The idea of a female president has been explored by various writers in novels (including science fiction), films and television, as well as other media. Numerous actors have portrayed a female president. Such portrayals have occurred in both serious works and comedies.
No real woman has been elected president of the United States before.
Film and television 1924–2010 The 1924 silent science-fiction film The Last Man on Earth shows a woman as president of the United States; in the movie, all adult men die of disease. In the 1932 animated short Betty Boop for President, Betty Boop, voiced by Mae Questel, runs for and wins the presidency of the United States. In the 1948 animated short Olive Oyl for President, a dream sequence shows Olive Oyl, voiced by Mae Questel, successfully running for president of the United States, after which she makes married men exempt from taxes in the hopes that Popeye will propose. In Project Moonbase, a 1953 science-fiction film, Ernestine Barrier plays a female president of the United States. In the 1964 comedy film Kisses for My President, Polly Bergen plays Leslie McCloud, the first female president of the United States. Leslie eventually becomes pregnant and resigns the presidency. In the 1985 sitcom Hail to the Chief, Patty Duke plays the first female president of the United States. In the 1986 British satire film Whoops Apocalypse, Loretta Swit plays Barbara Adams, the first female president of the United States. In the 1987 Australian film Les Patterson Saves the World, Joan Rivers plays the president of the United States. In the 1989 time-travel film Back to the Future Part II, there is a USA Today newspaper from 2015, in which one of the headlines is "PRESIDENT SAYS SHE'S TIRED of reporters asking same questions". The 1990 television movie Hitler's Daughter has a female American president who is the fictional daughter of Adolf Hitler. In the television show Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994), the title character, played by Melissa Joan Hart, repeatedly imagines Chelsea Clinton becoming President of the United States. The 1992 Lifetime television movie Majority Rule features Blair Brown playing Katherine Taylor, the president of the United States. In the pilot to the 1992 television series X-Men: The Animated Series, a female president of the United States is briefly shown. In the 1993 episode "The Last Temptation of Homer" of the television series The Simpsons, Homer's guardian angel shows him how life would be if Homer was married to Mindy, which includes Marge being the president of the United States. In a 1994 episode of the television show RoboCop, called "Public Enemies", a female president of the United States faces an assassination plot against her.Muir, John Kenneth. The encyclopedia of superheroes on film and television. pp. 451. United Kingdom: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2008. In the 1995 episode "The Weaker Sex" of the television series Sliders, Teresa Barnwell plays Hillary Clinton as the president of the United States in an alternative universe where women are in charge. In the 1996 television movie Special Report: Journey to Mars, Elizabeth Wilson plays President Elizabeth Richardson, whose support of a mission to Mars gets her re-elected. The mission is sabotaged, causing crisis. In the 1998 comedy film Mafia!, Christina Applegate plays United States President Diane Steen. This character is a parody of Diane Keaton's character in the film series The Godfather, and she almost accomplishes world peace but is distracted by her boyfriend, a mobster. In the 1999 film Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, a Disney Channel original film set in the year 2049, Chelsea Clinton is the president of the United States. In the 2000 film Chain of Command, Vice President Gloria Valdez, played by María Conchita Alonso, becomes president. In the 2000 episode "Bart to the Future" of the television show The Simpsons, Bart looks 30 years into the future, at which time Lisa Simpson, voiced by Yeardley Smith, has become President of the United States after succeeding Donald Trump. (In actuality, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016 and 2024.) In the episode, Lisa states that she is "proud to be America's first straight female president", and it is implied that Chaz Bono, at the time still identifying as a lesbian, had previously been president. In the 2000 episode "The Election" of the television series Arthur, Muffy Crosswire, voiced by Melissa Altro, is shown to become president of the United States in the future. In the 2001–2010 TV series 24, Cherry Jones plays the president of the United States. President Allison Taylor, whom she plays, takes office in the 2008 TV movie, 24: Redemption, and serves in Season 7 and Season 8. At the end of season 8, Taylor resigns and goes to prison. In the 2001 American-Argentinian science-fiction film Perfect Lover, set in 2030, the world is run by women and Sally Champlin plays the female president of the United States. The film begins with her saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that young man", similar to an actual quote by President Bill Clinton.Clinton, Bill. Response to the Lewinsky Allegations , Miller Center of Public Affairs, 26 January 1998. In CBS's 2004 TV series Century City Oprah Winfrey is said to be the president of the United States, but is never shown. The 2005–2006 television series Commander in Chief focused on the fictional administration and family of Mackenzie Allen, played by Geena Davis, who is the first female president of the United States. In the 2005–2009 television series Prison Break, Patricia Wettig plays Vice President Caroline Reynolds, who becomes President of the United States after she arranges the assassination of the former president. In the 2006 French miniseries L'État de Grace, Peggy Frankston plays Hillary Clinton, who is shown as the president of the United States in two episodes. Anjelica Huston plays a corrupt president of the United States in the miniseries Covert One: The Hades Factor, which aired on CBS in 2006.Muir, John Kenneth. TV Year: The Prime Time 2005-2006 Season, Volume 1. pgs. 310-311. United States, Bloomsbury Academic, 2007. A 2006 BBC Four television adaptation of John Wyndham's Random Quest depicts the main character being sucked into an alternative reality in which Condoleezza Rice is president of the United States. In the 2008 miniseries XIII: The Conspiracy, Mimi Kuzyk plays Sally Sheridan, the first female president of the United States, who is assassinated in a conspiracy. In ABC's 2008–2009 TV series Life on Mars it is hinted that Malia Obama is the president of the United States in 2035. In the 2010 film Airline Disaster, Meredith Baxter plays the president."Airline Disaster." The Asylum]. Retrieved: November 30, 2015.
