15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women

Culture
15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women
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One of the first major movies of 2025, Maria – the biopic of Greek singer Maria Callas, played by superstar Angelina Jolie – is also one of the latest films to bring the private struggles of celebrated women into the public eye. While the stories of countless famous men have appeared on the big screen since the dawn of filmmaking, it’s only in more recent years that Hollywood began spotlighting female historical figures more prolifically and in greater detail. Here, we share our picks of the finest films about fascinating women who changed the world.

By Victoria Luxford

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Frida (2002) – Surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo continues to be a source of wonder for art lovers everywhere who are captivated by her unique work and infamous private life. Salma Hayek puts her all into her dream role as Kahlo, depicting her struggle to manage her volatile marital relationship while establishing herself as an artist. Also providing rare insight into LGBTQ+ life in the early 20th century (Kahlo was openly bisexual), the film is as complicated and beautiful as the person it portrays.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Jackie (2016) – The assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963 was a turning point in American history, but what happened to the people most personally affected by such a tragic incident? Natalie Portman plays Jackie Kennedy, the First Lady who was sitting next to her husband when he was shot and killed. Told in flashback, the film lays bare the private pain of losing the love of one’s life, as well as the battles she had to fight to ensure the nation remembered him in the right way. Kennedy, later known as Jacqueline Onassis, was a beloved figure in American culture, but this film seeks to illustrate that notoriety can come at a price.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Hidden Figures (2016) – When you think of the first moon landing, chances are the names of the mission’s astronauts are what comes to mind first. After seeing this tremendous biopic, however, you’ll remember three more: Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) – the NASA mathematicians who were pivotal in making the Apollo 11 mission a reality. A rousing story of the people who made their voices heard in spite of the racism and misogyny rampant within the establishment, it is a long-overdue celebration of key historical figures who never received their due fanfare.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Spencer (2021) – One of the most famous women of the 20th century is captured at her most vulnerable in this powerful drama that offers a fictionalised account of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) during a Christmas visit with her in-laws at Balmoral. Issues of past trauma, eating disorders and psychological bullying paint a portrait of a woman under immense pressure but also someone with the tremendous strength to seek out happiness for herself.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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La Vie en Rose (2007) – Behind the success of many great people hides a personal life filled with sorrow. That was the case for Édith Piaf, the singer who became a national icon in France and achieved world renown, although her search for love is often thwarted by tragedy. Marion Cotillard became the first person to win the Best Actress Oscar for a French-speaking role, enchanting audiences by delivering a performance that felt both familiar and brand new.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Selena (1997) – One of the most lauded singers in Latin American music, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was murdered in 1995 at the age of just 23, leaving the world wondering what might have been for this once-in-a-generation talent. Just before becoming a star in her own right, Jennifer Lopez would take on the formidable task of playing the beloved singer in this heart-wrenching biopic that covers her short but astounding rise to fame. Filled with music and passion, the film shines a light on the artist and shares her legacy with audiences beyond the Americas.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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I, Tonya (2017) – Are people born bad, or are ‘bad’ people a product of their environment? That’s the intriguing question at the centre of I, Tonya, based on the real-life scandal in which champion figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) was implicated in the 1994 attack on her biggest rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Rather than revel in the events that made her a pariah in American culture, the film studies the negative influences in her life that might have led her down the wrong path. Neither condoning nor condemning Harding, this Oscar-winning biopic simply asks us to forget what we think we know, and take a deeper look.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Elizabeth (1998) – A powerful monarch who ruled over a golden age in England between 1558 and 1603, Elizabeth I has been the subject of much admiration and fascination over the centuries – especially considering her highly unusual status as the unmarried, childless “Virgin Queen”. Though many actors have portrayed her, few have captured the humanity of their subject quite like Cate Blanchett did in the role that kicked off her legendary acting career. In the film, we see the young monarch’s ascent to the throne and the numerous plots and intrigues that plagued her, but we also see her leadership qualities and the strength of character that would seal her place in history.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Evita (1996) – An icon of music playing an icon of politics, Madonna surprised many when she took on the lead in this big-screen musical about the life of Eva Perón – the First Lady of Argentina, who embodied her country’s indomitable spirit from 1946 until her untimely death in 1952. Adapted from the stage musical, the film features jaw-dropping numbers like “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, as well as fascinating insights into the type of person who could rise from a penniless entertainer to become one of the most beloved figures in Argentina’s history.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Marie Antoinette (2006) – After her breakthrough success with Lost in Translation, director Sofia Coppola took on the last queen of France, played by Kirsten Dunst. Set in the years leading up to Marie Antoinette’s execution during the French Revolution, this anarchic look at her life shows a woman who defies convention while also depicting the loneliness of being female in the midst of a male-dominated power structure. Brimming with amazing visuals and witty satire, it’s a different take on the traditional biopic that still feels revolutionary nearly 20 years after its release.

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Erin Brockovich (2000) – An unemployed single mother becomes one of the biggest names in social justice in this moving dramatisation of a true story. Julia Roberts is electric as the unrelenting Brockovich, who gets a job at a law firm – despite having no qualifications – and stumbles upon a landmark case in which a local power company is poisoning an entire town. In a rousing tale of perseverance and justice, a relatively unknown hero becomes synonymous with hope. It’s little wonder, then, that both the film and the real-life Brockovich continue to inspire individuals to fight for their rights, even when the scales are tipped against them.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Judy (2019) – Rags-to-riches and obscurity-to-fame stories are rife in the biopic genre, but in Judy, we’re looking at a Hollywood icon in the latter stages of her life. Renée Zellweger won an Oscar for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the story of a run of stage shows in London that were bedevilled by Garland’s personal demons. It’s one of a number of biopics that seek to understand the person behind the legend, and this uplifting drama reveals just what it takes to deal with the spotlight from childhood, as well as the scars that celebrity can inflict.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) – Perhaps one of the greatest music biopics ever, Angela Bassett transforms into Tina Turner, the record-breaking artist who overcame an abusive relationship with her husband and music partner Ike Turner (Laurence Fishburne) to become one of the biggest stars in the world. When the real-life Turner died in 2023, aged 83, this film became a monument to the raw tenacity of someone who seizes the reins of their own life. It remains an inspirational tale and an acclaimed work of cinema.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Battle of the Sexes (2017) – If you think the fight for gender equality in sport is new, this excellent tennis drama will show you just what women have been up against for decades. Emma Stone plays Billie Jean King, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, as she is goaded by long-retired male player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) into a one-on-one match that would capture the world’s imagination in 1973. While it can be challenging to see the archaic attitudes on display, you’ll come away with profound respect for King as a trailblazer in women’s athletics and LGBTQ+ representation.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.
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Persepolis (2007) – Coming of age as a young woman is hard enough, but when you’re living through political upheaval, your problems are tenfold. Appearing first as a graphic novel before becoming an animated film (directed by the writer), Persepolis is the autobiographical story of Marjane Satrapi, charting her teenage years as she flees her home country of Iran during the Islamic Revolution of the late 1970s. However, despite settling in Europe and enjoying the freedom and security of a less restrictive culture, she begins to miss home. The authenticity of Satrapi’s voice shines through the stunning black-and-white animation, uncovering a new perspective on adolescence – and a journey you’ll never forget.

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women

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15 Great Biopics About Remarkable Women.

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