While men are typically at the helm of the Dutton Ranch in Taylor Sheridan’sYellowstoneshows, many Dutton women could rise, or have risen, to the task. TheYellowstonefranchise comprises three sagas, the titular series and two prequels,1883and1923.Kevin Costner ledYellowstone’s flagship show as John Dutton III. Tim McGraw as James Dutton and Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton are John’s ancestors and counterparts in1883and1923,respectively, leading their families through the tribulations of their times.
The patriarchs inYellowstone’s spinoff showshave something that John doesn’t: a partner to help them navigate the disturbances that challenge their families. Helen Mirren joins Harrison Ford in1923’s castas Jacob’s wife, Cara Dutton, bringing more star power to the cast. Tim McGraw’s wife, Faith Hill, is at his side as Margaret Dutton in thecast of1883,helping the father of two as they traverse the Oregon Trail.Cara and Margaret each had to run the Yellowstone Ranch once upon a time, so it’s interesting to consider which other Dutton women were up for the task.
7Elizabeth Strafford
Michelle Randolph Is Elizabeth Strafford In 1923
Perhaps least equipped to run the ranch is1923’s Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph).Despite growing up on the Strafford Ranch, adjacent to the Yellowstone Ranch, Elizabeth wasn’t bred for ranching.1923season 1 reveals that Elizabeth spent her winters in East Coast cities like Boston, which explains why she was so unprepared for thewinter of 1924 in1923season 2. Unfortunately,Elizabeth could hardly do the bare minimum necessary to save her life, taking the rabies shots, offering little confidence that she could orchestrate the grand scheme of the ranch’s operations.
While Elizabeth eventually rises to the occasion of protecting the ranch, staying behind and protecting Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty) in1923season 2’s finale,Strafford is the most short-sighted of all the Dutton women. Even with Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), Elizabeth’s success rate in running the ranch would be lower than that of almost any other woman in the family. Jack’s selfish and impulsive nature ultimately got him killed before he could play a significant role in the Dutton Ranch’s operations.
6Alexandra Dutton
Julia Schlaepfer Is Alex Dutton in 1923
While certainly capable of learning the task, Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) would be less prepared than most to run the Yellowstone Ranch. Like Elizabeth,Alexandra of Sussexhad little exposure to hard labor and the working conditions of life on the ranch, coming from a life of British nobility. Still, through the horrible things she endured in1923season 2,Alex proved that she could rise to almost any task.
Like all the other challenges she endured in1923,Alex could rise to the challenge of running the ranch, especially with her husband, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar). Still, we don’t see this, since Alex Dutton dies at theend of1923,before she can step up to the role. While Spencer lived through the Prohibition Era events, surviving for another 45 years, he had to run the ranch without his partner, and certainly faced challenges like Kevin Costner’s John Dutton.
5Margaret Dutton
Faith Hill Is Margaret Dutton In 1883
We know that Margaret Dutton could run the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch since she did so from the time her husband died in 1893 until her death in the winter of 1894. Still,Margaret’s death proves she wasn’t equipped to run the ranch alone, which makes sense for a few reasons. While she was as gritty and skilled as the rest of theDutton family tree, Margaret was set on upholding traditional values even in the Wild West, which held her and her daughter, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), back in1883.
Sadly, Margaret lacked the skills necessary to survive after her husband’s death. Margaret’s daughter and1923’s narrator, Elsa Dutton, revealed in the premiere that Jacob Dutton found Margaret Dutton frozen in a snow drift when he arrived, proving the mother didn’t last very long running the operation. Still,Margaret had it tougher than most, with sparse resources at the ranch and surrounding area to get her through the winter. However, Margaret knew her way around a shotgun, the back of a horse, and the driver’s seat of a wagon.
