the engineer is a woman (my DD wanted to BE Kaylee).

The only caveat I would raise for a 13 yr old is that one of the female characters (Inara Serra) is a 'companion'. A self-employed courtesan. The captain (who deeply loves her) calls her job 'whoring' but it's more than that. She is a very sexually alluring woman who is utterly in control of who and when and under what circumstances she takes clients. There is nothing overtly sexual on screen - the only nude scene I can remember has our hero captain happily naked in the middle of a desert - but it might raise a few questions.

I've seen Dollhouse recommended I would leave that for a bit later my DD (15) is enjoying it at the moment but it is violent.

Dark Angel was not created by Joss Whedon.

My DD's heroines have included

Xena: Warrior Princess - The first three or four seasons.
Samantha Carter from the Stargate series.
Buffy.
And Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica.

also, I haven't seen it, but my mother really liked The Help. It's supposed to be good, about black housemaids during the civil rights movement in America. Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Also Hidden Figures - film about Katherine Johnson and the other black mathematicians who did the calculations for NASA and the space launch.

I'd also recommend Orange is the New Black for both feminism and social justice more generally. (not sure the age restriction on it).

Persepolis - fab animated film about a girl growing up in Iran.

Wild' is a great film about a woman who goes on a long trek on a trail in America by herself. It's based on a true story and the book it's based on makes a good read as well. Stars Reese Witherspoon. You feel those blisters as she gets further into it, but she won't give up

Great choice.

The Coen Brothers version of True Grit- Mattie Ross is a character for the ages.
Come to think of it, Fargo too, if she doesn’t mind a bit of blood and guts.

The Breadwinner

m.imdb.com/title/tt3901826/

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

m.imdb.com/title/tt2326554/

Happy Death Day

m.imdb.com/title/tt5308322/

Happy Death Day 2U

m.imdb.com/title/tt8155288/

Juno? Really? I thought it was a terrible film. So completely contrived as an "indie film" Ellen Page was, as she always was , completely made of wood. And that's aside from the questionable premise.

Great thread!

Surprisingly, Frozen 2 isn’t too bad!

Labyrinth
Wrinkle in time
The little girl who lived down the lane
Class
Dangerous minds

Hidden Figures- the story of three African American women trying to be seen as equals in NASA during the space race era

YES. watched it with 12yo DS the other day.

X-FILES!

Second the Ghibli films. Pretty much all of them have a strong female main character.

The Aeronauts is a new film on Amazon. 14 year old dd is enjoying it. Based on a true story.

Definitely Buffy.
You could also try Dark Angel & Dollshouse (from the same writer/director) though Dollshouse maybe be for in a few years.
My So Called Life
Agent Carter
Sabrina (new one on Netflix)
Booksmart
The Help
Hidden Figures
On the Basis of Sex

Don’t know if you’d be able to find it anywhere, but I watched the CBBC series Wolfblood with my children a few years ago. Good balance of male and female characters and a good storyline. I really enjoyed it.