We’ve seen multiple versions of Wonder Woman make her presence felt on the screen. But which actresses gave us the best performances as the iconic DC hero from Paradise Island?
Wonder Woman is arguably the greatest DC Comics hero of all time. Debuting in the pages of DC Comics back in 1941, she became one of the most pivotal figures in pop culture history, and a game-changer in terms of female representation and empowerment.
She has also enjoyed immense success on both film and television. She may not have had as many cinematic appearances as Batman, or headlined as many TV shows as Superman, but she has been more of a presence on both screens than you might think.
Lynda Carter, of course, is credited as being the first major actress to bring her to life on television, while Gal Gadot recently portrayed her in various DC Extended Universe movies. But they aren’t the only famous portrayals of the character. Who knows, with Diana Prince’s future in doubt in the DCEU, we may get a new version of Wonder Woman in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DC Universe.
As we wait to see what’s next for the character, let’s take this opportunity to look back at the many wonderful actresses to bring Diana Prince, a.k.a. Diana, Princess of Themyscira, to life.
7. Ellie Wood Walker / Linda Harrison
Appeared in: Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince? (1967 unsold pilot)
The 1966 Batman TV series is considered a witty, classic, and important piece of The Dark Knight’s legacy. If William Dozier’s Wonder Woman pilot had gone to series, it’s probably safe to say that it wouldn’t have been a celebrated part of its respective hero’s legacy – because, well, the pilot certainly isn’t.
Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince? reimagined Diana as a mousy-but-kind-hearted young woman living with her mother (who would have preferred if her daughter was married instead of being a superhero, it seems) who wanted to go out in a storm and save Steve Trevor. Unfortunately, when she actually transformed into Wonder Woman, she spent more time admiring herself in the mirror than she did saving anyone. What was also rather bizarre was that the Wonder Woman reflection was played by a completely different actress.
Ellie Wood Walker did a solid job with the limited material she had, while Linda Harrison (who would later go on to play Nova in Planet of the Apes) certainly looked the part as Wonder Woman, but neither really had much to work with.
Granted, the show was seemingly going to be more silly than serious, but to say the pilot hasn’t aged well would be a major understatement. Wonder Woman should be, well, everything this isn’t.
Thank goodness for the ’70s TV series a decade later.
6. Adrianne Palicki
Appeared in: Wonder Woman (2011 NBC pilot)
Oh Adrianne Palicki, what an amazing Wonder Woman you could have been.
If you were keeping up with the comic book world in 2011, you were probably super excited about the Wonder Woman series in development for NBC. This was right after Smallville had finished up and before the Arrowverse brought superheroes back to the small screen, so it was a quiet time for DC fans. So the idea of Wonder Woman back on TV where she belonged was incredibly exciting.
When the first photos of Palicki suited up as the Themysciran warrior leaked online, they divided fans because of the drastic changes to the suit and its shiny lycra-like texture. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of its downfall as NBC ultimately passed on the pilot before it leaked online.
The show reimagines Diana Prince as CEO of Themyscira Industries, doesn’t acknowledge her Amazonian origins, focuses much less on her hopeful nature and tries to make her more human. But it just didn’t work, instead offering up an adaptation that felt like it belonged in the wrong decade. This was just before comic book TV returned with a vengeance, embracing its comic book roots in the process. Wonder Woman‘s attempt to move away from everything the character was was its downfall.
Palicki looks incredible as Wonder Woman, and she does what she can with a very questionable pilot. Her performance in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is proof that she’s perfect for the superhero genre. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be here.
5. Cathy Lee Crosby
Appeared in: Wonder Woman (1974 TV movie and pilot)
Before Lynda Carter and the Wonder Woman TV series would bring the Amazonian princess to the small screen, there were a number of unsuccessful attempts to make it happen earlier. We mentioned the unaired Diana Prince pilot, but there was another attempt close to a decade later in 1974.
Cathy Lee Crosby would take on the role in the ABC pilot but its respectable success led to the network opting against picking it up for series. It was later repackaged as a made-for-television movie.
Crosby was convincing in the role and she certainly looked the part, but she was dealt a bad hand by the producers who opted against bringing a more comic-accurate version of Wonder Woman to the screen. As a result, the show is based on the comics of the time instead, portraying Diana Prince as a James Bond-like superspy with no superpowers, no comic-accurate villains to take on, and an updated uniform that looked nothing like the original source material. The producers would later admit that reinventing the character was a mistake.
It was definitely an interesting idea, but a very bad one for Wonder Woman’s TV debut. Thankfully, ABC didn’t give up on the idea and decided to move forward with a more comic-accurate Wonder Woman instead – a decision that would change the character’s legacy for the better.
