Wonder Woman is one of the first superheroines who has never had to answer to a man or be rescued like a helpless damsel. The actresses who have portrayed the character over the years can contest that.
This post will focus on the actresses who have bought Wonder Woman to life in some form. The source we are using is People magazine.
One of the most recognisable actresses to play Wonder Woman is Lynda Carter in the series of the same name that debuted in 1975. However, like Teri Hatcher, Dean Cain and John Wesley Shipp, Carter has appeared in other D.C. properties. Hatcher, Carter and Cain all occurred at some point in Supergirl. Shipp has recurring roles in The Flash series and appeared in Stargirl. Carter also appears in a cameo in Wonder Woman 1984.
Jane Webb voiced Wonder Woman in the animated Brady Bunch spinoff, The Brady Kids.
Unknown to most Wonder Woman fans, Lynda Carter wasn’t the first woman to play the character in live-action. That honour goes to Cathy Lee Crosby. She appeared as a blonde Diana in a Wonder Woman television film in 1974, which helped get the Carter series off the ground.
The Bonus Fact And The Unexpected Actresses To Play Wonder Woman
As a bonus fact related to Crosby’s Wonder Woman, there were plans for a Wonder Woman series as early as 1967, almost a decade earlier than Carter’s television series. A pilot was filmed with Ellie Wood Parker, with the show allegedly going to be called “Who’s Afraid Of Diana Prince?” The idea was so silly that it almost has an Incredible Hulk-like feel where Parker would be civilian Diana while Linda Harrison (Planet of the Apes) would be the Wonder Woman persona.
Moving on to an animated Wonder Woman actress, Lucy Lawless (best known for her role as Xena, Warrior Princess) voiced the character in the 2008 animated movie Justice League: The Front Frontier.
Of all the actresses mentioned in this post, some might be surprised to find Keri Russell was also the voice of Wonder Woman in a 2009 animated movie with Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor.
You cannot have Wonder Girl without Wonder Woman. In the hit animated series Young Justice, Cassie Sandsmark is mentored by Wonder Woman, who is voiced in the series by Maggie Q.
Before she was Kelly Grayson in The Orville and Bobbie Morse in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Adrienne Palicki filmed a pilot for a David E. Kelly show about Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, N.B.C. chose not to pick the series up.
Another animated project that involved the famed Amazon princess is Justice League: War which had Michelle Monaghan as Diana.
From Marvel To DC And Back Again
Cobie Smulders voices Diana in The LEGO Movie. Interestingly, Joss Whedon almost did a Wonder Woman movie with Smulders in the role, but it never happened. Instead, Whedon would later cast her as Maria Hill in the first Avengers film, a position she still plays today.
Star Wars fans know Rosario Dawson as the live-action Ahsoka Tano. Marvel fans will understand as Claire Temple in Daredevil. But she has also played Wonder Woman in animated projects. She has voiced the character several times, including the Space Jam sequel, A New Legacy. Her first time in the role was in Justice League: Throne of Atlantis in 2015.
Ultimately, in many animated projects, Susan Eisenberg usually voices the character.
Gal Gadot is the most recent actress to play Wonder Woman. Her first appearance was in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Next, we have an actress that almost got to the big screen but didn’t. Australian model and actress Megan Gale was scheduled to play the character in the George Miller movie Justice League: Mortal. However, the 2007 Writer’s Strike starting around the time of production was due to do so, it caused havoc.
If this wasn’t enough, the film was originally to film in Australia. Still, it was declined by the Australian government, feeling that Warner Brothers had not hired enough Australian cast crew. After the offer to film in Australia was rejected, filming was supposed to happen in Canada.
Just a bit of fun fact, Megan Gale (as mentioned), Teresa Palmer, and Hugh Keays-Byrne are all Australian.
Ultimately, the film was scrapped before it could even start filming. Though, the script still exists online.
Finally, one final animated voiceover is Vanessa Marshall, who has played the character multiple times.
