Though it’s known for many fan-favorite men like Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon and Negan, it’s the badass women of The Walking Dead that have captured hearts for 11 seasons on AMC. They’ve slayed walkers, taken down villains, and saved the lives of the group time after time while still providing for their families in the midst of an apocalypse.
From heroines of the show’s earliest seasons to courageous characters introduced later on, TWD has featured plenty of women who made an impression on audiences with their strength and their survival instincts. While not all of them made it to the end of the series, these 15 women stand as the best and most badass the show had to offer.
Updated on June 14, 2023, by Ryan Heffernan:
With the final season of Fear the Walking Dead nearing its end, diehard fans have been given an opportunity to reflect on the wider The Walking Dead saga and celebrate all that has gone into making it a juggernaut of modern television. One element of the series that has been a highpoint since its beginning is its ability to routinely deliver fantastic female characters. From rugged survivors to harrowing villains, these badass women helped define the pulsating brilliance of TWD .
15Lucille Smith
She may have only appeared in a single Season 10 episode, but Lucille Smith made a lasting impact on The Walking Dead simply for being Negan’s wife – they were one of TWD‘s most iconic couples. Lucille’s death may have set a lot of tragedy in motion, but this woman certainly can’t be blamed for her husband’s wrongdoings.
Played by Hilarie Burton Morgan – real-life wife of Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan – Lucille was brave and hardworking both before and after the outbreak when she battled a cancer diagnosis in the middle of the apocalypse, giving herself her own treatments until her pain became too much to bear, and she allowed herself to turn upon her death.
14Juanita Sanchez aka Princess
Princess (Paola Lázaro) may primarily be used as comic relief on TWD, but she also reveals a lot of trauma in her backstory that made her who she is. With an abusive family and distrust in men, Princess often put up a badass facade to hide her pain.
While she may be gun-slinging and back-talking, Princess’ strongest moments came when she allowed herself to put her trust in others, whether it was her friends Ezekiel, Eugene, and Yumiko during their time in captivity at The Commonwealth or her boyfriend Mercer.
13Deanna Monroe
Set amid a violent and merciless post-apocalyptic world, TWD’s most notable characters were defined by their courage, combativeness, and their strength. While this measure gave fans many ample heroes to cheer for, it did overlook characters who, despite lacking physical strengths or combative strategic brilliance, made an impact on the world.
The best of those characters was Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh), a former congresswoman trapped in the difficult position of ruling Alexandria as a peaceful and sheltered community while having to brace it for the violence of the outside world. While she was unprepared for what the world had truly deteriorated to, she was unwavering in her belief of what Alexandria could be and single-handedly nurtured a civilized community amid an anarchistic world.
12Lydia
Growing up under parents who double as villainous group leaders, Lydia (Cassady McClincy) always had to have strength. But it wasn’t until Alpha and Beta were out of the picture that Lydia had to prove herself to Maggie and the rest of the group, and that was when the true test began.
Lydia became an important member of the group, befriending everyone from Carol to Negan, and whenever she was needed most – whether it was rescuing Carol from self-destruction or turning on her own mother – Lydia always came through, surviving everything from herds of walkers to a bite that resulted in her losing an arm.
11Enid
The callous world of TWD ensured instincts for perseverance and survival was largely what defined characters. Few embodied that cold simplicity quite like Enid (Katelyn Nacon), initially introduced as a young outsider at Alexandria who displayed a reluctance to get close to people on account of being haunted by the death of her parents. It would be later on that she would turn into one of The Walking Dead‘s most badass kids.
Despite her initial hostility towards Rick’s group, she gradually opened herself up to them and went on to become an invaluable member of the Alexandria community and Carl’s romantic interest. She also became a capable medic, ensuring she was an invaluable member of the group right up until her gruesome demise at the hands of Alpha and the Whisperers.
10Andrea Harrison
For the entire duration of its 11-season run, TWD had plenty of tough characters who divided the fanbase with their actions and allegiances. One of the earliest to do so was Andrea (Laurie Holden), an integral member of Rick’s group who joined forces with the Governor in the show’s third season.
Whatever fans think of the character’s loyalties, one thing they can’t deny is Andrea was a hardened survivor who never shied away from conflict, be it against walkers or other survivors. Andrea did strive to do the right thing usually, though her inability to gauge people’s true motivations was a major flaw that actually made her one of the more complex and enticing characters in the first seasons.
9Connie
Being deaf during a zombie apocalypse has to be one of the scariest scenarios to imagine, and for Connie, it was her reality during her three seasons on the show. Portrayed by actor Lauren Ridloff who is deaf, Connie is considered strong simply for her willingness to always join the fight despite having an impairment that could potentially cost her life.
