Woman, blest, heroine to some extent (6)
I believe the answer is:
esther
'woman' is the definition.
'blest heroine to some extent' is the wordplay.
'to some extent' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ESTHER' is hidden in the letters of 'blest heroine'.
(Other definitions for esther that I've seen before include "There's a girl from the Old Testament" , "Fem. name, threes (anag.)" , "Girl's name; OT book" , "religious book" , "__ Rantzen, TV presenter, b. 1940" .)