The 10 Badass Heroines of Soap Operas, Ranked

Soap operas would be meaningless without these women.

The term "soap opera" dates back to the 1930s and was coined due to the fact that the main sponsor of the show (which was broadcast on the radio at the time) was a soap manufacturer. The reason for such a notable sponsorship is that the general audience for soap operas is mainly housewives who stay at home and clean the house.

But soap operas and their audiences have come a long way, and while they still have a predominantly female audience, those female fans are influenced by all those badass heroines of the day. From Luke Spencer to Bo Brady to Victor Newman, while soap operas have been home to some memorable leading men over the decades, the These leading men would be nothing without their leading ladies.

10/10 Carly Corinthos ('General Hospital')

Carly Corinthos - originally known as Caroline Benson and more recently as Carly Spencer - is part of a whole new generation of iconic characters at ABC General Hospital following the epic days of Luke, Laura, Anna and Duke.

Best known as Carly, played by soap opera alumnus Laura Wright, she has always been a force to be reckoned with and someone you don't want to be on the wrong side of. Whether it is competition among women Her life, the people who wronged her children, or the husbands who were unfaithful, Carly always came out on top in Port Charles.

9/10 Maya Avant (Bold And The Beautiful')

When Karla Mosley joined CBS' The Bold and Beautiful as Maya Avant in 2013, no one could have predicted the character would be on town during the day What a step forward for daytime TV when it comes to finding her abandoned daughter.

Despite starting out as a character you love to hate, Maya made history in 2015 when she was revealed to be a transgender woman and became the first transgender character on any soap opera to be a regular, later appearing on the show with the K Forester Married - LGBTQ+ Wedding Forever.

8/10 Phyllis Summers ('Young And The Restless')

In the city of Genoa, there was no worse person than Phyllis Summers. Debuted in 1994 on Young and the Restless, created and currently played by Michelle Stafford, and knows how to get what she wants from the start, first by revealing that she fathered his child, from his His then-wife, Christine, stole Danny's child.

Genoa's resident conspirator, Phyllis doesn't seem to have any sense of what she's doing, and is never afraid to put someone in their place, be it some harsh Speech or a drink or two.

7/10 Sami Brady ('Days Of Our Lives')

Born Marlena and Roman in the '80s, the SORAS version of Sami Brady appeared in Salem in 1993, played by then-teenage actress Alison Sweeney. Sammy right away proves that she can't be messed with, and how devious and mischievous she really can be.

Sami can be completely wrong at times - like she betrayed Rafe and EJ, betrayed EJ and Lucas - but if you annoy her or someone she loves first, you're bound to pay for it Living icon.

6/10 Nikki Newman ('Young And The Restless')

You might just gain a certain amount of fame when you get to town and reveal that you're a stripper, but for Nicki Newman, she's known for being sweet. Most notably played by Melody Thomas Scott, the Young and the Restless legend knew how to break it.

While she has been a good mother and grandmother to her children, grandchildren, and even those non-blood ties who joined the Newman family, she also never let her notorious on-off husband Victor escape his undeserved punishment Behavior.

5/10 Blair Cramer ('One Life To Live,' 'General Hospital')

From Viki Lord to Natalie Buchanan, No woman on One Life To Live has been as memorable as Blair Cramer. While Kassie DePaiva wasn't the original creator of the badass character, the actress played her on OLTL and General Hospital for over 20 years.

Commonly known as Carly Corinthos of Llanview, Blair was sneaky and scheming when they came. When Blair finally came face-to-face with Carly when she arrived in Port Charles in 2012, no one was sure if the two villains would bond because of their shared experiences or become outright enemies.

4/10 Hope Brady ('Days Of Our Lives')

Days of Our Lives may have had a long list of badass female characters, but none quite like Hope Brady. Since Kristian Alfonso started playing the legendary character in 1983, she has become an icon of instant soap, most notably as one half of super couple Po and Hope.

Aside from her relationship with Beau, Hope never backed down from a fight, whether it was with the likes of Sammy Brady or the villainous Stefano, whom Hope finally managed to defeat in 2016.

3/10 Katherine Chancellor ('Young And The Restless')

A saga about and off screen, actress Jeanne Cooper plays the part beloved and notorious Katherine Chancellor worked on Young and the Restless for 40 years until her death in 2013, just two months after the show celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Catherine never misses a beat, whether she's a loving grandmother in Devon or arguing with her frenemy Jill. The character broke ground by becoming the first on-screen character to receive a real-life facelift, and she never fails to impress whenever she walks into a room.

2/10 Laura Spencer ('General Hospital')

Genie Francis, a veterinarian at General Hospital, played the legendary Laura Spencer for nearly half of the soap's 60-year run. While the character was a memorable part of supercouple Luke and Laura, she was much more well-known during her time in Port Charles.

In recent years, Laura has been happily married to Kevin Collins, and when she is not working as mayor to bring order to the city, she spends her time with her grandchildren. But of all Laura's been doing for 30 years, she's best known for helping Mikos Kassadin take down Mikos Kassadin when he tried to freeze the world with the iconic Ice Princess.

1/10 Erica Kane ('All My Children')

Of all the characters in any soap opera, no woman is as memorable as Erika Kane in All My Children. Created and portrayed by Susan Lucci for over 40 years, until the show's final episode in 2011, the character will go down in history as one of the day's most badass leading ladies.

This character always gets her way when it comes to careers, relationships, and everything in between in Pine Valley. The legend was such a big daytime and primetime influence, she even appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1990 during Lucci's hosting.