I love the movies and I’d quite happily sit in front of them all day. I really appreciate strong roles for women because they are all played by great actresses. I could wax lyrical about this for hours but I’ve restricted it to 9 female movie villains.
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Glenn Close – Alex Forrest
This is the character that introduced the inimitable phrase “bunny boiler”. Spurned by her lover played by Michael Douglas (when he was younger and sexier) this is the classic tale of hell hath no fury like a women scorned. One of the female movie villains born out of loss, jealousy and anger.
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Kathy Bates – Annie Wilkes
Female movie villains aren’t always sexy minxes who fool men with their lascivious bodies and malevolent minds. Kathy Bates pulled off the role of a punisher in a pinafore perfectly in the adaptation of the Stephen King’s thriller Misery. Who didn’t wince when she took that lump hammer to James Caan’s ankles?
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Rebecca Romijn - Mystique
Bringing a whole new meaning to the term blue movie, Mystique is a wonderful portrayal of loyalty blinded by love turned to revenge when usefulness runs its course. It must have been Sir Ian McKellan’s magnetic personality as leader of the X-Men rebels that drew Mystique to him because it can’t have been his youthful good looks. One of the female movie villain roles that requires a body to die for.
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Kristena Lokken – T-X
Like a recurring nightmare, red leather clad cyborg girl keeps coming back for more in Terminator 3. A female villain who is a futuristic souped up version of inspector gadget.
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Faye Dunaway – Bonnie Parker
One of the few female movie villains who immortalises a real person, Bonnie Parker went on a killing spree robbing banks as she went. Stylish and sassy, shame she was such a wrong 'un.
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Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.
Rebecca De Mornay – Mrs Mott/Peyton Flanders
A classic case of revenge, Peyton Flanders in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a perfect example of a female movie villain who looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth but is hell bent on payback.
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Bette Davis – Baby Jane Hudson
Well they do say that familiarity breeds contempt and being left to look after her wheelchair-bound sister (Joan Crawford) sent Bette Davis over the edge. Apparently it was easy for Ms. Davis to play this female movie villain because she and Ms. Crawford hated each other in real life.
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Glenn Close - Cruella DeVil
Glenn close has played more than her fair share of movie villains but wanting to make a coat out of puppies must be one of her most heinous plots. Lucky that all 100 Dalmatian puppies escaped her evil clutches.
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Margaret Hamilton - Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West
Personally, I think those flying monkeys were far more scary when I was a kid than the hooked nose, green faced, scratchy voiced witch who was after Dorothy’s red slippers. The Wicked Witch of the West is the perfect female movie villain - mad, bad and ugly.
I’m well aware that I may have left your favorite off this list of female movie villains so why not tell me who they are.
Top Photo Credit: teresia
