Vicious, frightening, and dramatically beautiful, female villains are often not given enough credit for being the deceitful masterminds that they are. One can even argue that some of the best villains of all time have been female. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best female villains in movies and TV:
6Miranda Priestley - The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Miranda Priestly inThe Devil Wears Pradais perhaps one of the realist villains you’ll find among the others mentioned on this list. Perhaps many would even relate to the protagonist, Andy, portrayed by Anne Hathaway, when she has to do grueling tasks for her boss. Miranda Priestly, portrayed by none other than the legendary Meryl Streep. Streep is savage, sarcastic, and has impossibly high standards. The Editor-in-Chief is assertive, incentive, and cruel at times, but the woman knows exactly what she needs to do to keep the Runway office going.
Seemingly like a reincarnated devil, Priestly is not just simply the boss from your worst nightmare, but she’s a queen of her trade, making it impossible to completely hate her. What makes Meryl’s portrayal of Priestly so frightening is that she’s not the sort of boss who would yell or attack openly. Instead, Priestly controls her employees, using a soft seductive tone to ensure everyone is catering to all her whims. All of this makes her truly terrifying.
5Red - Us (2019)
There’s no denying that Jordan Peele’sUsisabsolutely bone-chillingwith its stunning twists at the end. The story revolves around a family that goes on vacation in Santa Cruz, and runs into the doppelganger version of themselves, referred to as the Tethered. Lupita Nyong’o plays both the hero and the villain in the story. She plays Adelaide, the mother, and her tethered doppelganger, Red. Red is the leader of her group and is the only one of the four who can actually use her voice to speak. Perhaps it is because Red seems more humane than the rest, that really makes her terrifying. In addition, the final plot twist in the movie leaves the audience questioning Red’s actions and their opinions of her character.
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4The Beldam - Coraline (2009)
Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novella of the same name,Coralineis nothing if not terrifying.The dark fantasycenters around Coraline, who finds a perfect parallel universe behind a secret door in her house; however, the 11-year-old soon discovers the dark sinister secrets that lay behind the door. The darkest of which comes in the form of the Beldam, or the Other Mother, a demonic shape-shifting entity that lures children into a parallel world to consume their flesh and souls. Initially, Coraline is unaware of the sinister nature of the Other Mother, only seeing her as more attentive and lively than her real mother, which prompts her to return to the Other World again and again. But things really start getting scary when the Other Mother wants to sew buttons to replace Coraline’s eyes.
The Beldam’s initial appearance isn’t really terrifying as she appears in the form of Coraline’s real mother. However, her true form is similar to a horrifying arachnid/skeleton. To make matters even worse, the Beldam is actually based on an actual mythical creature. Beldam refers to and literally means ugly, old witch. According to European legends, the Beldam was a shape-shifter that lured and feasted on children. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about the Beldam, is that she conjured up the perfect world for her victims, Coraline in this particular case, and made escape almost impossible.
3Azula - Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
There is nothing more dangerous than an intelligent, ambitious, and powerful woman. Azula fromAvatar: The Last Airbenderisn’t just any villain; she’s the villain. She’s the main adversary of Team Avatar, not only creating trouble for Aang and his friends, but also for her brother, Zuko.Avatar: The Last Airbenderfirst premiered in 2005, a time in the entertainment industry where it was hard to find a well-represented female character. Azula is introduced as a princess, but it soon becomes very apparent that she’s different from most other princesses of the time. She’s no ornament; she’s powerful, political, and ambitious. She knows where her powers lie and knows exactly how to use them, making her an absolute menace. Azula is a firebending prodigy, manipulative and obsessed with power and glory. It’s hard to deny her brilliance as a strategist and leader after witnessing her orchestrate the coup of the Earth Kingdom and halting the invasion on the Day of Black Sun.
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2Ursula - The Little Mermaid (1989)
Many would argue that Ursula fromThe Little Mermaidis perhaps thegreatest Disney villainof all time. The sassy sea witch is witty, cruel, and unapologetic. From the get-go, she doesn’t bother to hide her villainy. When Ariel visits her, she offers her a chance to become human in exchange for her voice. Sure, she tries to sabotage Ariel’s chances of making the Prince fall in love with her, but she is a villain after all. Since its release in 1989,The Little Mermaidhas gathered quite a fan following, especially from the LGBTQIA+ community, and it’s all because of Ursula. Modeled after legendary drag performer Divine, Ursula has queer DNA running through her. She is unapologetic about taking too much space and isn’t worried about defying gender norms. She’s truly a powerful femme who is not to be messed with.
1Cersei Lannister - Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Game of Throneswasfull of villains, but none of them were as terrifying and brilliant as Cersei. The mastermind behind most of the chaos that occurred in Westeros, Cersei was a calculating villain. What makes her truly frightening is that she isn’t just all bad. She’s more humane than some of the other villains, making her likable to the audience, and lulling them into a false sense of security. Not only is she calculative and manipulative, but also sadistic. While it’s apparent that she cares deeply for her family, that doesn’t stop her from using her children as pawns in the larger political game that she’s playing.
