Ellen Ripley

Lore & Background

Ripley is introduced as a warrant officer aboard the Nostromo, a spaceship en route to Earth from Thedus. Having been placed in stasis for the long journey home, the crew is awakened when the Nostromo receives a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid. Following their landing, an unknown creature infiltrates the ship, and kills every other member of the crew. Ripley is the only member to escape from the Nostromo prior to its explosion, which she deliberately started to kill the monster. However, she discovers that the Alien is also aboard the ship's shuttle, but expels it into space before putting herself in stasis for the return trip to Earth. 57 years later, Ripley awakes from her stasis. Her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism; she loses her space flight license as a result of what is perceived as questionable judgment. She also learns her daughter, Amanda, has died of old age. However, after contact is lost with a colony on LV-426 (the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs), Ripley accompanies a group of Colonial Marines to investigate. They find the planet infested by many Aliens, who wipe out almost all of the marines. Ripley finally escapes the planet with Corporal Dwayne Hicks, the android Bishop, and Newt, a young girl who is the last surviving colonist. Back on the Sulaco, they are soon attacked by the surviving Alien Queen, which is finally expelled into space by Ripley. Ripley enters hypersleep alongside the three other survivors for the return to Earth.

In Their Own Story

The Sulaco launches an escape pod containing the four survivors, which then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, an abandoned foundry facility and penal colony. Ripley alone survives the crash. Unbeknownst to her, an Alien egg had been aboard the ship. Once hatched in the prison, the creature begins to kill inmates and guards, but strangely refuses to kill her. After rallying the inmates and preparing the defense against the creature, Ripley discovers the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her, thus realizing why she had not been attacked. After having killed the Alien by thermal shock, Ripley sacrifices herself by diving into a gigantic furnace just as the alien Queen begins to erupt from her chest, aiming to exterminate the final trace of the Aliens and prevent the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from using it as a biological weapon. 200 years after her sacrifice, scientists manage to use blood samples from Ripley and create Ripley 8 (Sigourney Weaver) and surgically retrieve the Alien Queen embryo from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM Auriga, using kidnapped hosts delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to flee to the Betty. They must destroy the Auriga, lest it make its emergency landing and unleash Xenomorphs on Earth. Ripley is taken to the Alien nest, where the Queen gives birth to a Newborn, a Xenomorph with human traits. The hybrid Alien recognizes Ripley as its mother and kills the Queen. Ripley escapes to the Betty, where she tearfully kills the Newborn when it is discovered aboard attacking the other survivors. The Auriga crashes into Earth, destroying all the remaining Xenomorphs in a massive explosion. From the windows of the Betty, Ripley look down at Earth and, when asked what she wants to do next, says, "I'm a stranger here myself."

Reader's Guide

Ellen Ripley is a human female known primarily through the portrayals of Sigourney Weaver across four films. She typically appears wearing Nostromo jumpsuits or Colonial Marine power-loader gear. Her physical traits are defined by practical attire suited for industrial space environments rather than jungle camouflage. She does not possess any canonical relationship with Predator characters. In fan fiction and unofficial crossovers, she is sometimes imagined as a rival hunter, but this contradicts established film continuity. Her combat style relies on environmental improvisation and heavy weaponry like pulse rifles or flamethrowers. Key appearances include the films Alien, Aliens, Alien³, and Alien Resurrection. She is often cited by fans when discussing potential crossovers between the two franchises due to her status as a top-tier action heroine in sci-fi horror.

Did You Know?

• Ripley was originally conceived as male for the first Alien film, but director Ridley Scott decided early in production to make her a woman.
• For her role in Aliens, Sigourney Weaver earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, a landmark since the Academy had given little recognition to science-fiction and horror genres.
• In Alien 3, Ripley discovers an embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her, which is why the creature refuses to kill her.
• 200 years after her death, scientists create Ripley 8 from blood samples, who has enhanced strength, reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with the Aliens.
• In the video game Alien: Isolation, Sigourney Weaver reprised her role as Ripley for the first time in 17 years for a voice cameo.