2011–present In the television show Homeland (2011-2020), Elizabeth Marvel plays President Elizabeth Keane. In the television show Scandal (2012-2018), Bellamy Young plays Melody "Mellie" Margaret Grant, who is elected the first female president after the assassination of President-elect Francisco Vargas on election night. In the final episode, it is suggested that Olivia Pope might have also become President.. In the movie Iron Sky (2012), Stephanie Paul plays a female president who is a Sarah Palin-esque parody. She reprised her role in the 2019 sequel Iron Sky: The Coming Race. In the television show Veep (2012-2019), Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays VP Selina Meyer, who becomes the 45th president of the United States after the incumbent resigns to look after his wife with mental health conditions. Meyer's successor, Laura Montez (Andrea Savage) is also a woman and the running mate of opposition candidate Bill O'Brian. In the television series Air Force One Is Down (2013), Linda Hamilton plays President Harriet Rowntree, who is kidnapped from Air Force One. In the television show House of Cards (2013-2018), Robin Wright plays Claire Underwood, who becomes the U.S. President after the resignation of her husband, Frank Underwood. In the television show Madam Secretary (2014-2019), Téa Leoni plays Elizabeth McCord, the United States Secretary of State, who in the final season is shown to have won the presidential election after a flash-forward from the previous season. In the television show State of Affairs (2014-2015), Alfre Woodard plays Constance Payton, the first Black female president of the US. In the animated movie Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015), Penny Johnson Jerald plays President Amanda Waller in an unspecified alternative universe. In the television show Quantico (2015-2018), Marcia Cross plays Claire Haas, who becomes President after the incumbent steps down. In the 2015 Spanish animated film Capture the Flag, there is a female president of the United States. In the television show Supergirl (2015-2021), Lynda Carter plays President Olivia Marsdin. In the 2016 Legends of Tomorrow episode of the Arrowverse crossover event "Invasion!", which event involved the television shows Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, Lucia Walters plays President Susan Brayden in an alternate timeline. In the movie Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), Sela Ward plays Elizabeth Lanford, the 45th and first female president of the US, who is in her first term, succeeding Thomas J. Whitmore, William Grey, and Lucas Jacobs. She is eventually killed by an alien queen. In a sketch called "Madame President" in a May 2016 episode of the television show Inside Amy Schumer, Schumer plays President Schinton, who has her period on her first day as president and does poorly because of it. In the movie The Purge: Election Year (2016), Elizabeth Mitchell plays Senator Charlie Roan, who is elected president on the platform of ending the Annual Purge, after barely surviving the night herself. In the episode "21C" of the television show Travelers (2016-2018), the Travelers are tasked with the protection of Anna Hamilton, a child who will later go on to become president. In the second season of the television show Modus (2017), Kim Cattrall plays President Helen Tyler, who disappears during a state visit to Sweden. In the 2018 film An Acceptable Loss, Jamie Lee Curtis plays Rachel Burke, who rises to the presidency after ordering a nuclear launch while vice president. In the film Hunter Killer (2018), Caroline Goodall plays President Ilene Dover. Jeannie Berlin plays President Cecily Burke in the television show The First (2018), which focuses on the first human mission to Mars. In the television show For All Mankind, which premiered in 2019, Jodi Balfour plays the first female president, Ellen Wilson, a former astronaut who is also gay. In the 2019 film Long Shot, Charlotte Field, played by Charlize Theron, becomes the first female president of the United States in 2021. In a 2020 episode of the television show The Good Fight, titled "The Gang Deals with Alternate Reality", in an alternate reality Hillary Clinton is serving as the President of the United States after winning the 2016 presidential election. In the television show Diary of a Future President (2020-2021), Gina Rodriguez plays President Elena Cañero-Reed, a Cuban American who recounts her youth and path to the presidency after finding an old diary. The 2020 film Superintelligence features Jean Smart playing the president. In the episode "The Rad Awesome Terrific Ray" of the 2020 Hulu animated television series Solar Opposites, former First Lady Michelle Obama is president in an alternate timeline. In 2021, the movie Don't Look Up was released, in which Meryl Streep plays a president not bothered by an upcoming comet strike. In an episode of the television show The Simpsons titled "Mother And Child Reunion" (2021), Werner Herzog predicts that Lisa Simpson will be president in the future, which the episode depicts.