Dejah Thoris

Dejah Thoris is the Princess of Helium in Edgar Rice Burroughs' foundational science fiction series set on the planet Mars (called Barsoom by its inhabitants). First introduced in the 1912 novel 'A Princess of Mars,' she becomes the central romantic figure and love interest of the protagonist, John Carter, an American Civil War veteran mysteriously transported to Mars. Depicted as highly educated, independent-minded, and physically graceful, Dejah Thoris challenged early 20th-century conventions of female characterization in science fiction by portraying a woman of intelligence and agency within an alien society. The character has become iconic in the history of speculative fiction, influencing countless depictions of alien women and exotic heroines in subsequent decades. Her image has been reinterpreted across numerous film and television adaptations, most notably in the 2012 film adaptation starring Lynn Collins. Dejah Thoris represents the Golden Age of pulp science fiction and remains a seminal character in the development of the science fiction genre.