Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver's iconic character Ellen Ripley, from the Alien film franchise (1979, 1986, 1992, 1997), introduced us to a new archetype—a woman action hero.

Born Susan Alexandra Weaver in New York City to a television executive father and actor mother, she adopted the name Sigourney at the age of 14, taking it from a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Acting in school productions and eventually in New York theater, Weaver had some small success on television and her first on-screen film role was in Annie Hall (1977). Beyond her film, television, and theater roles, Weaver has narrated dozens of award-winning documentaries. She is also an environmentalist who has addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the human threat to ocean habitats.

Weaver's character in the Alien franchise launched her film career, establishing her status as a leading actor in the science fiction genre and securing her first Oscar nomination in 1986. Weaver has appeared in over 50 films in her 45-year career, portraying characters as radically diverse as a cellist possessed by an ancient demonic force (Ghostbusters, 1984) to conservationist Dian Fossey (Gorillas in the Mist, 1988) to Babe Paley (Infamous, 2006) and Dr. Grace Augustine (Avatar, 2009, 2022, 2024), whom she also voiced in the first Avatar video game.