After surviving a collapsed tunnel and working as a journalist at The Commonwealth trying to take down Pamela Milton, Connie’s badass nature never took a break unless it was to flirt with her long-time love interest, Daryl.
✕Remove Ads8Beth Greene
Portrayed by Emily Kinney, Beth was the youngest of the Greene family, but that never meant she was in any way the weakest. To help protect her loving family and her newfound friends, the 16-year-old Beth may not have been the most combative character, but she never cowered away from conflict when it came and always found a way to make herself valuable to the group.
Despite losing nearly everyone she loved and living with suicidal thoughts, Beth persevered beyond her own struggles to help those she cared about and was always a supportive friend. Her true inner fighter came out when she was abducted by the survivors at the hospital, and her ensuing death was one of TWD‘s saddest moments.
7Judith Grimes
One thing TWD did consistently well was present child characters who were able to have a presence in the series which wasn’t reduced to being a hapless kid in constant peril. While many fans were annoyed when Carl departed the series, the Grimes legacy lived on through young Judith (Cailey Fleming).
A child born into the apocalypse in the show’s third season, Judith needed to learn how to survive from the start, and the life-and-death education saw her become a tough survivor despite her young age. Being taught lessons by everyone from her heroic father to the somewhat less heroic Negan, Judith was well-equipped by the series’ end to become a formidable figure in the post-apocalyptic world.
6Dee aka Alpha
While TWD boasted no small amount of awe-inspiring heroines, some of its villains were just as badass as well. In many respects, Samantha Morton’s Alpha was one of the series’ most hardcore characters, leading a group of violent survivors who lived among and commanded herds of walkers.
Ruthless and cold-blooded in her actions, she ruled over The Whisperers with unflinching authority and utilized her resources – undead and otherwise – to wage war with devastating effect. She served as the series’ major villain through seasons nine and ten, and, considering TWD’s vast array of great antagonists, it speaks volumes that Alpha is remembered as one of its most terrifying characters.
5Sasha Williams
A sharpshooter with a rifle hardened by a tortured past, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) was always a badass during her four seasons on the show and her qualities always came to light when the group was in trouble. However, it was one huge, selfless act that served as the ultimate proof of Sasha’s dedication to Rick’s group.
After being held captive and used as leverage by the Saviors, Sasha ultimately decides to let herself die and turn into a walker in an attempt to take down Negan once and for all. And while her efforts failed in the end, her decision remains of the most badass things to happen on the show.
4Rosita Espinosa
Rosita (Christian Serratos) was the definition of badass since her arrival in Season 4, teamed up alongside Abraham and Eugene when she joined forces with Rick’s group. But nothing brought out this woman’s strength like her young daughter Coco.
It was in the series’ last few episodes that Coco was being kept from Rosita, whose mama bear mode came out at anyone who stood in the way of her reuniting with her daughter. But it was the gruesome Walking Dead moment when Rosita, carrying Coco, fell into a pit of walkers and came out with her daughter safe and a walker bite on her shoulder that proved this badass mother’s strength.
3Michonne Grimes
Michonne (Danai Gurira) has been a series defining badass ever since her teased introduction in the season two finale. While her ability to kick ass is significantly bolstered by her famous katana, she is not only a capable warrior, but a firm and compassionate leader as well.
Despite losing so many of her loved ones on her journey, her cool, composed demeanor never departed her, nor did her steadfast ability to gauge right from wrong. She ultimately left the show when she became determined to investigate the possibility that Rick may have survived the explosion on the bridge, but her and Rick’s journey will continue with the duo’s spin-off set to hit screens in 2024.
2Maggie Rhee
Maggie (Lauren Cohan) started out as a sweet and innocent farm girl and eventually turned into a badass leader in place of Rick. Maggie always had the strength to kill walkers and fight off villains, but it was the devastating death of her husband Glenn that hardened Maggie for good.
While Maggie admitted she would never be able to forgive Negan for killing Glenn (a TWD death fans are still mourning), she never let her grudge or her anger control her. Instead, she ensured it fuel her strength to lead the Hilltop community and raise her son in the midst of the apocalypse.
1Carol Peletier
Of all the women on TWD, Carol (Melissa McBride) was surprisingly the only one to appear in every single season of the show. She’s also the character who underwent the best development, going from a timid, terrified mother living with an abusive husband to one of the series’ most calculating and ruthless figures.
Carol’s transformation truly began following the shocking death of her daughter, becoming a resourceful woman willing to do whatever was necessary to secure the safety of her group, including killing allies and working with the enemy. Eventually acting as one of the show’s most effective leaders, Carol ended up staying at the Commonwealth after helping to overturn its corrupt government.
