24 Toughest Facts about the Women of Game of Thrones

In the books, Theon’s sister’s name is Asha, but the series renamed her Yara to avoid confusion with the Wilding Osha. While Yara is bisexual, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that Asha is not.

2. Olenna Tyrell can’t tell her twin guardsmen named apart, so she calls them simply “Left” and “Right.” She herself is known as the Queen of Thorns because of her sharp tongue.

3. Myranda, Ramsey Bolton’s equally sadistic lover, does not appear in the books. In the TV series, it is revealed that she once trained to be septa, but her overheated sexuality kept her from taking the vows.

4. In season 6, when she takes her necklace off and becomes an extremely old woman, it was finally confirmed that Melisandre’s ruby necklace is the source of her youth and likely the source of at least some of her power.

5. You might remember Unella from Cersei’s walk of shame; she was the one ringing the bell and yelling “Shame!” so she was kind of hard to miss. You might not know, however, that Unella is also a member of the Most Devout, who elect the High Septon.

Lyanna Mormont is only 10-year-old, and yet she has already stood up to Stannis and was the first in the new landscape of the North to declare for a Stark.

7. Despite her renowned beauty, Cersei Lannister was rejected as a bride for both Rhaegar and Viserys Targaryen. Robert Baratheon didn’t want her at first either, and even accidentally called her Lyanna on their wedding night.

8. In the books, the dead Catelyn Stark is brought back as a vengeful zombie named Lady Stoneheart, a fearsome being who kills anyone associated with the Red Wedding. Because Catelyn’s throat was slit during the Red Wedding, Lady Stoneheart is unable to speak.

9. The phrase “Game of Thrones” is said only once on screen, and the speaker is Cersei Lannister. “When you play the game of thrones,” she says, “you either win or you die.”

10. Margaery Tyrell once told Littlefinger that she wanted to be the queen, not just a queen. And she was. Three times in fact. The socially mobile royal became the queen of Kings Renly Baratheon, Joffrey Baratheon, and Tommen Baratheon.

Lysa Arryn and her sister Catelyn Stark used to kiss their father’s ward, Littlefinger, for practice when they were children. They also once made mud cakes for him, and he was sick for a week after eating them.

12. Nymeria is long dead when the TV series starts, but she was a revered warrior queen who led the Rhoynar refugees and founded one of the seven kingdoms–a unified Dorne. Arya Stark is so inspired by Nymeria, she names her direwolf after her.

13. Daenerys Targaryen, famous for her long silver hair in the TV series, is actually bald for much of the book series. Her hair was burnt off along with her clothes when she walked into Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre.

14. Unlike some of her other fellow Sand Snakes (like Nymeria Sand), Obara Sand is not of noble birth; in the books, her mother is a prostitute.

15. Meera Reed, along with her brother Jojen, carries a house crest that depicts a black lizard-lion on a grey-green background.

Osha is one of the few characters who is younger in the TV show that she is in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels.

17. When her kill count hit 64 by the end of season 7, Arya Stark became one of the deadliest characters in the game. Like her sword Needle, she’s tiny and lethal.

18. The six-foot-tall Dacey Mormont was one of Robb Stark’s most loyal guards and claimed to have fought every battle with her king. She’s also heir to House Mormont until she is killed at the Red Wedding.

19. A lesser-known character, Chella is a warrior of the Black Ear tribe. She wears a necklace made of ears, one ear from each of the foes she has slain.

20. Ygritte is actually supposed to be unconventional-looking in the books. She has crooked teeth, a pug nose, and wide-set eyes. She still snags Jon Snow, who is drawn to her physical appearance.

Game of Thrones women has to be tough to survive. To date, 64% of the female characters have died in the TV series so far, and there have been over 50 acts of rape or attempted rape. In the books, that number climbs to at least 214.

22. In the books, Daenerys’s faithful servant Missandei is only 10-year-old. Granted, she’s a pretty self-possessed 10-year-old, but she’s 10 nonetheless.

23. The actress who plays the prostitute Shae, Sibel Kekilli, got her start as a porn star. Her name then was Dilara.

24. Although she’s rarely had a chance to use her abilities, like all the Stark children, Sansa Stark is Warg.