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Scream Queens are part of horror film culture. They're technically defined as women who are active in horror films. Some iconic actors have only been in one really really good scary movie. From the very first scream queen in the 1950s to the newest baby scream queen, here are some of the most iconic leading horror ladies out there.
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson is a modern scream queen who has totally left an imprint on the horror genre. She's been on eight seasons of American Horror Story and is easily labeled a staple of the show. She's earned five Emmy nominations over the years for her performances.
Her role in the second season, titled "Asylum," was very challenging for her. "When you are doing something emotionally draining for 12 hours a day, where I was being held captive, you have to stay in a certain place mentally. I don't fancy myself a Method actress at all, but with this character, I did find myself more removed than I normally am."
Riley Keough
Riley Keough is the famous granddaughter of Elvis Presley. Instead of following in his musical footsteps, Keough took on acting. She's been in a good amount of horror films: It Comes at Night, Jack Diane, The House That Jack Built, The Lodge, and some more.
"I feel like scripts that I've been reading -- that happen to be horror, thriller, psychological thriller, or whatever -- the roles are really interesting to me." It seems like she'll be sticking to the genre as long as it suits her!
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore completely changed everything with her quick cameo in the first Scream film. After all, people still dress up as her for Halloween! She was originally asked to play the lead role of Sidney Prescott but opted for this small intro scene instead.
"It was amazing for me because when I watched the film, I was actually scared," she said of Scream. "I mean, it is so scary that even though I was in it -- I was there, I knew everything that was going on, the mechanics and everything -- it was still just a flat-out scary movie.
Vera Farmiga
Without Vera Farmiga, would The Conjuring even be? She and Patrick Wilson have breathed new life into the paranormal community's top-most controversial figures, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Farmiga has starred in all of the subsequent films about the couple. She even went on to star in Bates Motel as Norma where she truly showed us how much of a scream queen she can be.
Farmiga has said that she enjoys playing Norma. "She's very flawed, but I think that's what makes a multi-faceted person and I'm hungry for those fascinating complex portraits of women."
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt changed the game with her role in the cult classic I Know What You Did Last Summer. The campy horror flick is a fan favorite and changed up Love Hewitt's career path. She also starred in the sequel, which was just as popular.
"I think being a singer, the lungers were just trained already for the screaming thing so I kind of just let it all lose," she told ET during the 1997 premiere. She easily has one of th e genres most iconic horror screams, right up there with Jamie Lee Curtis herself!
Toni Collette
Toni Collette is one of the best modern scream queens out there. She is vastly underrated for her roles! She most recently starred as the mother in Hereditary, which quickly became a cult classic flick. She was also in The Sixth Sense, Fright Night, and Krampus.
"I swear to god, there was not one easy scene in this film," she said of Hereditary. "I knew it was going to be heavy, but there was just no let up."
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a scream queen! There were seven very successful seasons of the show that proved how much of a scream queen Gellar can be. She also starred in I Know What You Did Last Summer, the Grudge franchise, and Scream 2.
She told ET in 1997 that despite being "incredibly honored to be a part of (Scream 2), she was scared to watch the film itself. "I'm a sucker, even knowing what happens, it completely scares me."
Bella Thorne
Bella Thorne grew up on Disney but quickly aged out of that type of fame. She decided to go the more risqué route with her career, which ended up turning her into a scream queen herself! She appeared in MTV's version of Scream but also starred in the campy horror film The Babysitter and its sequel.
She played an out-of-touch overly popular murderous cheerleader in both films. She might have a career in these campy horror flicks. She's pretty good!
Betty Gabriel
Remember Get Out? Jordan Peele's modern horror flick that's rooted in real-world problems? You may not think of that as a "scream" horror flick, but Betty Gabriel absolutely struck fear into the bones of the viewers.
She played a "reprogrammed" maid who left a string of clues behind her for the main character to figure out what was really going on. Gabriel also appeared in The Purge: Anarchy and Unfriended: Dark Web. She's a favorite of Blumhouse!
Taissa Farmiga
Any fan of American Horror Story knows this face. She starred in the very first season as Violet and went on to star in four seasons other seasons (so far). Aside from AHS, she also starred in The Nun and The Final Girls.
"I didn't grow up watching horror film," she said to ET. "As an actress, we're just approaching it as real life. I have to play the fear... so, naturally, your body starts feeling that anxiety, that tension."
Jamie Lee Curtis
Let's be real: Jamie Lee Curtis is the scream queen. Sure, she wasn't the original scream queen (that was her mother!) but she bred an entire generation of roles like her original role in Halloween. Even though the film series is totally overplayed, it's still considered one of the best horror flicks out there. Curtis most recently starred in this year's installment: Halloween Kills.
