We love a woman with smarts.
Sure, being physically attractive doesn't hurt, but knowing her way around a computer terminal...that's hot. Here are a few of our favorite lady hackers who proved they're equal parts brains and brawn.
Lisa Calighan - Antitrust |
How do you make a Ryan Phillippe computer-hacking movie interesting and remotely believable? Give him a hot young second-in-command.
Lisa Calighan wouldn't be anyone's first choice for a crack team of hackers, but when paired up with Phillippe's Milo Hoffman she's a frickin' human Deep Blue.
Lisa Calighan wouldn't be anyone's first choice for a crack team of hackers, but when paired up with Phillippe's Milo Hoffman she's a frickin' human Deep Blue.
Terry Doolittle - Jumpin' Jack Flash |
Shut up - there was a time when Whoopi Goldberg was kinda sorta attractive. In Jumpin' Jack Flash, Whoopi plays a young, successful businesswoman working for a big New York City bank. One day, she's forced to break the bank's code. She does so with a tremendous amount of spunk.
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If you thought hacking systems was hot, wait until you see Allegra plug into a virtual reality world through her bellybutton. Little uncomfortable? Please, the kids in Japan have been doing it for at least ten years. When things get wonky in her video game world, Allegra pops in an "Umbycord" and takes to the digital streets. If manipulating code were anything like eXistenZ, I probably would have passed computer science in college |
Lisbeth Salander - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
How do you say "smoking hot computer hacker detective lady" in Swedish? I'm pretty sure the answer is "Lisabeth Salander," but my Swedish is a bit rusty.
Either way, the punk rock fem at the center of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo fits the description and transcends the language barrier with her unique, violent approach to solving crimes. If only I could stop staring at her for two seconds in order to read the movie's subtitles...
Either way, the punk rock fem at the center of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo fits the description and transcends the language barrier with her unique, violent approach to solving crimes. If only I could stop staring at her for two seconds in order to read the movie's subtitles...
Mai Linh - Live Free or Die Hard |
Mai Linh runs, jumps, breaks into computer systems, knows karate, fires handguns at light speed, and can take a punch or two (or three or fourteen) to the face before being clinically dead. She's like a real life action figure (that will kick your ass if you try and play with her).
Meredith Johnson - Disclosure
Sexual harassment. Whether you're at the office or knee-deep in virtual reality-based digital hacking, it's a problem. Meredith Johnson did the right thing - before allowing herself to be taken advantage of, she framed her co-worker and former flame Tom for harassment. That's being proactive.
Kusanagi - Ghost in the Shell |
Typing on keyboards is for dorks. In the future, you're either plugging directly from your skull into a mainframe or you're watching from the sidelines. Kusangi is one of the police force's top robot hackers/soldiers, mostly because she's required to strip down naked in order to use her unique abilities.
Natalya Simonova - Goldeneye |
Bond struck gold when he crossed paths with beautiful Russian hacker Natalya Simonova. She came in handy when Bond found himself with any computer-based problem, plus she knew a trick or two for rebooting his system in, ahem, bed.
Although maybe he should have given Boris a chance.
Although maybe he should have given Boris a chance.
Jennifer Marsh - Untraceable |
Don't confuse Untraceable with Unfaithful or Under the Tuscan Sun - Diane Lane stays very much buttoned up in this cyberthriller. But while Lane works her hacking magic on the murderous website KillWithMe.com, you can close your eyes and imagine the better times. That's called memory hacking.
Mystique - X-Men
Magneto, you dog. Yes, his evolved ability to psychically bend any metallic object is impressive, but finding a top-notch number two like Mystique is proof of God-like, extra-sensory powers. She can transform herself into any person, she flies and kicks around a room like she's on wires and, to top it all off, has a knack for computer hacking.
She is the James Franco of mutants.
She is the James Franco of mutants.
Ginger Knowles - Swordfish |
Ginger isn't really a hacker per se - she's more of a lackey. But we're assuming she's picked up a thing or two along the way because...well, hello, how many people actively spend their days hanging around in bikinis. And guns.
She also has a nose for the hacking business. Without Ginger, Hugh Jackman's Stanley wouldn't have had his second wind, and we wouldn't have the TNT Sunday-morning mainstay that is Swordfish.
She also has a nose for the hacking business. Without Ginger, Hugh Jackman's Stanley wouldn't have had his second wind, and we wouldn't have the TNT Sunday-morning mainstay that is Swordfish.
Angela Bennett - The Net |
Uncovering a worldwide conspiracy to bait and switch unsuspecting companies with a faulty security system? Easy peasy. Founding personal relationships outside of the computer world? Woof.
You think it would be easier for Angela Bennett, who spends most of her time hacking in the her underwear, but no, she's not a people person. Being framed for murder and spending most of her time on the run doesn't help, but still, it's about making an effort.
You think it would be easier for Angela Bennett, who spends most of her time hacking in the her underwear, but no, she's not a people person. Being framed for murder and spending most of her time on the run doesn't help, but still, it's about making an effort.
Maggie Madsen - Transformers |
In true Michael Bay fashion, when the government is in need of elite hackers to help decipher a strange alien code, the Pentagon turns to a the hottest blonde in the country, who also happens to have an MIT degree. Phew - for a second I thought we might have to suffer through the "normal" looks of real life braniacs.
Acid Burn - Hackers |
Angelina Jolie's character in Hackers may have the same name as your failed high school grunge band, but that doesn't make her hacking skills (or jovial looks) any less arresting. Au contraire, Acid Wash is the kind of computer nerdess you only dream was real. It certainly would have made prom a whole lot easier to digest.
Trinity - The Matrix
Trinity fights the biggest battle any hacker could ever surmount: The Matrix. It's not just a system, it's a life.
What's all the more impressive is how she does it in skin-tight leather and always ends up blowing sh*t up in the process. Our kind of girl.
What's all the more impressive is how she does it in skin-tight leather and always ends up blowing sh*t up in the process. Our kind of girl.
