Look online, and you'll find quite a few lists of the sexiest/hottest/most beautiful women of Star Trek, but not so many of the bravest/boldest/most badass ones. Granted, there some thoughtful blog posts and articles that address the topic, but even some of those round-ups include women who did little more than show up and do their jobs.
So what constitutes a kickass female Star Trek character? For one, she can't be a villain using her badassery for nefarious purposes. That rules out people like Seska, the Duras sisters, and even Lwaxana Troi, who, while a glorious character and never evil, does about 80% of what she does simply for herself.
The good ones are the female heroes, the strong and powerful women--both loud and quiet, showy and restrained--who really shine. It was an especially challenging task for the women on the original series to achieve, given the sexism of the times, but some succeeded, and as the franchise evolved, there were even more of them. Here we go -- 18 Of The Most Kickass Female Characters In Star Trek.
18. Tasha Yar
When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, audiences were introduced to the very first female security chief, Lt. Natasha "Tasha" Yar. She was athletic, tough, commanding, and unafraid to show her vulnerable side, proving that it didn't have to take away from her strength.
Tasha's back story was brutal: her parents were killed when she was a child, and she and her sister were left on her own on a violent colony, where they dodged rape gangs as they scavenged for food. She escaped at fifteen, and ed Starfleet, where she found the moral center she'd been looking for. She went into security because it was the opposite of the lawlessness she'd grown up with. She remained somewhat haunted by her past, but she led her security team with courage and expert tactical knowledge, and Picard, who had specifically recruited her, trusted her implicitly.
Tasha was killed, Yesterday's Enterprise," where she volunteered to go back into the past and fight a doomed battle because she wanted to give her death the meaning it never had. Brave to the end.
17. Rain Robinson
Star Trek: Voyager as Rain Robinson, a scientist at the Griffith Observatory in 1996. She detected Voyager in orbit and sent them a message, and when Paris and Tuvok tracked her down to erase evidence of Voyager's appearance, she went from protesting their interference to ing them as they tried to prevent the evil Henry Starling from destroying the universe.
Rain would've been perfect Starfleet material had she been born a few centuries later. Even though she saw through Paris' ridiculous "secret agent" explanations--who wouldn't?--she still grasped the gravity of the situation and knew a good guy when she saw one. She helped get Starling out of his office, and stuck with them even after her own life was put at risk. She was only temporarily freaked out by the transporter beam and the phasers, because she was too busy iring the idea that Paris and the crew were working for something bigger than themselves. She adapted, quickly, and helped Paris despite the danger involved. She was brave, smart, resourceful, self-sacrificing, and way ahead of her time.
16. Uhura(s)
There are two Uhuras now: Nichelle Nichols, and Zoe Saldana.
While Nichols' Uhura spent most of her time opening hailing frequencies, she stepped it up in "The Gamesters of Triskelion," where she showed off her combat skills and her impeccable moral code, refusing to use a thrall as practice target. But it's in "Mirror, Mirror" where her courage was tested. Kirk sent her alone into the lion's den of the bridge to get information on the Halkans, forcing her to avoid, divert, and manipulate a horny and deadly Sulu. She got the job done and helped her team home, working without benefit of her Captain's protection.
Reboot Uhura, not being stuck in the 1960s, did not disappoint. In Star Trek Beyond, she managed to separate the saucer section, even though it meant she was left behind with Krall, and was the first one to figure out his true identity. She also knew how to put Spock in his place, a feat unaccomplished by anyone else.
15. Mirasta Yale
Mirasta Yale is one of the quieter heroes on this list. She ran the warp program on Malcor III, and for this she put up with teasing and jokes, which is what she thought Picard and Troi were doing when they first showed up in her office. But when she was finally convinced--by a visit to the Enterprise--that they were who they said, she was thrilled. She's the adventurer in all of us, the kid who dreamed of aliens, then made it into a profession. She'd have been an astronaut if her planet had had a space program.
She convinced her planet's Chancellor to listen to Troi and Picard, and help rescue Riker. She was crushed when the Chancellor said he was turning down Picard's offer of first , but acknowledged the truth: the rest of her people weren't ready. She asked Picard to take her with him. "I have to believe that you cannot be fully prepared for the realities of space travel," he told her. Her response was classic. "I have been prepared for the realities of space since I was nine years old, and sitting in a planetarium." He took her.
14. Captain Rachel Garrett
Garrett, who turned up in the TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise," is the only female captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, as far as we know. She commanded the Enterprise C, which emerged through a temporal rift into the 24th century mid-battle, changing history and putting the Federation at war. Picard tried to keep the whole time travel thing quiet, but she demanded to know the truth: where were they, and when?
