7. Zhuge Liang, Romance of the Three Kingdoms
This one isn't a girl/woman! Probably one of the earliest heroes I ever had. Yes he's a real person but the version in the romance is fictional. My mom used to tell me the stories as bed time stories.
In a world where most larger than life heroes for kids are people who can fight and kick ass, and even within the story, most of the characters are defined by how good they are at fighting, it was meaningful for me as a smart kid with no ability to fight and who got bullied all the time to hear stories about a hero whose ability is all about his brain and ability to think outside the box and know his opponents.
It helped me be good at things like games, even sports, by thinking outside the box & studying my opponents.
