Sarah Connor is easily one of the biggest badasses in the history of cinema, especially because she forced herself into the role. In the first Terminator film, she's just an average waitress, until she is tracked down by a murderous Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wants to kill her so that her son will never lead the uprising against the robot overlords. And to her credit, she accepts this role with a certain amount of grace. Fast forward to the second film, and Sarah Connor is almost unrecognizable. She transformed her body into a weapon, and we learn from a young John Connor that she would start relationships with men who could teach her skills that might be valuable in the future. She sacrifices everything about her old life so that her son could have a fighting chance. And her reward? She's locked up in a psychiatric institution, abused by the orderlies and separated from John. Still, she hangs onto her resolve and manages to escape when she discovers that John needs her. A truly fantastic female character for the ages.