Most portrayed female fictional character

[Miss Chicken]

My friend and I were discussing whether Sherlock Holmes, Dracula or Tarzan was the most portrayed male fictional character in movies or TV (I thought it was Sherlock, my friend leans toward Dracula). Then we turned to the question of the most portrayed female fictional character and we are rather stumped. We are talking about major characters here (e,g, not Mrs Hudson from Sherlock movies/Tv show). I thought of Miss Marple but I think that is only a handful of actresses.

Any suggestions?

Edited to add - we just though of Alice (in Wonderland) and Dorothy (from Oz) and Lois Lane.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Elizabeth I, numerous films where she shows up as a main or supporting character.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Elizabeth I, numerous films where she shows up as a main or supporting character.

She isn't fictional.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Moneypenny has got to at least be in the running.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Elizabeth I, numerous films where she shows up as a main or supporting character.

She isn't fictional.

Wasn't reading very closely, Elizabeth Bennet, Maid Marian

 

[Miss Chicken]

Moneypenny has got to at least be in the running.

I not sure if we can call her a major character. If we include her we would have include Mrs Hudson who would trump Moneypenny.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Elizabeth I, numerous films where she shows up as a main or supporting character.

She isn't fictional.

Wasn't reading very closely, Elizabeth Bennet.

A good possibility.

and Maid Marian is a good suggestion too.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Moneypenny has got to at least be in the running.

I not sure if we can call her a major character. If we include her we would have include Mrs Hudson who would trump Moneypenny.

That's a good point.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Maid Marian, maybe.

 

[Gov Kodos]

A lot of women, even as main characters, seldom are more than attachments to some male. Maid Marian, for instance, doesn't really do too much as I recall. Rebecca, in Ivanhoe, is a very effective woman, but I don't know how many productions have been done.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Lois Lane has been on screen quite a bit.

 

[Miss Chicken]

A lot of women, even as main characters, seldom are more than attachments to some male. Maid Marian, for instance, doesn't really do too much as I recall. Rebecca, in Ivanhoe, is a very effective woman, but I don't know how many productions have been done.

How true - though some little girl characters (Alice, Dorothy) have been rather effective.

 

[Gov Kodos]

A lot of women, even as main characters, seldom are more than attachments to some male. Maid Marian, for instance, doesn't really do too much as I recall. Rebecca, in Ivanhoe, is a very effective woman, but I don't know how many productions have been done.

How true - though some little girl characters (Alice, Dorothy) have been rather effective.

Is it easier to come up with girls as main protagonists than women? Not just in film, but in fiction? Snow White, Cinderella, Belle (Beauty and the Beast)... Does that say anything?

 

[Caliburn24]

Lois Lane,

Appeared in at least seven different animated TV series or movies. Voiced by five different women.

Counting Amy Adams, there will have been six different women playing the Lois part in live action movies.

In live action TV we have four actresses who have played the part.

Sixteen actresses or so, dozens of movies, hundreds of episodes.

Can Maid Marion put up those sort of numbers?

 

[Admiral Shran]

Well, according to Wikipedia, Marian has been in....

TELEVISION
1.) Maid Marian and her Merry Men (portrayed by Kate Lonergan)
2.) The Adventures of Robin Hood (from the 1950s) (portrayed by Patricia Discoll)
3.) Robin of Sherwood (portrayed by Judi Trott)
4.) Blackadder: Back & Forth (portrayed by Kate Moss)
5.) The New Adventures of Robin Hood (portrayed by Anna Galvin and Barbara Griffin)
6.) The 1990 TV movie Robin Hood (portrayed by Uma Thurman)
7.) Rocket Robin Hood (voiced by an unknown actress)
8.) The 2006 BBC version, Robin Hood (portrayed by Lucy Griffiths)

MOVIES
1.) The Adventures of Robin Hood - Olivia de Havilland
2.) The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men - Joan Rice
3.) Disney's animated Robin Hood - voiced by Monica Evans
4.) Robin and Marian - Audrey Hepburn
5.) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
6.) Robin Hood: Men in Tights - Amy Yasbeck
7.) Princess of Thieves - voiced by Hannah Cresswell
8.) Robin Hood - Cate Blanchett
9.) Robin Hood: Ghosts of Sherwood - Carolina Grigorov

So, that's at least ten movies, countless episodes and 18 actresses.

 

[Starkers]

Well, according to Wikipedia, Marian has been in....

TELEVISION
1.) Maid Marian and her Merry Men (portrayed by Kate Lonergan)
2.) The Adventures of Robin Hood (from the 1950s) (portrayed by Patricia Discoll)
3.) Robin of Sherwood (portrayed by Judi Trott)
4.) Blackadder: Back & Forth (portrayed by Kate Moss)
5.) The New Adventures of Robin Hood (portrayed by Anna Galvin and Barbara Griffin)
6.) The 1990 TV movie Robin Hood (portrayed by Uma Thurman)
7.) Rocket Robin Hood (voiced by an unknown actress)
8.) The 2006 BBC version, Robin Hood (portrayed by Lucy Griffiths)

MOVIES
1.) The Adventures of Robin Hood - Olivia de Havilland
2.) The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men - Joan Rice
3.) Disney's animated Robin Hood - voiced by Monica Evans
4.) Robin and Marian - Audrey Hepburn
5.) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
6.) Robin Hood: Men in Tights - Amy Yasbeck
7.) Princess of Thieves - voiced by Hannah Cresswell
8.) Robin Hood - Cate Blanchett
9.) Robin Hood: Ghosts of Sherwood - Carolina Grigorov

So, that's at least ten movies, countless episodes and 18 actresses.

Is that movie list missing one? Didn't Uma Thurman play Marian in the other Robin Hood film that came out at roughly the same time as Prince of Thieves? Or was she playing a different character?

Edit: Never mind that'll teach me to not read the tv list correctly. I was sure it'd had a cinema release!

 

[Admiral Shran]

That was a TV movie, so I included in my television list (#6.)

EDIT: You beat me to it.

 

[Caliburn24]

Guinevere beats both Lois Lane and Maid Marian handily in terms of actresses who have played the role in the cinema or on TV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_Arthurian_legend

I stopped counting at twenty different appearances by Guinevere, the total could be double that easily.

 

[Admiral Shran]

But is Guinevere in all of those? For instance, it lists Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but she doesn't appear in that one.

 

[Caliburn24]

No she doesn't appear in all of them, which is why I went through various entries manually and stopped counting at twenty.

But for number of actresses who have played the part she beats both the other contenders easily.