With Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins working on a brand new film based around the historical figure Cleopatra, it draws attention to a lot of other movies based on famous and history-altering women. It's often very difficult for these kinds of biopics to remain factually accurate - and sometimes, the story seems to take precedence over the facts.
In fact, even the most well renowned of historical pictures can still contain huge inaccuracies that have historians criticizing the screenplay or the research that went into the movie. However, there are a great number of films that have done their best to be true to the spirit of that famous person or moment in time and have only used fiction to try and fill in the gaps.
The Duchess (2008)
Some of Keira Knightley's best work has come in the form of period pieces. The renowned actress seems to thrive in historical costumes and sets. The Duchess may just be one of her most memorable performances due to her role as the Duchess of Devonshire.
The real-life Duchess had a complex life, full of an unhappy marriage, affairs, and a political career which came to define her. In both the film and in reality, Georgiana had the ear of some of the most influential men in the country, forming the future of Britain.
Suffragette (2015)
There have been quite a few adaptations of the events of the Suffragette movement. It was a pivotal time in British history and one that had a great impact on democracy around the world. The 2015 movie of the events is perhaps one of the closest to life.
Tracking some of the leading women in the movement, it sought to represent their struggles in an authentic way and the lengths that they went to in order to secure the vote for women. It's a powerful film and one that isn't held back by inaccuracies.
Hidden Figures (2016)
Hidden Figures is important as a film in representing the work of Black women in the field of science. The film tracks the incredibly intelligent women who work within the United States space race program.
Dealing with all sorts of prejudice due to gender and race, they prove to be a pivotal part of getting John Glenn into space. Without their contributions, of which the movie does a great job of portraying, the US may not have made it to the moon first!
The Iron Lady (2011)
Margaret Thatcher was a strong politician and the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but she was also an incredibly controversial figure. Meryl Streep puts in one of her best performances, trying to portray the complex life of the former PM.
What's more, considering Thatcher was still alive at the time the film was made, it was able to be an incredibly accurate portrayal of the famous historical figure. This time period was also so well documented, it was difficult to make larger errors.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Zero Dark Thirty is quite a controversial film in terms of its accuracy. A great deal of research was done in order to get the series of events correct. Unfortunately, when real people and real situations are kept secretive for security reasons, that is incredibly difficult.
Asides from the torture scenes which have been described as inaccurate, this is perhaps the best attempt any film will have, of trying to accurately capture the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. It's an intense thriller and one that certainly includes a lot of interesting details about the US government.
Queen Of Katwe (2016)
The Queen of Katwe is a Disney movie about a brilliant Ugandan girl. Living a life of poverty, everything turns upside-down after a local youth programme starts to teach her some new skills. She becomes incredibly good at chess.
Ultimately this real-life journey leads her to international competitions and although she doesn't initially win the big one, she actually ends up earning enough money to help her family. It's an inspirational tale and one portrayed in a fantastic manner.
Judy (2019)
Judy Garland was a fascinating performer and someone who went through a great deal of struggles, throughout her life. As a young star, it had a huge impact on her mental health and this affected her throughout her career.
The portrayal of Judy Garland by Renee Zellweger is nothing short of fantastic. The movie tries its best to be as accurate as possible and does a good job of investigating one of Hollywood's most tragic stories in an honest way.
Mary Queen Of Scots (2018)
Mary, Queen of Scots is a compelling historical figure to follow. The latest depiction of her on film was said to be fantastic in the portrayal of the woman herself. The iteration of Elizabeth put to screen was of equal accuracy.
Unfortunately, having the two meet does detract from some of the accuracy of the film. In reality, the rivals never met, but this creative license shouldn't take away from the fact that outside of this, someone clearly did their research.
The Queen (2006)
Queen Elizabeth has been portrayed on screen a lot. She's Britain's longest-reigning monarch and has been Queen for a lot of significant events across history. Considering she has been in the public eye for so long, it's easy for a portrayal of her to be accurate.
The royal family is quite secretive though, but it appears that everything about this film, bar a few minor changes, really happened in a similar fashion. The highs and lows of her career as monarch is certainly well documented here.
Jackie (2016)
Jackie Kennedy certainly led a complex life. As the widow of JFK, this film follows the famous first lady after her husband has been assassinated. Many people did not like the portrayal of her in this movie.
However, details like the chain-smoking were entirely true and the production team went to great lengths to put as much authenticity into every scene as possible. Anything that wasn't directly confirmed was still well within the possibilities of happening.