Atticus Finch trial "State of Alabama vs. Charles White, Alias," and Atticus Finch's defense of Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird". In a letter to the author, Harper Lee herself noted the "obvious parallels" between the cases (Lee was 12 at the time of the Charles White trial) and between Atticus Finch and Foster Beck, though she also stated that she could not recall the trial, and that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was a work of fiction. Former President Barack Obama referenced Atticus Finch as an ideal American character. In addition Atticus was mentioned during one of Obama's speeches. In July
Ellen Ripley Film Institute ranked her as the eighth best hero in American film history in their list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains, the second highest ranked female character after Clarice Starling. In 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Ripley fifth on their list of "The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture", calling her "one of the first female movie characters who isn't defined by the men around her, or by her relationship to them". The same year, she was ranked #9 on "Empire" magazine's compilation of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" in 2008 and #5 in 2015, being the