# Great female villains **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455 "2012-01-14T00:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/101 "2012-01-18T08:38:41Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Barbara Stanwyck in _Double Indemnity_. > > Theda Bara in _A Fool There Was_. > > Kathleen Turner in _Body Heat_. > > Margaret Hamilton in _The Wizard of Oz_. > > Bette Davis in _The Little Foxes_. > > Gene Tierney in _Leave Her to Heaven_. Great list! I was dropping in to post Gene Tierney in _Leave Her to Heaven_. What a Class A bitch! I’ll also nominate your namesake Eve in _All About Eve_. She’s a real piece of work too! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/102 "2012-01-18T17:42:11Z")
How about Shrek 2’s Fairy Godmother? Plus also the Trunchbull from Matilda. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/103 "2012-01-18T20:08:21Z")
Witch Hazel from Looney Tunes. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/104 "2012-01-18T21:23:58Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > She may be “just evil” but the Evil Queen in Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” is my nominee for a great female villain. That scene where she turns into a dragon gave me the shakes when I saw it in the theatre - & I wasn’t even that little! Maleficent! She gets my vote. She has a bad attitude (wants to kill a kid for what seems like no reason), a bad familiar (a raven), and can turn into a dragon. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/105 "2012-01-18T23:07:47Z")
Meridith from Disclosure. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/106 "2012-01-18T23:16:45Z")
The Other Mother. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/107 "2012-01-21T21:08:01Z")
Aunt Ester! The mom in Carrie The mom in Sybil The mom in Sleepaway Camp ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/108 "2012-01-22T16:56:39Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > Came in to nominate her. The absolutely irrepressible Siân Phillips. If they were ever to remake the series, Livia could only be recast with Tilda Swinton. An honorable mention, at least, should go to Livia Soprano, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/109 "2012-01-22T18:36:27Z")
Nurse Ratched is the only possible nominee for the top slot in this category, IMO. Pure Satan. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/110 "2012-01-22T18:40:55Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Nurse Ratched is the only possible nominee for the top slot in this category, IMO. Pure Satan. Not to argue, but she’s #2 behind Agent Stahl! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chilon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Chilon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chilon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/111 "2012-01-29T00:41:45Z")
Livia from _I, Claudius_ is an obvious choice, as is Milady Winter. I’m glad to see the Baroness from Paul Park’s _A Princess of Romania_getting a mention in this thread: I’ve only read the first book in that series, but I liked her more than the main characters. Let me think of a few great female villains that haven’t been mentioned yet (if they have and I missed them, I apologize in advance): Mahaut, Countess of Artois from _Les Rois Maudits_: Scheming and powerful matriarch who reminds me of Livia in some ways. Haven’t finished the books yet, but the rivalry between the countess and her equally ruthless nephew is fascinating to read about. Demona from _Gargoyles_: One of the most tragic characters I can think of in the realm of animation. Deep down, Demona knows that she screwed up badly, but she can’t deal with her guilt and thus lashes out at innocents instead. As despicable as some of her actions are, it’s hard not to feel at least a bit of pity for her in certain scenes. Snoop from _The Wire_: Equal parts funny and menacing, she and Chris made a great team and were always a joy to watch. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/112 "2012-01-29T01:40:06Z")
“Snoop from The Wire: Equal parts funny and menacing, she and Chris made a great team and were always a joy to watch.” Great choice! One of my favorite characters from one of my favorite shows. The scene where she buys the nail gun is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/113 "2012-01-29T03:56:39Z")
Along with Maleficent and several of the others already mentions, Ursula the sea witch from Disney’s _The Little Mermaid_. I think one measure of how villainous a character is, is if you find yourself in their sites, do you think “Oh, _shit_!”? If so, Ursula definitely counts for me. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455/114 "2012-01-29T04:11:43Z")
So many fantastic choices so far. I have always loved Maleficent. Even when I was a girl, Sleeping Beauty was my favorite Disney movie because of that awesome dragon scene. Miss Umbrage and Lestrange are both excellent choices as well. For a new nominee I name Miss Parker from _The Pretender_. First couple of seasons only. They tried too hard to make her a sympathetic character in later seasons. She was best when she was just tough, evil, and you just vaguely felt sorry for her in the scenes with Daddy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-female-villains/609455.md?page=5)