8 ‘Little Women’ Adaptations, Ranked

1994

Gillian Armstrong directed the 1994 adaptation, starring Winona Ryder as Jo, Trini Alvarado as Meg, Samantha Mathis and Kirsten Dunst as Amy, Claire Danes as Beth, Christian Bale as Laurie, and Susan Sarandon as Marmee. Star-studded, right? And let’s give a round of applause: This was the first female director to tackle Little Women.

The film leaned into a Christmas-y vibe, releasing on December 25, 1994, and in some ways, it’s become the definitive holiday Little Women. It earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Actress (Ryder), Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score, and was followed by a loose sequel, Little Men.

What makes this adaptation extra special is just how hard it was to get made. It took 12 years to find a studio. Writer Robin Swicord and producer Denise Di Novi explained that “people just weren’t interested in a movie with a lot of women.” One studio even suggested a ’90 modern take… no, thank you. At the time, films centered on women were assumed to have no appeal to male audiences and were considered too risky. Ultimately, it was Ryder signing on as Jo that convinced Columbia to greenlight the project.

This adaptation also tackled more mature themes than its predecessors, exploring family, growing up, and progressive feminism. Fun casting tidbit: It’s the only adaptation to have two actresses play Amy. Producer Di Novi said it felt “weird” to have one actress portray both child and adult Amy. Reese Witherspoon almost took the adult role, but the part eventually went to Samantha Mathis.

Critics loved it, especially for ditching the soft, children’s story feel of previous versions in favor of a sharper, smarter, more intelligent approach — a Little Women film adaptation for grown-ups, finally.

2019

The girls lost it when we heard Greta Gerwig was taking on the latest of Little Women adaptations. For timeline context: This was pre-Barbie but post-Lady Bird. Gerwig wrote and directed, drawing not only from Alcott’s novel but also her letters, diaries, and even other writings — a key difference from past adaptations.

The cast? Pure fire: Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Emma Watson as Meg, Florence Pugh as Amy, Laura Dern as Marmee, Meryl Streep as Aunt March, Eliza Scanlen as Beth, and Timothée Chalamet as Laurie.

The accolades were stacked. Six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Pugh), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score — plus a win for Best Costume Design. Add five BAFTA nominations (again, costume win), and two Golden Globes. It was that kind of year.

What makes this adaptation so extraordinary? Gerwig went deep. She mined Alcott’s letters, diaries, and 19th-century paintings of young women, even drawing from Alcott’s other stories for dialogue. The overlapping lines perfectly capture the chaos and charm of sisters yapping all at once.

She also incorporated a nonlinear timeline to “focus the film on [its characters] as adults,” which critics loved, along with the ensemble work of the cast. Time even named it one of the “100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades,” praising it as proof that classic stories can always feel fresh.

And here’s why it’s #1 on our list: Every adaptation of Little Women has been driven by Jo’s fierce, untamable spirit. Most of us grow up wanting to be Jo. But Gerwig’s version made us stop and realize… we’re Amy. Pugh’s Amy is pouting and petulant, bold and vulnerable, jealous and wistful. She is the aching heart of the film, forcing us to see the story — and ourselves — in a completely new light. That, right there, is the mark of a phenomenal adaptation.