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Yellowstone has been serving fans a modern spin on the classic western drama for four seasons. And anyone who enjoys Yellowstone is probably also a fan of Beth Dutton — one of the most badass female characters in a western to date. So, today we’re expanding fans’ love for Yellowstone and Beth Dutton with these five female-led westerns that everyone should watch.

Beth and John Dutton stand in an office wearing cowboy hats in a scene from "Yellowstone."
Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton in Yellowstone | Paramount

Best female-led westerns for ‘Yellowstone’ fans

Grab your cowgirl hat and some beef jerky and get ready to travel back to the old west with these 5 female-led westerns everyone should watch.

The Homesman

The movie stars Hilary Swank as an independent pioneer woman, Mary Bee Cuddy, who is tasked with transporting three women who have gone mad across the country in a covered wagon. She saves the life of George Briggs, played by Tommy Lee Jones, and then hires him to assist her during the transport. The movie doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the west during the 1800s. The Homesman is honest about the conditions that both women and travelers faced throughout the country during that time. 

Jane Got a Gun

Jane Got a Gun stars Natalie Portman as Jane Hammond, a fierce woman on a mission to keep her family safe. When her outlaw husband returns to their home with bullet wounds, Jane knows she must protect him and their daughter from a gang of vengeful vigilantes. She finds her ex-lover, played by Joel Edgerton, and asks that he help protect their home. This may sound like a western romance, but it’s far more than just that. The story depicts a woman who faces the most difficult situations of her time, all while refusing to give up on herself or the ones she loves. 

Bandidas

For anyone looking for a break from the unforgiving nature of the west, Bandidas is your movie. The action-comedy stars Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz as two women in turn-of-the-century Mexico with two very different backgrounds. The women band together and become a bank-robbing duo to fight back against a ruthless U.S. bank magnate terrorizing their town. The movie serves all the best aspects of a female-led western and some comic relief. 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is the movie for anyone looking to expand on the traditional western. The movie was promoted as the first Iranian vampire western. Set in the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, the film follows a girl played by Sheila Vand, who is secretly a vampire. She enacts revenge on bad people to protect the good. 

Godless

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Godless is a seven-episode mini-series that debuted on Netflix in 2017. The series offers an exciting story for the female-led western genre with just seven episodes. The series is set in La Belle, New Mexico. And it features a town inhabited almost entirely by women after a tragic mining accident left all the men dead. The women must do everything they can to defend their town from savage outlaws. This isn’t an easy task in a western era often referred to as “godless country.” 

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