Lupita Nyong'o
Don't forget, Lupita Nyong'o technically played two roles in the famous Jordan Peele horror flick Us. She nailed both classic roles in the film: the killer and the survivor. She also starred in Little Monsters, which is a fun flick but still horror nonetheless.
Linnea Quigley
The 1980s were big on campy horror movies. Linnea Quigley played a huge role in that culture. She was called "The Queen of the Bs," meaning she was a part of every B-list horror movie. She appeared in Return of the Living Dead, Silent Night, Deadly Night, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.
Heather Langkenkamp
Heather Langkenkamp is one of the original scream queens. She played Nancy Thompson in the Nightmare on Elm Street saga. She's been in most of the Elm Street movies and is one of the most recognizable faces in the franchise... Asides from Freddy, of course.
Tiffany Shepis
Most hardcore horror fans would recognize Tiffany Shepis, but the newbies may not! Shepis was a total fan favorite in the community and frequented Sci-fi and straight-to-DVD classics. She can be seen in Scarecrow, The Toxic Avenger IV, and Bloody Murder 2.
Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich is quite literally the face of the Resident Evil series. The films were based on the video game, which was already a cult classic. Jovovich starred in six movies and even brought on her daughter for the final film, The Final Chapter. No one else will go down in horror movie history quite like Milla!
Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts is a fantastic actor outside of the horror realm, but she's also appeared in some classics. She quickly rose to scream queen stardom for her role in The Ring. After that, she appeared in the horror films The Shaft and Children of the Corn IV.
Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Sanchez is best known for her role in the famous series Lost, but she's also been in a few horror flicks as well. She was a part of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, The Purge: Anarchy, and Insanitarium. She's a natural in these intense, dramatic roles.
Barbara Crampton
Barbara Crampton has been involved in the horror genre since the 1980s. She's a well-known face in the community and is easily categorized as a scream queen. Her breakthrough role was in Re-Animator and she was recently in You're Next. Apparently, she has many more horror projects lined up, but we'll have to wait and see what they are!
Ashley Laurence
Ashley Laurence is best known as Kristy, the star of the Hellraiser franchise. She fought the devil-man and his cohorts in the first three films of the series. The last film she appeared in was 2002's Hellraiser: Hellseeker. Overall, there are 10 films. The last one was released in 2018.
Debbie Rochon
If you call yourself a horror fan, then you know Debbie Rochon. She is a classic B-movie actor who has appeared in films like Tromeo and Juliet and Slime City Massacre. She was even inducted into the B-Movie Hall of Fame in 2004.
Ali Larter
Ali Larter has had major roles in Final Destination and Resident Evil. She's absolutely part of the scream queen culture. "I'm totally damaged by Resident Evil," she joked. She sustained some minor injuries while on set. She also appeared in House on Haunted Hill and has even appeared in the 2015 film The Diabolical.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Winstead was fantastic in Final Destination but her scream queen journey didn't stop there. She also starred in The Thing remake and 10 Cloverfield Lane. She was also in lesser-known films Death Proof and Black Christmas.
Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox might be best known for her time on Friends, but her true calling was playing an investigative reporter in the Scream franchise. She played Gale Weathers, who ended up becoming an integral part of the rest of the franchise. She made a great secondary scream queen!
Katie Cassidy
Katie Cassidy could easily be called the remake scream queen. She starred in the remakes of When a Stranger Calls, Black Christmas, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. She was also the star of CBS's Harper's Island, where members of a wedding party mysteriously died each episode.
Jane Levy
Jane Levy doesn't have too many horror films in her career, but the two she does have are absolutely iconic. She starred in the Evil Dead remake, which was highly regarded. She also starred in Don't Breathe which is a film about a home invasion gone horribly wrong. She shines bright in both.
Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts went from Nickelodeon to scream queen pretty quickly. She shocked fans by her time in the campy horror show Scream Queens and became the main character in multiple seasons of American Horror Story. She even showed up in the final Scream film, which just goes to show that she takes her role of a scream queen very seriously.
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau made her claim to fame in John Carpenter's The Fog. She quickly became a horror icon with other roles in the classics Swamp Thing and Creepshow. Her most recent horror feature was in Rob Zombie's Halloween remake.
Lulu Wilson
In 2021, Lulu Wilson is 16 years old. She started her career when she was nine years old in the TV film The Money. She very quickly moved to horror films: Deliver Us from Evil, Ouija: The Origin of Evil, Doctor Strange, Annabelle: Creation, and even The Haunting of Hill House.
