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.
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.