There are many female characters that are incredibly complex. You can tell a lot went into writing these characters and they were perfectly portrayed by the actresses who played them. These are females who have a lot of sides to them and incredible strength. Here are 10 female characters from some favorite tv shows that have impressive complexity.
Princess Eleanor (The Royals)
Played by: Alexandra Park
Princess Eleanor is a royal whose family looks great on the outside but have plenty of problems on the inside. She has a hard exterior that is a constant badass and hard partier. Eleanor struggles with herself a lot and uses partying as an escape. Although, she doesn't like to admit it, she has a huge heart and truly cares about people. Anyone who truly gets to know her learns that she is an incredible person with a unique personality. Even though she is a princess, she isn't perfect and hurts deeply. She is a very strong and complex character and Alexandra Park played her perfectly.
Anne Boleyn (The Tudor's)
Played by: Natalie Dormer
Anne Boleyn is an historical character and was one of the wives of King Henry VIII. She is an iconic historical character due to the reasoning for her beheading was because of crimes she didn't commit. It is also said that she was beheaded because King Henry VIII accused her of witchcraft and blamed that on being the reason she couldn't bare him a son. (Jokes on him cause her daughter became the great Queen Elizabeth I). This story was played perfectly by Natalie Dormer. Anne was exquisite, seductive and incredibly strong. There was a lot to Anne Boleyn which makes her a very complex female character.
Camille Preaker (Sharp Objects)
Played by: Amy Adams
Camille Preaker is an impressive character. On the outside she is a reporter investigating a crime but on the inside she has problems with depression and alcoholism. She had a traumatic childhood when losing her sister and a very shady family. This character is one of Amy Adams most impressive acting because she played this character with such complexity. Camille isn't perfect and suffers a lot but she is as strong as ever.
Zelda Spellman (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
Played by: Miranda Otto
Zelda Spellman is one of the aunts of Sabrina and she is the harder one. Zelda seems more evil and heartless at times. She follows the dark path to a T and rarely breaks the rules of the dark lord no matter how outrageously evil some things may get. However, you do find out that Zelda does have a weak spot and that's her family. Zelda makes it seems like Sabrina annoys her but she will also do whatever it takes to protect her. She'll even break her streak of following the dark lord if it means Sabrina's life is at stake.
Spencer Hastings (Pretty Little Liars)
Played by: Troian Bellisario
Spencer Hastings is one of the most complex characters in Pretty Little Liars. The show is a drama and a lot of things happen that show that the characters are pretty strong to deal with what they do. However, Spencer has a lot of things she deals with on the inside too. Spencer deals with addiction, depression and the fear of herself. The complexity of Spencer shows incredible acting by Troian especially during her addiction and the time she ends up in a mental hospital. Even if you aren't a fan of the drama filled show, you can't deny that Spencer's character was pretty impressive.
Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries)
Played by: Kat Graham
Bonnie Bennett was the witch best friend of the main character but also was one of the most complex. Bonnie has great power and she is incredibly selfless. A lot of her selflessness goes unnoticed because she is just always counted on. Every time something went bad, she was there to help and it always came with a cost for her. When you think about it, she didn't really have to help but she chose to. Bonnie even dies at one point and comes back to life. Bonnie was a character that deserved all the happiness in the world but never really got it. At the end, the love of her life died and she lost both of her parents and her grandma. Still without having anything she saved the town from hellfire proving that nothing could stop her.
Betty Cooper (Riverdale)
Played by: Lili Reinhart
Betty Cooper started out already being complex because she was your usual girl next door who was perky and brought a smile to peoples faces. However, on the inside there was something dark that would come out and her friends would pass it off as a "dark betty" moment. Her moments get so bad that she has marks on her hands from squeezing her fists so much. Throughout the entire show Betty remains caring and sweet but also hides the facts that she is sometimes terrified of herself. Even though Betty seems like she couldn't hurt a fly, she also isn't somebody to mess with because you can only push somebody so much. Betty's character shows new star Lili Reinhart's incredible acting as she brought a comic character to life that has become a fan favorite.
Poussey Washington (Orange is the New Black)
Played by: Samira Wiley
Poussey Washington is one of inmates in the show Orange is the New Black. Poussey had about a 6 year stay due to being busted for marijuana possession. Poussey was the kindest character on the show. She never started fights and was a kind-hearted jokester. She was a loyal friend and enjoyed working in the prison's library. Unfortunately, this beloved character came to her end when she participated in a peaceful sit-in protest and an inmate with mental health issues started to attack a guard. Poussey went to help the guard by pulling off the inmate to calm her down, but the guard ended up pinning Poussey to the ground and kneeling on her. During the chaos the guard didn't think to let up on Poussey and Poussey ended up dying due to suffocation. The death of the beloved character caused an uprising of protest due to the poor treatment of the inmates to the point of the kindest one being killed. Poussey became one of the most iconic characters on the show.
Mazikeen Smith (Lucifer)
Played by: Lesley-Ann Brandt
Mazikeen (Maze) is a demon who comes with Lucifer to Earth and live amongst the humans. Maze is a badass who has a lot of fire in her. She isn't someone to mess with because she will kick your ass within two seconds. Maze may be a hardass and has a passion for torturing but she also is seen to have a big heart despite technically not having a soul. You see her soft spot when she is around Chloe and her daughter Trixie. You also see her fear of being hurt and how she can spiral out of control when she is. Lesley-Ann Brandt plays Mazikeen perfectly and has a badass look to add it.
Santanico/Kisa (From Dusk Till Dawn)
Played by: Eiza Gonzalez
Santanico is a culebra (semi-reptilian) goddess who seems like a monstrous villain but has more to her. She was a slave and was abused by men throughout her life and she is looking to free herself. After she is freed her goal is to free her people and she will stop at nothing to do so. Once she is freed she goes by Kisa to free herself from the show girl she was forced to be. Kisa is strong and will be the monster if she needs to be. Eiza gave us more complexity to the vampire Santanico Pandemonium we loved in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn.
These women are strong and badass but they are also not perfect which makes them more real. There is never one side to every person. Everyone has a side they show people and a side they don't. These awesome females show that aspect of people and show that you can be imperfect and badass.