Elisha Cuthbert
Like most Canadian actors, Elisha Cuthbert got her start by appearing on Are You Afraid of the Dark? as a child. As an adult, she featured in films House of Wax and Captivity. Her role in House of Wax on its own definitely inducts her as a scream queen.
Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isabelle loves a campy horror flick. She starred in Ginger Snaps, a creepy movie that actually inspired Jennifer's Body when she was a teenager. She went on to have roles in Freddy vs. Jason, See No Evil 2, and the TV show version of Hannibal. Obviously, she loves a good, scary story.
Lili Taylor
Lili Taylor has been in tons of horror flicks. She starred in The Addiction, The Haunting, The Conjuring, and Leatherface. She's definitely worthy of this list!
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton was the star of campy horror films of the early 2000s. She starred in Valentine, Planet Terror, and Death Proof. She's definitely a favorite of the Grindhouse company!
Chloe Grace Moretz
Chloe Grace Moretz's debut role was in The Amityville Horror as a kid. She then starred in Wicked Little Things. As she got older, she accepted even more horror film roles. She starred in the remakes Let Me In and Carrie. In 2018, she was in the Suspiria remake.
Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell's role in Scream was huge. Sidney Prescott is one of the major scream queens of our generation and has influenced many others who followed her. She's starred in all of the Scream movies and will even feature in 2022's version.
Carmen Ejogo
Carmen Ejogo already had a pretty great career before stepping into the horror world. She was definitely a late bloomer by most standards! She starred in The Purge: Anarchy, It Comes At Night and Covenant. It's never too late to be a scream queen!
Danielle Harris
Danielle Harris started acting when she was just a kid, and by 11 she was already a notable scream queen (maybe better-called scream princess?). She played Jamie Lloyd on Halloween 4 and 5. She even went on to act in Rob Zombie's version of Halloween. She was inducted into the Fangoria Hall of Fame in 2012.
Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin is best known as Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood. She absolutely earned her title as a scream queen after seven seasons! She was also featured in the campy cult classic Trick r' Treat.
Shawnee Smith
You may not be able to recognize her through all of that headgear, but that is Shawnee Smith. She was in seven of the eight Saw films over the years. She also hosted the first season of VH1's reality series Scream Queens, which hosted auditions for a role in the Saw films.
Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel may be a well-known name now, but she was a total newbie to the scene for Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was a lot for her to take on the main role in a film like that, but it obviously worked out! She even went on to star in The Sinner series. "You had to keep that level of fear and confusion and energy so high and it had to continue," Biel said about the Texas Chainsaw filming process.
Anya Taylor Joy
Anya Taylor Joy is a relatively newer scream queen to the scene. She made waves in The Witch and M. Night Shamalayan's film Split. She's also in Morgan, The New Mutants, and Glass.
Anna Faris
The Scary Movie series is satire, but that doesn't mean that Miss Anna Faris isn't a scream queen! She's played some iconic roles throughout the franchise. Horror doesn't mean unfunny, after all.
Megan Good
Meagan Good has starred in a heavy handful of lauded horror flicks over the past 15 years. She's starred in One Missed Call, The Unborn, Saw V, and The Intruder. These were mostly minor parts (and no lead roles) but she really rocked her role as a Scream Queen!
Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster played Clarice in the famous Silence of the Lambs. She won five Oscars for this role, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Even though she only has one horror accolade to her name, we can call her an honorary scream queen.
Loretta Divine
Loretta Divine stars in the cult classics Urben Legend and its sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut. She plays the role of a security guard who ends up saving the day, but not without letting out a few screams!
Maika Monroe
Previously a professional kiteboarder, Maika Monroe has become a new-age scream queen. She started her career in her break-out role in the indie flick It Follows and went on to star in The Guest and Greta. Although, she was deemed a scream queen just for her role in It Follows.
Samara Weaving
This scream queen has two incredible roles under her belt: one in Ready or Not and the other in The Babysitter. Although the latter is classified as a camp-horror, it's still horror and therefore she's still a scream queen. She nails it in both roles!
Janet Leigh
This is the original scream queen. Janet Leigh has one of the most memorable scenes in horror cinematic history: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. She's also the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis, one of the most iconic scream queens out there.
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver played Ripley in the Alien series. She's definitely a scream queen! After all, the movie's iconic slogan is: "In space, no one can hear you scream." She also played a part in Ghostbusters where she became a demonic, evil force to be reckoned with. So yeah, she gets her scream queen crown.
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford appeared in many horror films at the end of her career. Her horror career started with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? in 1962. She went on to star in Strait-Jacket and I Saw What You Did before finishing off her career in an episode of The Night Gallery, which was directed by a young and unknown Steven Spielberg.