11 best female villains that have sent shivers down our spine
Female villains are characters that leave us in a bit of a predicament.
Don't get us wrong; we love to root for the film's heroine and will always be thrilled with a happy ending. But there's something about a female character who is usually up to no good that sometimes has us secretly rooting for them. This is arguably down to some brilliant writing that has given these roles deep, complex, softer layers underneath a hard shell that sees them committing such disastrous acts that, of course, make for essential movie and television viewing.
Think The White Lotus meets Big Little Lies.
Take, for example, Villanelle in Killing Eve. She was absolutely hilarious, with a fashion sense that we would, ahem, kill for, but with those murderous ways that had us hooked over four seasons, we knew someone like her probably wouldn't be a part of our close-knit friendship circle. But then there are others who, no matter how hard we tried, would never be a part of our girl group. I mean, dealing with Regina George in high school seems impossible. And spending all our free time trying to impress the most unimpressed boss of all time, aka Miranda Priestly, would probably mean we wouldn't have any friends left.
With their murderous, calculating, and shocking antics, female villains have always provided us with the best viewing. So, if you're looking to feel slightly better about your choices in life or need a fiesty one-liner to use against those who wrong you, read ahead for our list of best (fictional!) female villains.
NICOLE RIVELLI/NETFLIXAnna Delvey in Inventing Anna
Played by: Julia Garner
Anna Delvey is an actual real-life woman whose story of pretending to be a German heiress while scamming loads of people of their money amongst New York's elite was chronicled in this series. Emmy-winner Julia Garner took on the lead role of this limited Netflix series which saw how Anna used her charisma and networking skills to swindle thousands upon thousands of dollars to fund an exclusive art-themed club, which never took shape. So many people were blindsided by Anna's actions. But how exactly did she get away with it for so long? That we'll probably never know.
© 1999 Cruel Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions
Played by: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Can there be anyone more cruel? Kathryn Merteuil was someone we wouldn't want to have crossed paths with, especially if we were the new girl at school hoping to find our way. The most chilling thing about her character was that she showed no remorse after her plotting and planning convinced sadistic Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) to seduce the innocent and wholesome Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon). So glad our high school days are behind us...
© 1996 TriStar Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Ms Trunchbull in Matilda
Played by: Pam Ferris
Ms Trunchbull gave us legit nightmares as a child in the 1996 classic because what teacher nowadays could get away with grabbing a child by her ponytails, swinging her around multiple times and throwing her across the school playground? I mean, if this quote isn't enough to make you scratch your head as to why she was a school principal, then we don't know what: "I cannot for the life of me understand why small children take so long to grow up. I think they do it deliberately, just to annoy me."
Clay EnosHarley Quinn in Suicide Squad
Played by: Margot Robbie
Long before picture-perfect, wholesome Barbie, Margot Robbie was Harley Quinn in DCU's Suicide Squad. The former psychiatrist serves as Joker's ultimate female partner in crime with her iconic blue and red ensemble, complete with messy pigtails. Oh, and let's not forget her weapon of choice, the baseball bat. Stand clear of her way, especially when she says this: "You know what they say: behind every successful man is a badass broad."
TM & © DREAMWORKS LLC. All Rights Reserved. / ParamountSamara Morgan in The Ring
Played by: Daveigh Chase
A list of the best fictional, villainous females would not be complete without a character from a horror movie. Saying that we don't know anyone who wasn't terrified by Samara Morgan from the iconic film The Ring. With her long dark hair covering her face, Samara would send shivers down our spine as she emerged from the well to anyone who had the misfortune of watching a deadly tape with disturbing images. This spirit who wanted revenge for her tragic life was certainly not one to be missed with!
Sid Gentle FilmsVillanelle in Killing Eve
Played by: Jodie Comer
Is there any female assassin more loveable than the Russian psychopath, Villanelle? As one of the most layered, complex characters on our list, sometimes we understood her frustrations at the world, marvelled at her stylish attire and disguises, and even admired her soft spot for Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). But other times during the four seasons, she left us completely shocked with her ruthlessly murderous ways, lack of loyalty and chilling dialogue. Massive kudos to Jodie for pulling off this notoriously difficult character!
Photographs © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada
Played by: Meryl Streep
Working at a New York fashion magazine is the pinnacle of many people's dream careers. But Miranda Priestly definitely had us thinking twice about our career ambitions, with her stone-cold, never-impressed, ruthless position as editor-in-chief of the fictional fashion magazine Runway. We don't know how Anne Hathaway's Andrea survived it, but if we had to start the day with her fuming at us with this line: "Is there a reason that my coffee isn't here? Has she died or something?" we would most definitely go cry in the fashion closet.
20th Century FoxAmy Dunne in Gone Girl
Played by: Rosamund Pike
You know what makes a good villain? When you don't know they're a villain until much later on in the movie. In Gone Girl, everyone, and we mean everyone, is convinced Amy Dunne's husband, Nick has something to do with her sudden disappearance. However, we're soon taken aback to learn that Amy is just a brilliant but calculating psychopath who executed an elaborate plan to fake her own disappearance to punish Nick for his infidelity.
Mean Girls TM & copyright © 2004 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. All Rights Reserved.Regina George in Mean Girls
Played by: Rachel McAdams
There's no, ahem, mean girl more iconic than Regina George. I mean, we would most definitely stay out of the way and scramble to the nearest hideout to avoid her wrath if we ever saw this ice queen strut down the hallways of our school. In Mean Girls, we have repeatedly watched her casually make the life of new girl Cady (Lindsay Lohan) hell by pretending to be her friend but humiliating her in the process. Not cool.
MISERY © 1990 CASTLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT.. All Rights ReservedAnnie Wilkes in Misery
Played by: Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates played this villainous role so terrifyingly well that she won an Oscar for it! In Misery, an adaptation of the 1987 novel Misery by acclaimed author Stephen King, nurse Annie Wilkes is author Paul Sheldon's number one fan. When he crashes his car and breaks both his legs during a snowstorm in Colorado, Annie takes him in and holds him captive. Paul's attempts at survival are hard to watch, as Annie is never far away, and please do not remind us of that ankle-breaking scene. Serious ouch.
© Warner Bros.International Television DistributionBonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde
Played by: Faye Dunaway
Bonnie was one half of the notorious couple who were at odds against law authorities and the rest of the world. Based on a true story, in this Arthur Penn-directed classic, Bonnie, along with her lover Clyde were on the run as a gun-toting, cigar-smoking criminals who left a trail of destruction along their way after their criminal activities escalated from small-time heists to bank robbing.While many romance stories have been praised and put on a pedestal for the ultimate show of love against all odds, this union is certainly not one to be romanticised.
