Here's What Vasquez From Aliens Is Doing Now

When "Alien" premiered in 1979, the world was unaccustomed to seeing a female action lead. But Sigourney Weaver's Lt. Ellen Ripley proved she could go toe-to-toe with any man ... or xenomoprh. In "Aliens," Ripley returned to the action — and brought along another female badass to take on the hostile species. We are, of course, talking about Private Vasquez of the Colonial Marines. Within her first few lines, actress Jenette Goldstein made sure audiences knew Vasquez would suffer no fools, nor back down from any threat.

Goldstein's Vasquez not only became a model for strong, fearless women in cinema, she also became a queer icon, despite the character never revealing her sexual identity in the film. Though Goldstein is arguably best known for her role in "Aliens," for which she won a Saturn Award, the actress has spent the last 40 years empowering women, both on and off screen. Here's what Jenette "Let's Rock!" Goldstein has been up to since Aliens.

After James Cameron cast her in "Aliens," Cameron's future wife, Kathryn Bigelow, signed Goldstein for "Near Dark," Bigelow's first solo directorial venture. In the vampire-Western, Goldstein plays the vampire Diamondback, alongside fellow "Aliens" co-stars Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen. Four years later, Goldstein once again worked with Cameron, this time playing John Connor's foster mother in "Terminator 2."

Goldstein, a self-described character actor, has maintained steady work on television. She's appeared on smash hits such as "MacGyver," "L.A. Law," "Six Feet Under," "ER," "Alias," and "24." In 2019, she voiced the Enterprise's computer in "Star Trek: Short Treks."

In addition to her acting career, Goldstein runs Jenette Bras, the company she founded in 2009. Tired of ill-fitting lingerie, she created the company — and its slogan "The alphabet starts at 'D'" — to meet the needs of women with small band sizes and large cup sizes. As she puts it, "I come from a long line of women who are big on bosom and short on patience," which sounds a lot like something Pvt. Vasquez might say.