Ok, Rose never battled time travelling robots or ever threw a grenade, but she fought both her family and defied a system in the pursuit of her love with Leo DiCaprio’s Jack.

Earning an Oscar nod for Kate Winslet (who had to beg James Cameron for the part, originally going to Gwyneth Paltrow) Rose proved herself just as gutsy as any of Cameron’s other sirens of steel.

Dark Angel – 2000

Little known to many, this James Cameron created TV show about a rogue super-soldier was the first time some of us were introduced to a certain Jessica Alba.

Playing Max, the butt-kicking lead, she became an instantly became a fan-boy favourite, toughened up her Nickelodeon based image and started her on the path to become the star we all know today.

Avatar – 2009

Forget that Sam Worthington leads the cast, the latest ambitious project from the Canadian maestro has the most strong women yet.

Lead by Sigourney Weaver, returning to work with Cameron after two decades apart as scientist Dr Grace Augustine, the woman who stands up to the aggressive suits and soldiers wanting to tear the planet of Pandora apart.

Claiming that she’s channelling the obsessive aspects of Cameron himself, Weaver’s return sees a return of women as capable with maths as she is bullets to the screen.

She’s backed up by both Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana as the fiery alien princess Neytiri, who guides Sam Worthington’s Jake through the exotic world and proves more than a match for anyone around her.

Add in Michelle Rodriguez (who he’s always wanted to cast in something since she starred in Girlfight) as a pilot who rebels against the system and you've got one heck of a mix.

We’ve yet to see quite how it all plays out, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see if they join the ranks of James Cameron’s classic female leads.

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