4Evelyn Dutton
Gretchen Mol Is Evelyn Dutton In Yellowstone
Yellowstonedoesn’t reveal much about John Dutton’s wife, Evelyn (Gretchen Mol), since she died before theYellowstoneseries premiere. However,Yellowstoneseason 1 shows flashbacks to John’s wife, with Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce’s (Luke Grimes) mother having two memorable appearances. InYellowstoneepisode 3, Evelyn Dutton falls from her horse and breaks her spine. We therefore know thatJohn’s wife knew how to ride and had a keen sense of the ranch.
Evelyn also appears inYellowstoneseason 1, episode 8, giving Beth a talk about womanhood when she gets her first period. We see howEvelyn embodies a grim and realistic mindsetthat many other members of the Dutton family tree have. She probably played a role in running the ranch, her mindset informing her husband and vice versa. Still, John Dutton and Evelyn lacked the compassion to run the ranch effectively. We see how this degrades her husband’s relationships with their children later.
3Elsa Dutton
Isabel May Is Elsa Dutton In 1883
Elsa could have run the Dutton Ranch had she survived theend of1883.Elsa dies of an infection after a Lakota warrior shoots her with a poison arrow. Still, her fate wasn’t for Elsa’s lack of bravery, grit, or skill, which she showed until the end. As Elsa journeys along the Oregon Trail with her family, we see how willing she is to perform tasks that aren’t associated with the female experience from where Elsa comes. She rejects gender norms to be a cowboy, andElsa’s ability to herd cattle would certainly lend itselfto her reign.
BeforeElsa died in1883,she was eager to learn to hunt from her husband, Sam (Martin Sensmeier), and rapidly gained survival skills along the trail. Elsa would have been able to get her family through difficult times, especially with Sam or Ennis (Eric Nelsen) by her side. That said, Elsa’s first love, Ennis, died in a gunfight with bandits. And had Elsa reunited with Sam, they wouldn’t have settled in Montana since Sam wanted to remain in Comanche Territory. Still,Elsa would have been up for the task, especially with one of her partners.
2Cara Dutton
Helen Mirren Is Cara Dutton In 1923
We know that Cara Dutton can run the Yellowstone Ranch, since she already did so without Jacob Dutton in1923season 1. After a range war begins, Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) attacks the family with a Tommy gun in1923episode 3, killing John Dutton I (James Badge Dale) and nearly killing Jacob Dutton. However,Cara Dutton nurses Jacob back to health, and she runs the ranchamid a financial depression while her husband is recovering from his life-threatening injuries.
Cara even enacts new legislation that her husband hadn’t thought of, calling the association’s members to vote on creating a police force.
Cara shows up for Jacob, the Livestock Commissioner, at the Livestock Association meeting in1923season 1, episode 4. By doing so, Cara saves the entire family’s reputation, giving the impression that her husband is staving off thieves in Wyoming rather than fighting for his life back at the ranch.Cara even enacts new legislationthat her husband hadn’t thought of, calling the association’s members to vote on creating a police force to more lawfully prosecute cattle crime in Montana, successfully.
1Beth Dutton
Kelly Reilly Is Beth Dutton In Yellowstone
Beth Dutton is most capable of running the Yellowstone ranch, with her skill set perfectly attuned to protecting it in the modern era. Beth has a degree in finance, and her savvy business skills pair perfectly with protecting the ranch from developers who want to take it from them. While not a lawyer or a ranch hand, Beth possesses a sharp legal mind and understands what must be done to protect the ranch untilJohn Dutton’s death inYellowstoneseason 5nullifies her reason to do so.
Still, despite the originalYellowstoneseries ending, Beth’s story will continue alongside Rip Wheeler’s (Cole Hauser) inDutton Ranch,an offshoot that will continue the couple’s saga.Yellowstoneseason 5 showed us that Beth had keen ideas about how to run a ranch and succeed while making a profit. We can assume that she will continue to apply her sharp mind to running her and her husband’s operation onDutton Ranch,further proving that, in her time, Beth is the most capable of upholding the family’sYellowstonelegacy.
