Star Trek is well-known for pushing the boundaries in terms of representation since The Original Series aired on television in the 1960s. The Original Series showed the first significant representation of a black woman in space, and the first interracial kiss on prime-time television. In the 1990s, Star Trek introduced its first female captain and chief engineer in Voyager.
Throughout the various Star Trek series and movies over the years, there have therefore been many powerful female characters within and outside the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet. Some of them act as captains and admirals, some as emperors, and some as rulers of entire species. Some are allies of the Federation, where others use their power to become dreaded antagonists.
10 Kira Nerys
In the Prime Universe, Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is a major, later colonel, in the Bajoran miliary, as well as briefly becoming a Starfleet officer on Deep Space Nine. Kira assumes command of the space station at some point, and also plays an integral role during the Dominion War, helping the Cardassian Rebellion survive to overthrow the Changelings.
Being the Intendant and ruler of the space station Terok Nor in the Mirror Universe, Kira occupies powerful positions wherever she finds herself. Kira Nerys features mainly in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but also makes a surprise appearance in Lower Decks.
9 B'Elanna Torres
The first female chief engineer in Star Trek, B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) is the feisty half-Klingon, half-Human who serves under Captain Janeway on the USS Voyager. B'Elanna's intellect is only matched by the half-Borg Seven of Nine, and her fighting spirit far surpasses that of anyone else on Voyager.
B'Elanna's engineering skills saves Voyager on more than one occasion, and she manages her engineering team with an iron first. B'Elanna is not only one of the powerful woman in Star Trek, but also one of the most iconic Klingons the franchise has seen to date.
8 Nyota Uhura
Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) is one of the iconic women from The Original Series, and reappears throughout Star Trek in the Kelvin timeline films, as well as, more recently, in Strange New Worlds (played by Celia Rose Gooding). Uhura has been an inspiration to women and girls for years, being the first major representation of a black woman on a spaceship on prime-time television.
Although Uhura did not have many lines in The Original Series, her ingenuity and intellect is shown more fully in Strange New Worlds, when it is revealed that she speaks 37 earth languages, and she is a xeno-linguist.
7 Number One
Una Chin-Riley (Majel Barrett), also called Number One, is Captain Pike's first in command on the starship Enterprise. Number One makes a brief appearance in The Original Series as well as in the Star Trek short films called Short Treks, but she plays a far more prominent role in Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds (where she is played by Rebecca Romjin).
Number One is incredibly resourceful and reliable, so much so that the title "Number One" has been given to others in her command level. For the 1960s, when she made her first appearance, it was unheard of to have a representation of a woman in such a high level of command.
6 Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) is the famous ex-Borg human from Star Trek: Voyager. Recently, Seven of Nine has returned in Star Trek: Picard as a gun-toting vigilante and first officer on board the USS Titan. Seven of Nine is unmatched in her intelligence and precision, and acts as astrometrics officer on Voyager for most of their journey home.
After Captain Janeway frees Seven of Nine from the Borg, Seven saves the day on many occasions, and she proves to be a loyal and trustworthy officer and friend to Admiral Picard and his crew after Voyager's return home.
5 Michael Burnham
The main character and heroine in Star Trek: Discovery is Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Michael Burnham's journey in Starfleet is somewhat convoluted, but because of her bravery and absolute morals and beliefs, she eventually rises to captaincy, becoming captain of the USS Discovery.
Burnham is a human who was raised on Vulcan, and so she is as logical and intelligent as she is brave. She plays a major role in saving the universe on more than one occasion, crossing universes, jumping to the future, and traveling to the edge of the galaxy to do so.
4 L'Rell
L'Rell (Mary Chieffo) is sometimes overlooked when talking about powerful women in Star Trek, but this Klingon plays a major role in unifying the Klingon houses and the entire Klingon race. L'Rell appears in Star Trek: Discovery, and she is shown as a fierce Klingon leader, who is willing to do anything to preserve her race.
Acting as Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, L'Rell is instrumental in ending the Klingon-Federation war and is so devoted to her cause that she is even willing to part from her child to earn the other leaders' respect.
3 Kathryn Janeway
The first female Captain to lead a Star Trek series, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Captain of the USS Voyager, is a trailblazer female character. Captain Janeway successfully guides Voyager through the perilous Delta Quadrant in a 75 thousand-lightyear journey home after she and her crew are displaced by an entity called The Caretaker.
Janeway later becomes an Admiral, and she is an unwavering leader who is absolute in her morals. Captain Janeway is so brave to the point where she might seem reckless at times, and she is famous for dealing a crippling blow to the Borg and the Borg Queen.
2 Philippa Georgiou
In the Prime Universe, Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) is a respected Starfleet Captain, but in the Mirror Universe, she is the ruthless Emperor of the violent and totalitarian Terran Empire. Emperor Georgiou crosses over to the Prime Universe and eventually becomes a covert operative for Section 31.
Georgiou, although evil at first, is a great fighter and turns out to help the Federation on more than one occasion. Her send-off in season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery shows that she has changed her Terran ways and will fight the good fight in the future.
1 The Borg Queen
The Borg Queen is perhaps one of the biggest antagonists in the Star Trek universe and inspires fear in most that cross her path. Being the leader of billions of Borg drones, with the ability to transcend the physical body, the Borg Queen is a formidable enemy to any Captain that encounters her.
The Borg Queen makes her first appearance in the film First Contact, and is a constant foil to Captain Janeway in Voyager. She is also the main antagonist in season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, and causes havoc to the Federation and entire races with her power and influence. The character has been played by several actresses: Alice Krige, Susanna Thompson, and Annie Wersching.