Filmmakers have created a myriad of thought-provoking and riveting portrayals of some of the most influential and renowned women from history. Many of these inspirational and uplifting tales have truly touched audiences, enlightening and captivating viewers as they demonstrate the monumental actions and efforts taken by these female figures. Whether they are activists, politicians, royalty, or mathematicians, these women have spearheaded powerful movements and paved the way for future generations. Their contributions and sacrifices to society and the greater good remain everlasting and unwavering; the cinema has beautifully captured the stories of these distinguished individuals.
The dazzling Natalie Portman served up an impressive and remarkable portrayal of revered former first lady and media darling Jackie Kennedy Onnasiss in Jackie, while acting legend Meryl Streep won her third Academy Award for her dominating performance as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Most recently, Kristen Stewart garnered praise and applause for her touching role as Diana, Princess of Wales in the biopic Spencer, receiving her first Oscar nomination. For Women’s History Month or really any month of the year, these are the best biopics about women from history.
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8 Woman Walks Ahead
A24
Susanna White’s 2017 biographical Western drama Woman Walks Ahead tells the story of Swiss-American artist and activist Caroline Weldon, who travels from New York City to the Dakotas to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull in 1890. The stunning picture stars Jessica Chastain as Weldon, who went on to become a confidante and personal secretary to the Lakota Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull prior to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
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Chastain wanted to portray the powerful activist and was interested in taking on a role young girls could look up to for inspiration, and even provided off-screen inputs to help avoid a white savior narrative. Woman Walks Ahead premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, with the AWFJ calling it, “A beautiful example of cultural exchange and growing respect between people ostensibly across enemy lines. It’s also a terrific example of what star Jessica Chastain has been engaging in offscreen.”
7 On the Basis of Sex
Focus Features
Based on the life and early cases of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mimi Leder’s 2018 biographical legal drama On the Basis of Sex depicts the admired lawyer and jurist who went on to become the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, doing so from 1993 to her death in 2020. Felicity Jones stars as Ginsburg, with the renowned historical figure’s nephew Daniel Stiepleman serving as the writer of the picture’s screenplay.
Ginsburg herself made a cameo appearance in the biopic and loved seeing the finished project, reportedly having watched On the Basis of Sex at least three times; director Mimi Leder revealed at CinemaCon that, “Madame Justice loves the movie. Her nephew wrote it and she approved the script. Her reviews of Ms. Jones were magnificent.” The drama garnered positive reviews from critics, who praised its inspiring portrayal of Ginsburg and Jones’ moving performance.
6 Spencer
Neon/Topic Studios/STXinternational
Kristen Stewart takes on the monumental role of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 2021 critically-acclaimed historical fiction drama Spencer. The visually stunning film focuses on Diana’s existential crisis at Christmas in 1991, in which she struggles with mental health problems and the realization that she wants to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles, effectively leaving the British royal family.
For the profound role of the adored Princess of Wales, Stewart worked with a dialect coach and went to school, studying her posture. The actress did not want these elements to define her performance and instead wanted to be free to imagine, telling the Los Angeles Times: “Diana’s such a live wire. Any picture or interview I’ve ever seen of her, there’s an explosive, ground-shaking quality to her that I always feel like you never really know what’s going to happen… So I wanted to convey that. There’s no way to plan chaos. You just have to fall into it.”Upon its worldwide debut, Spencer earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, with Stewart earning an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination.
5 Harriet
Chronicling the life of abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman, the 2019 biographical drama Harriet stars Cynthia Erivo as the great American hero, who escaped slavery and helped 70 enslaved people reach freedom using the Underground Railroad. The poignant picture’s director Kasi Lemmon told the Los Angeles Times about her research for Harriet: “All the elements of a great adventure film are right there in the Harriet Tubman story. It’s about a woman who was running a whole lot of her life so action did not have to be imposed. It’s inherent. The jeopardy, the movement, the courage, that’s all inherent and we wanted to let that play out on screen because we need our female hero stories.”
Harriet was heralded for its sincere and moving tribute to the pivotal historical figure, with Erivo’s profound performance earning widespread praise and appreciation; the actress won Best Actress as the Women Film Critics Circle while Lemmon nabbed the award for Best Movie by a Woman.
4 Elizabeth
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
The always compelling Cate Blanchett takes on the title role of Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 British biographical period drama Elizabeth, which depicts the early years of the monarch’s reign after she was elevated to the throne following the death of her half-sister Mary 1 following her own imprisonment by her. Shekhar Kapur’s biopic features an impressive ensemble cast including Geoffrey Rush, Ralph Fiennes, and Christopher Eccleston, with the director choosing Blanchett for the role of Elizabeth I after seeing the actress in a trailer for the romantic drama Oscar and Lucinda.
Elizabeth premiered at the Venice International Film Festival to rave reviews, with critics commending Kapur’s direction, production design and costumes as well as Blanchett’s enthralling performance. The film catapulted the star to international prominence, with Variety writing, “Blanchett conveys with grace, poise and intelligence that Elizabeth was a wily, decisive, advanced thinker, far too aware of her own exceptional nature to bow to any man.”
3 Hidden Figures
Loosely based on the Margot Lee Shetterly non-fiction novel of the same name, 2016’s biographical drama Hidden Figures tells the inspirational tale of the African American female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Space Race. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe as the trailblazing females who served a crucial role in NASA during the early years of the United States space program; the talented leading ladies portrayed Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan. and Mary Jackson, respectively.
Many charities and organizations offered free screenings of Hidden Figures in order to inspire and improve youth awareness of education and careers in the STEM fields; aspiring astronaut Naia Butler-Craig praised the efforts of the drama: “I can’t imagine what that would have been like: 16-year-old, impressionable, curious and space-obsessed Naia finding out that Black women had something to do with getting Americans on the moon.”
2 Jackie
Fox Searchlight Pictures
The brilliant Natalie Portman starred as former first lady, socialite and writer Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the critically acclaimed 2016 biographical drama Jackie. The film follows the endearing public figure during her days in the White House and her life immediately following the assassination of her husband U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Director Pablo Larraín (the man also behind Spencer) was initially hesitant to take on the biopic but grew interested in Kennedy after learning about her, believing her life after the assassination “had all the elements that you need for a movie: rage, curiosity, and love.”
To get in the headspace of the first lady, Portman studied Jackie extensively and found that she had two personas in front of different people, a debutante in public but feisty woman behind closed doors, with Portman saying, “When she was doing interviews, her voice was a lot more girly and soft, and then when you hear her talking to Schlesinger at home, you hear the ice in the glass clinking and the voice is a little deeper and her wit comes out more, so you get this real sense of two sides.”
1 The Iron Lady
20th Century Fox
Heavily regarded as the best actress of her generation, the immensely talented Meryl Streep once again delivered a knockout performance as Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and first woman to hold the office. The British politician held office from 1979 to 1990 and the 2011 biopic features Thatcher in her twilight years as she reflects back on her life and career from her girlhood to becoming Prime Minister.
Streep was honored and eager to take on the role of the historical figure, saying, “The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervor and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses–I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own.” Though The Iron Lady itself received mixed responses by critics, Streep’s commanding performance was heralded, and she won her third Academy Award for her role.
