'hero' for both genders?

[AnneTrinh]

Dear Teacher,

I understand ‘hero’ in English means the main character of a story, a play or a movie. In case the main character is female (a young lady or a woman) can I also use ‘hero’ to refer to that female character, or is there another English word for that?

Many thanks for your help.

Anne

[Jyoti297]

the famale charater called: HEROIN. OR ACTRESSES.

[rewboss]

the famale charater called: HEROIN.

Heroin is a hard drug. A female hero is a heroine.

[Tdol]

As Rewboss shows, there is a feminine form, and it is generally used for characters in novels, etc. If a woman does something very brave, then you will here her described as a hero by some people, but I wouldn't use it for characters.