Sigourney Weaver's Ripley named top woman in sci-fi

SIGOURNEY WEAVER'S iconic character Ellen Ripley from the Alien film series has been named the top female in science fiction.

She topped a list of The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi compiled by Totalscifionline.com, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, in second place, and Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) third.

From the comic book world, the list features the movie portrayals of Storm and Catwoman and Lynda Carter's iconic 70s TV version of Wonder Woman.

Ripley first appeared in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), emerging as the sole survivor of the Nostromo's encounter with an acid-blooded xenomorph. The character was originally written as a male role before 20th Century Fox executive Alan Ladd Jr suggested they change the gender to make the protagonist stand out.

Matt McAllister, editor of Totalscifionline.com said: "Ripley is one of cinema's seminal characters. She is strong, smart, self-reliant and sexy. Sigourney Weaver's confident and utterly believable performance also challenged female stereotypes in Hollywood, and proved a far more inspiring action icon than a thousand Arnies."

An Alien prequel set before the 1979 original has now been announced. Original director Ridley Scott is to be a producer on the new film, which is being helmed by Carl Rinsch, whose previous work on commercials and music videos brought him to the attention of the studio.

Final list - The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:

1) ELLEN RIPLEY (Sigourney Weaver, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection)
2) BUFFY SUMMERS (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
3) STARBUCK (Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica)
4) DANA SCULLY (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files)
5) SARAH CONNOR (Linda Hamilton, Terminator, T2)
6) PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars)
7) ROSE TYLER (Billie Piper, Doctor Who)
8) SAM CARTER (Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1)
9) NYOTA UHURA (Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek)
10) LEELOO (Milla Jovovich, The Fifth Element)
11) CLAIRE BENNET (Hayden Panettiere, Heroes)
12) STORM (Halle Berry, X-Men)
13) PRIS (Daryl Hannah, Blade Runner)
14) CATWOMAN (Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns)
15) BARBARELLA (Jane Fonda, Barbarella)
16) SARAH-JANE SMITH (Elisabeth Sladen, The Sarah-Jane Adventures / Doctor Who)
17) MIKAELA BANES (Megan Fox, Transformers)
18) SUSAN IVANOVA (Claudia Christian, Babylon 5)
19) NUMBER SIX (Tricia Helfer, Battlestar Galactica)
20) KATHRYN JANEWAY (Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager)
21) WILLOW ROSENBERG (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
22) WONDER WOMAN (Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman)
23) XENA (Lucy Lawless, Xena: Warrior Princess)
24) SYDNEY BRISTOW (Jennifer Garner, Alias)
25) MARINA (Stingray)