Sexiest Action Heroines

Keira Knightley brings some of that patented Hollywood glam to an otherwise real-life lady named Domino Harvey, a British model turned bounty hunter who rocks guns as well as eyeliner. Seeing Knightley wield assault rifles twice her size is alone worth the price of admission.

Forget Alice from Resident Evil, Milla Jovovich’s Leeloo, an ancient humanoid weapon destined to save the universe, is the more compelling heroine. Couple her lofty origins with her orange hair, nubile body, and Jean-Paul Gaultier–designed body suit and you have by far the most eccentric beauty on this list.

It’s only right to follow Leeloo with Anne Parillaud's Nikita, another Luc Besson creation who can blow men away in more ways than one. When forced to choose between becoming an assassin or certain death, Nikita wisely opts for the former, and proves to be a natural with a tiny dress and big gun.

After escaping from a mental institution ten years after the events of the first Terminator, a now wiry Sarah Connor, who was relegated to damsel-in-distress status in the original, gets to break out of that as well and do some terminating of her own.

Before she handled loud guns and fast cars later in her career, all a 22-year-old Michelle Rodriguez had to work with, as hot-headed boxer Diana Guzman from the streets of Brooklyn, was her fists. In her powerhouse movie debut, Rodriguez works them exceedingly well.

Never has so much kick-ass been crammed into such tight leather! While Neo (Keanu Reeves) might be “The One” to save the world in this thinking man’s action classic, it is Moss's Trinity who saves him. You know you’re hot when you kiss a dead man, he comes back to life, and the audience totally buys it.

In his action-packed sequel to Ridley Scott’s classic sic-fi thriller, Cameron gives Weaver's Ripley the Sarah Connor sequel upgrade. When all the hardcore marines sent to protect her die, Ripley believably transforms into a gun-wielding, flame-throwing badass before our very eyes.

Pam Grier's Coffy is sick and tired of pimps and pushers who are just no good ruining the lives of innocent folks like her sister, so she takes matters into her own hands, seducing her marks and shooting them dead.

Don’t let the title fool you: Furiosa, played by Theron with her head shorn, literally drives this fourth Max film, her first. Oh, and she can shoot, punch and glare with best of them, too. But even with her muscles rippling, Furiosa brings a maternal intensity and sensitivity to an otherwise barren and unloving world.

When a legendary sword is stolen, the stately and magnificent Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) proves that nothing, not even gravity will keep her from recovering it. And even though her flawless, newfound frenemy, Jen Yu (played by the striking Ms. Zhang), isn’t quite as morally restrained, her perfectly angelic face makes you want to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Revenge is a dish best served in a bright yellow jumpsuit. At least that’s what the saying ought to be, now that Uma, playing Quentin Tarantino's wronged assassin, Beatrix Kiddo, has taken her sword, stare and bangs on the road, slashing all of that hate out of her heart in a Bruce Lee–inspired outfit that she does proud.

If this movie proves one thing, it’s that the Barbie-like beauty standards perpetuated by the gamer universe are reprehensible and impossible to obtain… unless you happen to be Angelina Jolie, who fills out those iconic little shorts and tank top like she was born to do it. And we were born to watch.