4. Keri Russell
Appeared in: Wonder Woman (2009)
While this list is mostly comprised of actors to take on Diana Prince in live-action outings, we’re also choosing to include two incredible voice performances, too. The first is Keri Russell, who played the character in 2009 animated film Wonder Woman.
Only the fourth installment in the now super-sized DC Universe Animated Original Movies franchise, it’s really important to Diana’s legacy as this was the first feature-length film headlined by Wonder Woman – a character who, up until this point, had found significant success on television. Thankfully, the animated outing didn’t crumble under that pressure, as it was a thrilling reintroduction to the beloved hero, and a large part of that was down to Keri Russell’s compelling performance.
This was a modern retelling of Wonder Woman’s story, and Russell did a wonderful (no pun intended) job in capturing that. She had a determination, a focus, in her voice that channelled Susan Eisenberg’s acclaimed performance in Justice League but with a little more grit to match the tone of the movie. It was a compelling, nuanced performance that guided the film incredibly well and highlighted just how deep the Wonder Woman character truly is.
3. Susan Eisenberg
Appeared in: Justice League, Justice League Unlimited
Before Gal Gadot brought Diana Prince to the silver screen, there is pretty good chance that DC fans grew up watching one of two versions of the character. One is Lynda Carter’s timeless live-action performance, the other is Susan Eisenberg’s legendary voice performance in the DC Animated Universe.
This is one of the only two animated versions of Wonder Woman we’re celebrating on this list. Not because the character doesn’t have enough animated interpretations (though she really does deserve her own animated series at some point) but because it wouldn’t have felt right to discuss the most iconic Wonder Women without giving Susan Eisenberg’s portrayal the spotlight she deserves.
Voicing the character in Justice League (and later Justice League Unlimited), Eisenberg’s hero made her debut right as heroes like Batman, Superman, Hawkgirl, and The Flash were battling alien invaders, and she quickly proved herself a force to be reckoned with. A hero as determined as her needed a powerful performance, and that’s what Eisenberg delivered, giving Wonder Woman that force and power the animation provided.
It’s easy to praise the story and the animation of the DCAU which rarely faltered, but Susan Eisenberg was the perfect choice for this modern Wonder Woman – a choice full of passion, determination, and hope.
2. Gal Gadot
Appeared in: Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Wonder Woman’s theatrical debut was a long time coming (over six decades, in fact), so there was a lot of anticipation (and pressure) on the star who would bring her to life on the silver screen. When Gal Gadot’s Amazonian warrior made her epic arrival in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it became clear that she was more than capable of handling that pressure and living up to the anticipation. So when she headlined Wonder Woman in 2017, it’s safe to say she delivered on all fronts.
This version of the character is based off the more modern DC Comics, so she’s more direct, firm, and unrelenting than the classic iteration. Gadot brings all of that life with ease, because once Diana Princess of Themyscira bursts onto screen, you know she means business. And yet, she also embodies the gentle nature of Wonder Woman, giving her those timelessly hopeful and inspiring qualities she is known for.
Gadot’s Wonder Woman has been part of a few mediocre movies (Batman v Superman and the dismal Justice League) and yet she has remained a bright light throughout all of them, being the much-needed silver lining. And when she’s given material worthy of her character, she shines brighter than the whole DCEU itself. Here’s hoping she continues to get the chance to do that in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.
She is, without a doubt, the perfect modern Wonder Woman.
1. Lynda Carter
Appeared in: Wonder Woman (1975 – 1978)
The New Original Wonder Woman, that’s what the pilot episode of 1975’s Wonder Woman TV series was known as when it premiered on ABC. That’s pretty apt to look back on, because the classic show was a new, original chapter in the Wonder Woman legacy; one that single-handedly changed the game forever.
The show’s success starts and ends with Lynda Carter. A name now synonymous with Wonder Woman, Carter’s portrayal of the Amazonian hero embodies all of the qualities associated with the character, and that’s what makes it timeless. She’s inspiring, hopeful, gentle, sweet, and yet powerful, badass, and imposing all at the same time. She’s perfectly at home in the first season’s 1940s World War II setting, being a symbol of hope at a time when the world around her needs it, and she’s equally at home in the more colorful, cheesier, and spookier 1970s setting of the second and third seasons.
Carter is a trailblazer when it comes to female superheroes, and it’s easy to see why. She made Wonder Woman a household name with her iconic portrayal of the character, and the truth is that when you think of Wonder Woman, you think of Lynda Carter. She is, and always will be our new, original Wonder Woman.
Who is your favorite Wonder Woman actress? Are you hoping to see her return in the DC Universe?