Girls Who Can Kick Your Ass: Coffy (Pam Grier, Coffy)

When talking female action heroes, you have to salute one of the pioneers: Pam Grier, the 70s blaxploitation icon who flaunted a killer body as Coffy, slayer of bad men. Grier was so inspiring Quentin Tarantino couldn't resist making Jackie Brown as a love letter to his shotgun-wielding heroine. Coffy, an exploitation film through and through, never shies away from ogling Grier's exotic looks. Yet the character's unique prowess comes from how she owns her sexuality and doesn't take orders from anyone while pursuing vengeance against pimps and drug dealers. And she does it all with style.