When she learned that the defeat of her ship in battle could save thousands of others and prevent years of war, she didn't hesitate, agreeing to go back and make the supreme sacrifice for the sake of the future and the possibility of a future of peace instead of war. She set an example for her crew, which they followed even after she died in the effort. She was brave, demonstrated the true meaning of Starfleet principles, and saved the timeline, along with thousands of lives, even though it meant the loss of her own.
13. Guinan
Guinan was so much more than just the Enteprise's bartender. She advised everyone from the Captain himself to the lonely, alienated Ensign Ro; in fact, her friendship with Ro is what brought a dangerous Federation conspiracy to Picard's attention.
Guinan is an El-Aurian, a race that was scattered across the galaxy by the Borg, and she's the only member of the crew who was capable of frightening the omnipotent Q. She fenced with Picard, beat Worf on the phaser range (working left-handed, no less), and stopped a sleep deprivation-fueled rebellion in Ten Forward with a few shots of an energy-beam rifle.
Her relationship with Picard went "beyond friendship and beyond family," and it was because of this that she was able to convince him to right the timeline gone wrong in "Yesterday's Enterprise," or go after Soren, the villain in Star Trek: Generations. She made him see the light when Borg escapee Measure of a Man." Her wise counsel, calm demeanor, and courage made her irreplaceable.
12. Edith Keeler
Edith Keeler wasn't just Kirk's soulmate, she was also a visionary. During the Great Depression, she ran a soup kitchen in New York, feeding those who couldn't find work and giving them jobs. Her speech the first night Kirk and Spock arrived said it all.
"One day soon man is going to be able to harness incredible energies, maybe even the atom. Energies that could ultimately hurl us to other worlds in some sort of spaceship. And the men that reach out into space will be able to find ways to feed the hungry millions of the world and to cure their diseases. They will be able to find a way to give each man hope and a common future, and those are the days worth living for."
Not only did she predict the development of atomic power, had she not been killed she would have founded a peace movement that delayed America's entry into World War II. "She was right," said Spock, "but at the wrong time." Edith Keeler fought for what she believed in every day, no matter how impossible it seemed.
11. Naomi Wildman
Naomi Wildman, sub-unit of Ensign Samantha Wildman, was born on Voyager, and as she grew up, she found herself the only child on a ship full of adults. It suited her. She wanted to pull her weight early on, hoping to be of particular assistance to the Captain and happy to study every subject they could throw at her.
In her quest for perfection, she chose to emulate the crew member she feared most: Seven of Nine. She conquered her fear, stated her goals when confronted, and became not just a friend to Seven--who needed one--but also a trusted colleague. The two of them became one of the most enjoyable character partnerships on Voyager. Naomi was smart, strong, brave, and steadfast in her defense of Seven of Nine when necessary. In "Bliss," she refused an order from Chakotay to lower a force field that kept him out of Seven's cargo bay, then woke Seven after she was knocked out by an EM surge and helped save the entire crew from a giant creature that almost devoured them. Not too shabby for a ten year-old!
10. Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax looked and sounded like a 28 year-old woman, but she was an old soul, and that's not figurative. Inside her was a 300 year-old symbiont, which gave Jadzia a depth and strength that made her one of the most fascinating people on Deep Space Nine. "I guess seven lifetimes gives me a somewhat broader perspective," she told Major Kira, who was confused by Dax's attraction to an alien with a transparent skull.
She was a friend to the Klingons, honoring a blood oath Curzon (her symbiont's previous host) made with Kor, Koloth and Kang, and fighting at their side. While she was known for her warm, easygoing nature, she proved her bravery in wartime, especially when she was put in command of the Defiant. "I’ve been through my share of wars, I know what we have to do," she told Worf. She destroyed the sensor array that the Dominion was using to detect and track Federation ships across five sectors, a major strategic victory for the Federation. Dax combined her warmth and comion with courage and integrity, proving she had the heart of both a lover and a warrior.
9. K'Ehleyr
K'Ehleyr deserved so much better. Like Tasha Yar, she was murdered by a jerk and died far too soon, with stories left to tell.
She first turned up to help the Enterprise deal with a sleeper ship of Klingons who were unaware of the Federation-Klingon Alliance and thought there was still a war. She and Worf convinced the crew to lay down their weapons, then she boarded the ship to help them transition to the 24th century. Fun! Not.
K'Ehleyr had a sarcastic edge, and took no bullsh*t from anybody, ever, which is what ultimately led to her death. She was guiding Picard through the Klingon Rite of Succession after the Klingon chancellor died, and discovered that Duras, one of the contenders for leadership, was behind the conspiracy that led to Worf's unjust discommendation from the Empire. Duras killed her, and in her dying moment, she united Worf and their son Alexander, knowing that these two broken souls could possibly heal each other, and find strength together.