THE HIPPOLYTA LIVE-ACTION TOUR

In Greek mythology, Hippolyta (or Hippolyte) was the daughter of Ares and Otera, and she was queen of the Amazons.  She wore her father's zoster (a war belt).

When William Moulton Marston (along with H.G. Peter) created Wonder Woman in 1941, he drew upon the Greek legends and named Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyte.  She was the queen of the Amazons and a woman who had beaten Hercules in battle, thanks to her magic girdle.  The goddess Aphrodite gifted Hippolyte, and her Amazon subjects, their own island (originally called Amazonia) to grow and thrive on, away from the influence of the evil ways of men.

Over the years her name would be modified to Hippolyta, and her island would be renamed Paradise Island, and then Themyscira.  But one thing hasn't changed in over 80 years... she is the mother of Princess Diana, the young woman who becomes known outside of their island home, as... Wonder Woman.

In this tour, we will take a look at each of the actresses who have been cast to portray Hippolyta in live-action productions.  

In 1974, ABC Television aired a made-for-television Wonder Woman movie.  The movie veered dramatically away from the heroine seen in DC Comics.  The central character of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince was portrayed by blond actress Cathy Lee Crosby.  Cathy Lee had been a professional tennis player before transitioning to a career in acting.  She was certainly athletic enough for the role, which was more of a spy-type character than an actual superhero.  In this film, Wonder Woman has no superpowers but is in peak physical condition and she relies on gadgets (including a golden rope built into her belt) and martial arts.  Her costume was nothing like that in the comics, it was more of a vested bodysuit.  

This movie seemed to lean into an era of Wonder Woman that most comic historians refer to as her "mod era".  This was a period from 1968 through 1972 when a new writer named Dennis O'Neil tried to update Wonder Woman by stripping her of her power, dressing her in "mod" 1970s clothing, and having her team with a blind mentor named I-Ching.

One thing that this movie did share with the Wonder Woman comic book was the notion that Diana grew up on Paradise Island.  She was selected to enter into the world of men.  Her goal is to show the world the value of women.  During a singular, heavily filtered scene we see Diana saying goodbye to her friends and to her mother.  Hippolyte is portrayed by Charlene Holt. 

    

Though the 1974 TV movie was intended to be a pilot for a series, thankfully the reception for the movie was mediocre and any plans for a series were scrapped.  An ABC spokesperson later acknowledged that the decision to update the character had been a mistake.

ABC was not ready to give up on Wonder Woman though.  Just one year later they aired another TV movie (and pilot) featuring Wonder Woman.  This one was titled The New Original Wonder Woman in order to differentiate it from the 1974 movie (which had been re-aired several times).  In this new movie, we finally see Wonder Woman in her star-spangled tights, red bustier, and golden eagle-like breastplate.   Wonder Woman was played by newcomer Lynda Carter who bore much more of a resemblance to the Wonder Woman in comics.  Lynda had been a popular club singer who later gained national attention when she won the title of Miss World USA 1972, representing Arizona.  Lynda had unsuccessfully auditioned for the previous 1974 Wonder Woman pilot movie!

The New Original Wonder Woman followed the source material very closely and was set during World War II.  In the pilot, Princess Diana finds a wounded soldier (Steve Trevor) on the shore of Paradise Island.  A contest is held to determine which Amazon will return him to the outside world.  Presiding over the contest is the ruler of Paradise Island, Queen Hippolyta.  Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman was chosen to play Hippolyta.  As the queen she bestows upon her daughter, the contest winner, the Wonder Woman costume, magic lasso, and Invisible Plane.  She also shares her wisdom on the cunningness of "men".

This pilot was a ratings success, as were two additional one-hour specials that were filmed and aired five months later.  The order was given for a series to go into production.  Retitled simply Wonder Woman, a season of 11 more episodes aired between September 1976 and February 1977.  Three of the episodes featured Queen Hippolyta (as well as Diana's younger sister Druscilla who could transform into Wonder Girl).  In these episodes, the queen of Paradise Island was played by former Addams Family matron, Carolyn Jones.

Though the show finished in 7th place for the season, ABC took too long to decide if they wanted to renew it.  While the ratings were tremendous, the period costumes, settings, and vehicles made the show much more expensive to produce than shows with lesser ratings.  In the meantime, the production company received an offer from the CBS Network for a full 22-episode season, provided they could move the show into a contemporary setting. The producers took that deal.

For the show's 2nd season the title was changed to The New Adventures of Wonder Woman and the show's setting reflected 1977.  In episode 1 we are told that Wonder Woman returned to Paradise Island at the end of the war, but because of her Amazonian heritage, she's aged only slightly since then.  She returns to America and as Diana Prince she works with Steve Trevor's look-alike son, Steve Trevor Jr. at the Inter-Agency Defense Command (the IADC).  The show ends its season ranked 14th in the ratings, and is picked up for a third and final season.  

During season 2, Queen Hippolyta is featured in two episodes.  The role was played by Beatrice Straight. Her final appearance first aired on October 7, 1977.  It would be forty years before another actor would have the opportunity to play this role.

Despite being one of DC Comics' top three characters, there wasn't much of an effort to try and produce major motion pictures of her like there was for Superman and Batman.  That changed in 2015 when production started on a feature film.  Wonder Woman (the movie!) was released in theaters nationwide in July of 2017.  It starred Israeli model and actress Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.  This movie was set during World War I, with the Princess of Themyscira (an island of Amazons) journeying to England to assist U.S. Captain Steve Trevor.

In this film, Wonder Woman is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and the Greek god Zeus.  (This update to Wonder Woman's origin had previously been made in the comic books as well.)  Queen Hippolyta was portrayed by Danish actress Connie Nielsen.  The film was a blockbuster hit and the 10th highest-grossing film of that year.

Connie Nielsen reprised her role as Queen Hippolyta later that same year in Justice League, and again in the 2020 film, Wonder Woman 1984.  Unfortunately, neither of these films was as critically well-received as the first Wonder Woman film. 

And there you have it!  All the actors who have represented Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, and the mother of Wonder Woman, in live-action performances! 

This tour has reached its conclusion!

  Wonder Woman, Hippolyta, and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.