The wild West of the late 1800s and the turn of the next century was a place where law was loose, egos were huge, and adventure was the order of the day. It drew in fiery characters whose spirits matched the untamed terrain, and among them were women who refused to be tamed. These ten remarkable ladies embraced the freedom of the frontier, shattered expectations, and left stories that still spark conversation today. Join us as we count down the top 10 wild women who rode the frontier with grit.
10 Calamity Jane
Born: Martha Jane Cannary
Lived: May 1, 1852–August 1, 1903
Areas: Wyoming, Utah, Arizona
Calamity Jane stands as perhaps the most iconic of the wild women of the West, and for good reason. She dabbled in everything that made these frontier figures famous—she could fire a pistol with skill, spin extravagant yarns, flirt with prostitution, commit serious crimes, and indulge in copious drinking.
Beyond the reputation of a hard‑drinking outlaw, Jane possessed a surprisingly generous heart. When she was fourteen, she and her siblings were orphaned, and she took it upon herself to look after them, a responsibility that forged her into a true paradox.
This early duty helped shape her into an enigmatic figure. One of her first recorded jobs was as a dance‑hall girl, yet she also earned fame for wearing men’s attire and riding side‑by‑side with the roughest cowboys wherever work or excitement beckoned.
Jane accumulated a myriad of occupations, including a brief stint as a storyteller for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Unfortunately, none of these pursuits endured long, largely because chronic alcoholism plagued her life.
Like many legendary Western characters, Jane never shied away from a good tall tale. She claimed a close friendship with Wild Bill Hickok, bragging about their bond until her death. However, contemporaries insisted she was more obsessed with Hickok than truly allied with him.
Although she was interred next to Hickok, his friends at the time remarked that the burial site was meant as a joke—the famed lawman allegedly said he had “absolutely no use” for Jane.
9 Big Nose Kate
Born: Maria Katalin Horony
Lived: November 7, 1850–November 2, 1940
Areas: Arizona, Texas
Primarily remembered as the long‑time companion of Doc Holliday, Big Nose Kate was a force of nature who would not be ignored.
Her family emigrated from Hungary to Iowa when she was ten. The harsh realities of frontier life soon orphaned Kate and her siblings at age thirteen. True to outlaw spirit, she fled her foster home at fifteen, boarding a riverboat bound for St. Louis as a stowaway.
She tried her hand at a variety of jobs and roamed widely until she met Doc Holliday in Texas in 1877. History would have been very different without her, as she was the one who introduced Holliday to the legendary Wyatt Earp.
Kate and Holliday later moved to Tombstone, Arizona, joining Wyatt and his brothers in 1880, cementing a place in Western lore. Today, a Tombstone saloon bearing her name remains one of the premier cowboy bars in the region.
8 Poker Alice
Born: Alice Ivers
Lived: February 17, 1851–February 27, 1930
Areas: Colorado, South Dakota
In an era when the West was a laboratory for breaking gender norms, Alice Ivers—better known as Poker Alice—carved out a career as a professional card‑shark, a field still dominated by men.
Alice entered the world in England to conservative parents in 1851. Her father’s restless spirit took the family to Colorado, and Alice soon caught that wanderlust, fleeing home at a young age to marry Frank Duffield, a fellow poker enthusiast.
She stood beside her husband during nightly games, and when he perished in a mining accident, Alice took up the cards herself. Her talent soon led her to a Colorado bar owned by Bob Ford, the man who famously killed Jesse James.
Alice used her winnings to fund a lavish lifestyle, even traveling to New York City to splurge on high‑fashion couture. She was also noted for her shrewdness—rumor has it she married her final husband to settle a sizable gambling debt.
Despite her success, she humorously refused to play on Sundays, a rare quirk for such a non‑conformist. Nevertheless, she faced several arrests for running girls, bootlegging, and public drunkenness.
