LIFE & CULTURE

16 Times Women Played Badass Villains

Femme fatale

Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’

Who better to take on the iconic role of Catwoman than Michelle Pfeiffer? Her performance as Selina Kyle (and *that* latex bodysuit) has gone down in pop culture history.

Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell in ‘Basic Instinct’

Who could forget Stone’s portrayal of serial killer Catherine Tramell and *that* flashing scene?

Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in ‘Batman and Robin’

Thurman plays Poison Ivy, the nature-loving villain who seduces men and kills them with her poisonous kiss.

Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna in ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ and ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’

 Charlize Theron does a pretty terrifying impression of Queen Ravenna – the ultimate female villain.

Demi Moore as Madison Lee in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle

Moore’s portrayal of ex-angel Madison is nothing short of smoking.

Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp in ‘GoldenEye’

In the 17th instalment of Bond, Janssen plays villain Xenia Onatopp, a badass femme fatale. She’s a man-hating former air force pilot with a penchant for smothering victims with her thighs.

Sienna Miller as the Baroness in ‘G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra’

Both beautiful and ruthless, Sienna Miller ditches her blonde locks to play the Baroness, an intelligence officer and lieutenant in G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra.

Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne in ‘Gone Girl’

Pike’s brilliantly chilling performance of ‘cool girl’ turned manipulative psychopath Amy Dunne in the psychological thriller Gone Girl earned her saw her nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe.

Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii in ‘Kill Bill: Volume I’

 Liu plays the Queen of the Tokyo underworld and formidable member of the Deadly Viper Assasination Squad, O-Ren Ishii.

Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard in ‘Dark Shadows’

 As a glamorous vampire villain, Green flaunts her to-die-for wardrobe, whilst playing Angelique Bouchard.

Megan Fox as Jennifer Check in ‘Jennifer’s Body’

Somehow, Fox makes being a demonically possessed high school student look kind of great.

January Jones as Emma Frost in ‘X-men: First Class’

Blonde? Tick. Bombshell? Tick? Villain? Also, a tick. Jones shows us just how fierce a telepathic, shape-shifting mutant can be.  

Alison Doody as Dr Elsa Schneider in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’

Doody plays the beautiful and deceitful Elsa Schneider, the Austrian archaeologist and secret Nazi agent.

Glenn Close as Alexandra Forrest in ‘Fatal Attraction’

 Glenn Close gave us nightmares with her portrayal of Alexandra Forrest  – the home wrecking, stalking and pet killing villain of Fatal Attraction.

 

Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium in ‘From Dusk till Dawn’

 Although the film wasn’t a box office hit, Hayek’s performance as the primary Queen Vampire of Mexican strip club and brothel – the Titty Twister – became iconic.

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’

 Faye Dunaway lends her beauty to portray half of the famous crime duo in the 1967 biographical film.

Darryll Hannah as Elle Driver in the ‘Kill Bill’ volumes

Darryll Hannah plays Elle Driver – a cold and terrifying member of the Deadly Viper Assasination Squad.

Related stories