The western genre is inherently masculine. Although it's easy to imagine women clinging to the arms of gun-slinging heroes, showing their gratitude with a "blaze of glory" behind the stables, westerns aren't known for their babe quotient. Just look at the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, a remake of John Wayne’s 1979 classic. Based on Charles Portis’s 1968 novel, True Grit stars Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon as a U.S. Marshal and Texas Ranger, respectively, hunting the outlaw (Josh Brolin) who murdered a little girl’s father. It’s a solid film, yet the well-acted movie’s only bit of estrogen comes in the form of 13-year-old newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who gives a strong performance, but, um...she’s 13! Where are all the 18-and-older bar mavens and whores in corsets? Since we’re guessing many of our readers will see True Grit this week, we’re here to provide the sexy that the Coen Brothers unfortunately overlooked. Take a gander at the 20 hottest women in westerns and make sure to keep that 10-gallon Stetson hat on your lap.
By Matt Barone
The western genre is inherently masculine. Although it's easy to imagine women clinging to the arms of gun-slinging heroes, showing their gratitude with a "blaze of glory" behind the stables, westerns aren't known for their babe quotient. Just look at the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, a remake of John Wayne’s 1979 classic. Based on Charles Portis’s 1968 novel, True Grit stars Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon as a U.S. Marshal and Texas Ranger, respectively, hunting the outlaw (Josh Brolin) who murdered a little girl’s father. It’s a solid film, yet the well-acted movie’s only bit of estrogen comes in the form of 13-year-old newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who gives a strong performance, but, um...she’s 13! Where are all the 18-and-older bar mavens and whores in corsets? Since we’re guessing many of our readers will see True Grit this week, we’re here to provide the sexy that the Coen Brothers unfortunately overlooked. Take a gander at the 20 hottest women in westerns and make sure to keep that 10-gallon Stetson hat on your lap.
By Matt Barone
Vera Miles in The Searchers
#20: VERA MILES AS LAURIE JORGENSEN IN THE SEARCHERS (1956)
The Searchers
Chelo Alonso in The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
#19: CHELO ALONSO AS STEVEN’S WIFE IN THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
The Good, The Bad and The UglyFoxy BrownThe Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Janet Leigh in The Naked Spur
#18: JANET LEIGH AS LINA PATCH IN THE NAKED SPUR (1953)
Psycho
Dana Delany in Tombstone
#17: DANA DELANY AS JOSEPHINE MARCUS IN TOMBSTONE (1993)
TombstoneTombstone
Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles
#16: MADELINE KAHN AS LILI VON SHTUPP IN BLAZING SADDLES (1974)
Blazing Saddles
Grace Kelly in High Noon
#15: GRACE KELLY AS AMY FOWLER KANE IN HIGH NOON (1952)
High Noon
Sharon Stone in The Quick and The Dead
#14: SHARON STONE AS ELLEN “THE LADY” IN THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995)
The Quick and the DeadEvil DeadSpider-ManThe Quick and the Dead
Lucy Lui in Shanghai Noon
#13: LUCY LIU AS PRINCESS PEI PEI IN SHANGHAI NOON (2000)
Kill Bill Vol. 1Shanghai Noon
Rosalba Neri in Johnny Yuma
#12: ROSALBA NERI AS SAMANTHA FELTON IN JOHNNY YUMA (1966)
Johnny Yuma
Ali Larter in American Outlaws
#11: ALI LARTER AS ZERELDA ‘ZEE’ MIMMS IN AMERICAN OUTLAWS (2001)
American Outlaws
Elizabeth Taylor in Giant
#10: ELIZABETH TAYLOR AS LESLIE BENEDICT IN GIANT (1956)
Giant
Helene Chanel in Cjamango
#9: HELENE CHANEL AS PEARL HERNANDEZ IN CJAMANGO (1967)
Cjamango
Faye Dunaway in Little Big Man
#8: FAYE DUNAWAY AS MRS. PENDRAKE IN LITTLE BIG MAN (1970)
Vinessa Shaw in 3:10 To Yuma
#7: VINESSA SHAW AS EMMA NELSON IN 3:10 TO YUMA (2007)
True Grit3:10 to YumaLadybugs
Giovanna Ralli in Cannon For Cordoba
#6: GIOVANNA RALLI AS LEONORA IN CANNON FOR CORDOBA (1970)
Nicoletta Machiavelli in Navajo Joe
#5: NICOLETTA MACHIAVELLI AS ESTELLA IN NAVAJO JOE (1966)
Smokey and the BanditCannonball RunNavajo Joe
Megan Fox in Jonah Hex
#4: MEGAN FOX AS LILAH IN JONAH HEX (2010)
Jonah HexHorton Hears a Who!
Magda Konopko in Blindman
#3: MAGDA KONOPKO AS SWEET MAMA IN BLINDMAN (1971)
Blindman
Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in Bandidas
#2: SALMA HAYEK AS SARA SANDOVAL & PENELOPE CRUZ AS MARIA ALVAREZ IN BANDIDAS (2006)
Bandidas
Claudia Cardinale in The Professionals
#1: CLAUDIA CARDINALE AS MRS. MARIA GRANT IN THE PROFESSIONALS (1966)
The ProfessionalsOnce Upon a Time in the West
