Who’s Your Favorite Spike Lee Joint Heroine?

Spike Lee’s films are always provocative and consistently feature strong Black women characters. His latest, <em>BlacKkKlansman</em>, is no exception. In theaters now, the film, based on the true story of a Colorado cop who infiltrates the local Ku Klux Klan, costars Laura Harrier ( <em>Spider-Man: Homecoming</em>, 2017) as Afroed activist Patrice Dumas. Who’s your favorite Spike Lee joint heroine? Let’s take a look back at eight of the groundbreaking director’s most memorable leading ladies.

aarp, sisters, spike lee, she's gotta have it

<strong><em>She’s Gotta Have It</em></strong>, 1986

Some women wanna play the field just like men do. That’s the feminist theme Lee explores in his first major film, which was rebooted as a Netflix series in 2017. Portrayed by Tracy Camilla Johns, Nola Darling is perhaps the first sexually empowered black female character to light up the silver screen. Johns appeared in <em>New Jack City</em> in 1991 and in Lee’s <em>Red Hook Summer</em> in 2012.

aarp, sisters, spike lee, mo' better blues

<strong><em>Mo’ Betta Blues</em></strong> <em>,</em> 1990

Set in Harlem, this joint stars Denzel Washington as womanizing jazz man Bleek Gilliam. Joie Lee portrays Indigo Downes, whose undying love tames and saves Bleek. A fixture in her big brother’s films, Lee also starred as Jade in <em>Do the Right Thing</em> in 1989, cowrote 1994’s <em>Crooklyn</em> and continues to write for television and appear in films.

aarp, sisters, spike lee, jungle fever

<strong><em>Jungle Fever</em></strong> <em>,</em> 1991

This complicated story of a black man who falls for a white woman while dealing with his dysfunctional family dynamics features an unknown Halle Berry. Initially deemed too pretty for the role, the former beauty pageant queen convinced Lee to cast her as a “crack ho.” Since then, Berry’s career has soared: in 2002, she became the first black woman to win the Academy Award for best actress, for her role in <em>Monster’s Ball</em>; she’s been a Bond girl and transformed into iconic comic book she-roes Catwoman and Storm; and in 2019 she will star with Keanu Reeves in the action thriller <em>John Wick 3: Parabellum</em>.

aarp, sisters, spike lee, malcolm x

<strong><em>Malcolm X</em></strong> <em>,</em> 1992

Denzel Washington embodies the complexities of Malcolm X — from small-time gangster to controversial Black Nationalist leader. And Angela Bassett portrays his steadfast wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz. In 1994, Bassett won a Golden Globe for her powerful portrayal of Tina Turner in <em>What’s Love Got to Do With It.</em> Bassett, 60, is riding high with starring roles in the blockbuster films <em>Black Panther</em> and <em>Mission: Impossible </em> <em>— Fallout</em> and the television series <em>9-1-1.</em>