7 Belle Starr
Born: Myra Maybelle Shirley
Lived: February 5, 1848–February 3, 1889
Areas: Missouri, Texas
Belle Starr was practically destined for a life tangled with notorious outlaws. As a child she befriended both the James brothers and the Younger brothers, future leaders of the infamous James‑Younger gang, all hailing from Missouri.
Later, she married Sam Starr, a Cherokee man with a penchant for crime who refused conventional work. During their marriage, Belle became an adept organizer for regional cowboy gangs, offering sanctuary to fugitives, bootleggers, and thieves.
She cultivated an unmistakable sense of style—always riding sidesaddle in elegant black velvet—while fully embracing the outlaw lifestyle. After Sam was gunned down, Belle attempted to retreat from notoriety, but her death, just two days shy of her 41st birthday, remains cloaked in mystery.
Contemporary reports claim she was ambushed on her way home from a neighbor’s house late at night. Some theories suggest a spurned dance partner killed her; others propose her own son acted in a fit of adolescent rage.
6 Sally Scull
Born: Sarah Jane Newman
Lived: c. 1817–Unknown Date of Death
Areas: Texas
Sally Scull was a woman of many passions: she loved shooting, intimidation, and, above all, marriage. Her reputation for boldness attracted suitors from every corner, and she proved herself at poker, with a gun, and on horseback.
Growing up in Comanche territory, Sally learned bravery early. A legendary tale recounts her mother cutting off the toes of a Native American intruder, an act that foreshadowed Sally’s own ferocity. By the time her family relocated to Texas, she had become a quick‑draw specialist and a master horsewoman.
Sally earned fame as a true cowgirl, but the most enduring part of her legacy stems from her five marriages and the suspicious deaths of two husbands. In one incident, she allegedly fired a shot in shock after a husband splashed ice water on her face to wake her.
In another, her husband and his horse drowned in a swift river; Sally famously remarked she only wished his belt buckle had been saved, as it was worth $40.
Her abilities made her a valuable asset to the Confederacy during the Civil War, where she helped transport cotton for the Southern cause. After the war, her trail goes cold; her death date remains unknown. Had she been born later, she might have become a full‑blown outlaw or celebrated frontierswoman.
5 Laura Bullion
Lived: October 1876–December 2, 1961
Areas: Texas, Tennessee, Missouri
Laura Bullion’s lineage was steeped in criminality. Her father, a bank robber, was friends with Wild Bunch member Ben Kilpatrick (the “Tall Texan”), while her uncle specialized in train robbery. Raised in such a volatile environment, Laura left home at fifteen to forge her own path.
Like many female outlaws of her era, she began as a prostitute before transitioning to robbery around age seventeen, joining Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. Her father’s connections likely smoothed her entry, and she even became romantically involved with Kilpatrick for a period.
Laura participated in numerous heists with the Wild Bunch, often disguising herself in men’s clothing to avoid detection. After serving time, she slipped back into a conventional life, working regular jobs and keeping a low profile.
One of her most intriguing claims to fame is that, before her death, she was one of only three individuals believed to know the true identity of the enigmatic Etta Place, a secret she took to her grave.
4 Etta Place
Lived: 1878–Unknown Date of Death
Areas: Utah, Argentina, California
No compilation of female Wild West figures would be complete without Etta Place, the elusive companion of Harry Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. She was the only woman to accompany him and Butch Cassidy beyond U.S. borders, and the only female to remain with a member of the Wild Bunch for such an extended period.
Little is known about her early life, though it is widely believed she met the Sundance Kid while working as a prostitute in Utah. Their partnership persisted when Cassidy and the Kid fled to South America in 1901, with Etta at their side.
After parting ways with Longabaugh, theories about her fate abound—most suggest she returned to prostitution or outlaw life. Records confirm she lived in San Francisco in 1907, but beyond that, the trail goes cold. Estimates of her death range from 1922 to 1966, cementing her status as a truly mysterious frontier figure.
3 Pearl Hart
Born: Pearl Taylor
Lived: 1871–Unknown Date of Death
Areas: Missouri, Arizona
Pearl Hart earned infamy as the last recorded female train robber, a distinction that has kept her name alive in Western lore.
