Top 5 Most Notorious Female Gangsters Of All-Time

At NewsOne, we’ve taken a deep dive into the lives of some of the most infamous female gangsters in history, ranging from mob girls to drug queens. While the world often associates organized crime with powerful male figures, these women shattered expectations and carved out their own brutal legacies in the underworld. Their stories are filled with daring heists, ruthless power struggles, and calculated manipulations that made them forces to be reckoned with. Some of their actions were so brutal and calculated that they made even the most notorious male gangsters seem like small-time criminals. These women didn’t just play the game; they changed it, leaving behind a legacy of fear, respect, and influence.

From Stephanie St. Clair to Griselda Blanco, here are some of the most notorious female gangsters of all time.

1. Stephanie St. Clair

Source: Bettmann / Getty

According to The Mob Museum, Stephanie St. Clair arrived in the U.S. from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1911, at just 13 years old. She came a few years before the Great Migration, when millions of African Americans left the oppressive Jim Crow South for Northern cities like New York, seeking better opportunities. St. Clair quickly rose to prominence, becoming the leader of a local gang called the 40 Thieves, which ran extortion and theft operations. She soon invested $10,000 into creating a numbers racket, making her a “policy banker,” a term used for those running a lottery-style game that was popular in African-American communities – and it made her a wealthy woman.

The numbers racket, also known as the “policy game,” was a type of illegal lottery that became popular in African-American communities in the early 20th century, particularly in Harlem. It was similar to other lottery systems but with its own unique structure. Players would select a set of numbers (usually three digits) and bet on the possibility of those numbers being drawn in a drawing, often held multiple times a day. The game was a form of gambling that was illegal, but it thrived because it offered a low-cost chance at winning significant amounts of money. 

“The odds were about a 1000 to 1 against winning while the payoff might be anywhere from 600 and 800 to 1 for a winner,” HubPages noted. 

According to the outlet, St. Clair was known for her arrogance, sophistication, and intelligence. Her contemporaries often noted her sharp tongue and fierce temper, which she unleashed on rivals, including police officers and white-owned businesses that dared to encroach on her Harlem territory. Aka Queenie or Madam Queen, St. Clair went to war with the notorious Jewish gangster, Dutch Schultz, in the 1930s over the Harlem gambling territory. She would publicly expose NYPD officers for corruption by placing advertisements in several leading newspapers about the bribes she gave them. One of her proteges, Ellsworth “Bumpy Johnson,” would become a legendary gangster in his own right, being immortalized in movies like Hoodlum and American Gangster.

Despite her tough exterior, she was a savvy and strategic figure in the criminal world.

2. Arlyne Brickman

Source: Acey Harper / Getty

Arlyne Brickman was an unexpected figure in the world of organized crime. Raised in an affluent Jewish family, she had deep ties to the Mafia through her father, Irving Weiss, a Jewish racketeer. According to the LA Times, Weiss sold luxury cars like Cadillacs and Rolls-Royces to a wealthy clientele, many of whom were well-known mobsters. During her teenage years, Brickman became involved with her father’s criminal associates, developing romantic relationships with them and growing fascinated by their dangerous, criminal lifestyle.

As she got older, Brickman fully immersed herself in the world of crime, beginning with a relationship with a small-time operator known here as Tommy Lucca. Through Lucca, whom she had a tumultuous on-and-off relationship with, she became involved in the numbers-running business and eventually progressed to drug dealing. Her life took a dramatic turn after a violent altercation with Lucca, leading her to turn on the mob. The tipping point came when Brickman was sexually assaulted by three mobsters in a Times Square bar, and her daughter’s life was threatened due to a defaulted loan, as noted by PopSugar.

In the wake of this trauma, Brickman decided to cooperate with the FBI, working as an informant for nearly 10 years, providing crucial information that would help law enforcement dismantle various Mafia operations.

“There was a tension that would build before a surveillance, culminating in a tremendous climax of relief and self-esteem made all the sweeter by the camaraderie she enjoyed with the agents afterward,” Teresa Carpenter, who wrote Mob Girl, a biography based on Brickman’s life, told The LA Times in a 1992 interview. 

3. Enedina Arellano Félix

Source: Max Zolotukhin / Getty

Enedina Arellano Félix is the alleged leader of the Tijuana cartel, and she is reportedly the only woman to have been at the helm of a cartel. The Tijuana Cartel is an ultra-violent organization that controls a good deal of the cocaine and marijuana coming into the U.S. from Mexico. Enedina’s role in the cartel is often described as the head of operations, overseeing the distribution of drugs, as well as managing the finances and logistics for the criminal empire.

Known as La Jefa, according to Time, Félix grew a reputation for her strategic intelligence and precise decision-making. She rose to prominence after the death of her brothers in the 2000s and stepped up to lead the Tijuana Cartel, taking control of its money laundering operations. She skillfully established front businesses, such as pharmacies, to help funnel illicit funds. In 2002, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted her and her companies under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act, making it illegal for any American to do business with her, with penalties of up to a million dollars in fines. By 2006, Mexico’s Attorney General at the time, Daniel Cabeza de Vaca, publicly acknowledged Félix’s rise to power, naming her the chief financial operator of the cartel.

4. Rosetta Cutolo

Source: – / Getty

Rosetta Cutolo became the leader of one of Italy’s most powerful Mafia organizations after her brother was arrested. She beat nine murder charges and allegedly attempted to blow up a police station while on the run from authorities for ten years, Fact Republic noted. Her reign came after her brother, the notorious crime boss Raffaele Cutolo, was imprisoned, placing her at the head of her brother’s crime organization, the Nuova Camorra Organizzata.

Known as the “boss of bosses,” Rosetta was deeply involved in violent criminal activities, including murder, extortion, and arms trafficking. Her strategic business acumen and ability to forge alliances with local gangs enabled her to climb the ranks of organized crime.

Additionally, she engaged in money laundering and drug trafficking, further solidifying her control over the criminal underworld. In 2001, she was arrested, charged, and sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to Criminal Record. Rosetta’s rise to power was fueled by unwavering determination and a ruthless approach to consolidating her influence. Not only did she inherit her brother’s criminal empire, but she also expanded it, using her authority to challenge rival factions and law enforcement alike.

5. Griselda Blanco

Source: JILL DELSAUX / Getty

Griselda Blanco is a notorious Colombian gangster who is allegedly responsible for dozens of murders over the cocaine trade and her vendettas. Blanco’s violence and cocaine dealing led to her being profiled in the documentary Cocaine Cowboys.

Known as the “Cocaine Queen,” Blanco was a notorious Colombian drug lord whose ruthless and strategic methods allowed her to dominate the U.S. cocaine trade throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Blanco’s criminal empire spanned both Colombia and Miami, where she orchestrated vast cocaine trafficking operations that lasted nearly five decades, according to People.

Blanco gained her infamy for pioneering innovative smuggling techniques, including opening a lingerie factory that produced undergarments with hidden pockets, enabling female couriers to transport cocaine across borders undetected. Authorities believe Blanco was behind hundreds of murders, many of which involved those who crossed her. She was also suspected of orchestrating the deaths of her three husbands, People noted.

Blanco’s pride in her criminal empire was clear, even in the way she named one of her four sons after Michael Corleone, the iconic fictional gangster from The Godfather.

SEE ALSO:

The 7 Most Infamous U.S. Public Housing Projects

The 5 Most Controversial Police Departments In The U.S.