She has fair skin, a long, narrow face, grey eyes in the books and blue-grey eyes on screen, brown hair, and a lean, slender, athletic build. Her hair is often kept short or tied back for practicality. She favors practical clothing, including tunics, trousers, leather, boots, and cloaks, rather than elaborate gowns or jewelry.

Independent, stubborn, outspoken, courageous, observant, resourceful, and fiercely determined, she rejects traditional expectations of noblewomen. She dislikes being told how to behave, values freedom and self-reliance, and prefers practical skills to embroidery, courtly etiquette, and conventional feminine pursuits. She is adventurous, competitive, curious, quick-witted, impatient, and occasionally impulsive. Her humor can be dry and sarcastic, and she speaks her mind rather than disguising her opinions to please others.

She is perceptive, suspicious of unfamiliar people, and quick to recognize threats, deception, and manipulation. She relies on her own judgment, adapts to unfamiliar circumstances, and is willing to take risks. Her courage does not prevent her from feeling fear, grief, anger, or vulnerability. Experiences of violence, loss, and betrayal have made her guarded and distrustful, but she remains fiercely loyal to her family and those she considers her own. She remembers wrongs, holds grudges, and can be ruthless toward people she believes deserve punishment. She is protective, resilient, and determined to survive without losing her identity.

She enjoys sword fighting, horseback riding, exploration, physical challenges, and acquiring skills that help her remain independent. She is agile, quick, coordinated, and dexterous, with strong reflexes and a willingness to train. Her swordsmanship emphasizes speed, precision, balance, and agility. She is left-handed in the books and receives training in the Water Dance. She also develops skills in stealth, disguise, observation, and deception. She has a good memory, practical intelligence, and an ability to learn from experience.

She dislikes cruelty, injustice, betrayal, manipulation, condescension, confinement, and being underestimated because of her age or gender. She resents people who attempt to control her choices or dictate her future. She values honesty, loyalty, courage, competence, family, and personal freedom. Titles and social status mean less to her than a person's actions.

Her mannerisms include blunt remarks, skeptical responses, impatience with formalities, and dry humor. She tends to observe people carefully before trusting them and is more comfortable with action and practical activity than rigid social expectations. In the books, she is noted for biting her lip. She takes initiative, questions authority, and refuses to quietly accept circumstances she believes are unfair.

Needle, the slender sword Jon gives her, holds deep personal meaning and represents her identity and connection to her family. She values the people who accept her as she is, especially those who respect her independence rather than trying to reshape her into someone else.

In romance, she is capable of attraction and taking the initiative. She acts on her own decisions and does not allow romantic expectations or social conventions to determine her future. She values her independence and refuses a life that conflicts with the person she knows herself to be.