Sport: Boxing
Movie: Million Dollar Baby
Year: 2004
Played by: Hilary Swank
In her own words: "I can't be like this, Frankie. Not after what I've done. I've seen the world. People chanted my name."
Bottom line: The story of Maggie Fitzgerald is a meteoric rise, capped by a tragic ending.
She and trainer Frankie Dunn team up to turn Fitzgerald into a spitfire in the junior welterweight class, and she earns a $1 million title fight against Billie "Blue Bear" Osterman, a known dirty fighter.
Despite dominating the fight, she’s taken out by a sucker punch, causing her to land on the stool in her corner, which remained in the ring, breaking her neck and ending her boxing career, and ultimately her life.