Born into a comfortable family, Pearl eloped at sixteen with an abusive alcoholic, maintaining a tumultuous on‑and‑off relationship until 1893. She later discovered Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which ignited her fascination with the cowboy lifestyle.
In 1898, she operated a tent brothel in Phoenix. When a nearby mine closed, she and a male accomplice hatched a plan to rob a stagecoach, cutting her hair short and donning men’s attire to pull off the crime.
The duo was quickly apprehended, but Pearl won acquittal by pleading passionately to the jury that she needed the money to care for her elderly mother. Shortly thereafter, she faced conviction for mail tampering.
She cleverly leveraged her notoriety while incarcerated, securing a comfortable mountain‑side suite with an outdoor yard, and was allowed to meet the public and pose for photographs, earning compensation for each session.
Pearl received a pardon in 1902 under mysterious circumstances—many suspect pregnancy played a role. She was given a ticket to Kansas City, Missouri, and later resurfaced as a storyteller for Buffalo Bill’s show, completing a full circle back to the stage.
2 Fannie Porter
Lived: February 12, 1873–January 1, 1940
Areas: San Antonio
When the most notorious outlaws of the West gathered, Fannie Porter was often there—not as a fellow outlaw or lover, but as the proprietor of a high‑end brothel that became a favorite haunt for the era’s most infamous characters.
Like many frontier women who turned to prostitution, Fannie began her career at fifteen. By twenty, she had already earned a reputation for shrewd business sense, running one of Texas’s cleanest, safest, and most upscale establishments.
Porter’s “girls” weren’t merely temporary companions; many became long‑term lovers of famous outlaws. For instance, Della Moore, who later became Kid Curry’s girlfriend and accomplice, worked for Fannie before returning after her relationship ended. Lillie Davis, a companion to Wild Bunch member Will “News” Carver, claimed she even married him before his death.
Perhaps the most mysterious connection is that Etta Place may have first met the Sundance Kid while employed at Fannie’s house, though this remains unverified.
As the Wild West era waned, Fannie faded from the spotlight. Some accounts suggest she retired wealthy, others that she married into riches, and a few claim she returned to England to live comfortably. Regardless, many celebrated outlaws owe a debt to her for providing a discreet meeting place.
1 Lottie Deno
Born: Carlotta J. Thompkins
Lived: April 21, 1844–February 9, 1934
Areas: Texas, New Mexico
Born Carlotta J. Thompkins, Lottie Deno’s poker prowess earned her the nickname “Deno,” a shortened form of the Spanish word for money, dinero. Unlike many frontier women who lived on the edge of the law, Carlotta hailed from a well‑to‑do family that offered her love and support.
She learned the art of card play by watching her father, a successful gambler and horse breeder. After his death in the Civil War, Lottie launched her own career at the poker table, quickly gaining a reputation as a formidable opponent.
Her romantic life soon intertwined with her gambling career when she fell for Frank Thurmond, another professional gambler. Accused of murder, Frank went on the run, and the pair used poker winnings to sustain their fugitive lifestyle.
The duo eventually settled in Fort Griffin, a quintessential cowboy town, where they befriended Doc Holliday. To avoid capture, Lottie and Frank kept their relationship hidden until they married years later. In Fort Griffin, Lottie’s fame as an unbeatable poker player grew, inspiring songs, paintings, novels, and countless short stories.
Lottie and Frank later married officially in 1880, investing their earnings into several legitimate businesses before moving to New Mexico. There, they became community leaders—Frank rose to vice‑president of a bank, while Lottie co‑founded a hospital, cementing their legacy beyond the gambling tables.
What Makes These Top 10 Wild Women So Iconic
Each of these remarkable women broke the rules of their time, demonstrating courage, cunning, and an unbreakable spirit that still captivates us. From gun‑fighting legends to savvy entrepreneurs, the top 10 wild women of the West proved that the frontier was as much a stage for heroines as it was for outlaws.