‘Supernatural’s Super Women (PHOTOS)
Dean and Sam Winchester may run the show, but here are the strong ladies who’ve left their mark on Supernatural—additional reporting by Marisa Roffman
Amara (Emily Swallow)
Older than light and even her brother, God, the destructive primal force known as the Darkness was inadvertently released from God’s eternal prison and set out to destroy the world. Only her pet Dean (Jensen Ackles) would have been spared to become a part of her. Thankfully, a celestial sibling sit-down postponed her nefarious plans. “It was hard playing a human in a scene with such an omnipotent character,” Ackles admits. “Emily did a fantastic job, and I just played dumb.”
Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes)
Dean and Sam (Jared Padalecki) helped the kindly Sioux Falls, South Dakota, sheriff save her town from zombies, including her own son. Since then, they have worked together numerous times to rid the world of monsters. “Sheriff Mills took the boys under her wing,” Padalecki says. “She is a really cool, really independent female character.”
Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day)
The irrepressible computer hacker got into supernatural hunting after she helped the brothers destroy the Leviathan Dick Roman. She teamed up with Dorothy to save the legendary Landof Oz from evil but met her demise while working on the translation of the Book of the Damned, a powerful spell manual. “Charlie is one of my favorite characters ever on the show,”Ackles says, “and Felicia is infectiously charming.”
Billie (Lisa Berry)
The main reaper of souls, she took over for Death (of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame) after Dean killed him. Later she came to claim the dying God after his confrontation with Amara. “She wants to run Hell,” Ackles says, “and she’s a great foil for the boys. Lisa was supposed to do one episode, but she was so talented and badass that she keeps coming back.”
Abaddon (Alaina Huffman)
The ambitious Knight of Hell was trained by Cain (of Biblical fame), slaughtered the occult scholars known as the Men of Letters and was determined to become queen of the underworld once she dispatched Crowley. “A delicious villain; sexy and almost unstoppable,” Sheppard says. “Alaina played her with wonderful whimsy.” Ironically, Dean killed Abaddon with Cain’s knife, known as the First Blade.
Donna Hanscum (Briana Buckmaster)
The sunny Minnesota sheriff rarely lets anything get her down, and that includes the world of monsters, vampires and evil spirits that she was introduced to by her friend Jody Mills and the Winchesters. “Donna is amazing comic relief in a show that can be so dark,” Padalecki says. “I was thrilled that they brought Briana on so somebody could hold their own against Jensen’s perfect comic timing.”
Ruby (Katie Cassidy and Genevieve Cortese)
“Ruby was Supernatural’s original femme fatale,” says Padalecki, who is now married to Cortese (above, who took over from a pre-Arrow Cassidy as Ruby’s prime portrayer in Season 4). “Sam was seduced by her demonic charms and addicted to her blood.” He thought she was helping him prevent the Apocalypse, but instead she tricked him into releasing Lucifer. Dean then killed her with her own knife.
Lilith (Katherine Boecher)
The first demon Lucifer created, and the queen of the Crossroads demons, Lilith ordered her army to destroy Sam, whom she saw as a rival because of his powers. Sam eventually killed her, believing it would stop the Apocalypse, but instead her death was the final step in Ruby’s secret plan to free Lucifer from his cage in Hell.
Bela Talbot (Lauren Cohan)
Bela was a relic thief who sold her soul to a demon so it would kill her abusive parents. When her contract came due, she bargained with Lilith to get her deal canceled. In the end, hellhounds dragged her to the underworld, but a few years later, Cohan landed a sweet new gig. “We’re like the boarding school for demon hunting, zombie killing and vampire slaying.” Ackles jokes. “I assume that’s why The Walking Dead hired her.”
Eileen Leahy (Shoshannah Stern)
The brothers met Eileen at Oak Park Retirement Living, where she was tracking a banshee. The granddaughter of a Man of Letters, she became a hunter after the creature killed her parents and its shrieks made her deaf. “Shoshannah is so talented and has a wonderful sense of humor,” Padalecki says of the deaf actress. “The director asked us to ad-lib, and Shoshannah said, ‘Maybe we can go bowling. I’m good with my fingers.’”
Mildred Baker (Dee Wallace)
Banshees hunt the vulnerable, and if the one haunting Oak Park thought Mildred would be easy prey, it was dead wrong. She was feisty enough to seriously hit on Dean! “Dee treated every scene like she was working for Spielberg on E.T.,” Ackles says, referring to one of the veteran actress’s many film credits. “That’s a testament to who she is as an artist and as a person.”
Meg Masters (Nicki Aycox and Rachel Miner)
The endearingly sarcastic demon switched loyalties like other demons switch meat suits. (Though she, too, changed bodies, first portrayed by Aycox, then later by Miner, above.) Dean and Sam could never be sure whether she was an ally or an enemy. She had an unlikely romantic attraction to the angel Castiel (Misha Collins) and hated Crowley, who eventually killed her when she helped the boys and Cas.
Ellen and Jo Harvelle (Samantha Ferris and Alona Tal)
The mother-and-daughter team of hunters died heroically saving the Winchesters from a pack of hellhounds, with Dean tenderly kissing the wounded young Jo goodbye. “Ellen and Jo represented a home base for hunters,” says Ackles. “We really loved working with these ladies.”
Claire Novak (Kathryn Love Newton)
After Castiel took Claire’s father, Jimmy, as his human vessel, her mother left and the runaway teen became a thief. The budding hunter and bundle of teen angst now lives with Sheriff Mills and helped save her foster sister, Alex Jones, from vengeful vampires. “Claire adds a nice twist to Castiel as he tries to be a father figure,” Ackles says. “Kathryn is a fan, cast and crew favorite.”
Alex Jones (Katherine Ramdeen)
“The Winchesters would usually kill someone like Alex, who lured victims to a nest of vampires,” Padalecki says. “But she was being tricked.” The fangsters had raised her and even though they were using her, she still thought of them as her family. Big mistake. Sam and Dean eventually killed the vamps and Alex went to live with Sheriff Mills.
Rowena (Ruth Connell)
“Ruth is proof that great things can come in wee packages,” Mark Sheppard says of the Scottish actress who plays the powerful witch, who’s also Crowley’s mother. “It’s the best love-hate relationship on the show. Deadly,” he adds. The Winchesters put up with the wicked witch (and her ever-changing alliances) because of her exceptional skills at casting and breaking spells.Supernatural, Season Premiere, Thursday, October 13, 9/8c, The CW.
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