Skip to main content

10 Wickedest Women in Movie History to Win Golden Globes

All rise for the Golden Globes! 

They're often treated as the opening act to the Oscars—less a crystal ball than an appetizer, but a glamorous one nonetheless.

Over the decades, the Golden Globes have honored some of cinema's most memorable heroines, antiheroes, and outright villains. From manipulative schemers to serial killers, these characters prove that audiences can't look away from a compelling bad woman.

And the Golden Globe for Most Villainous Female Characters goes to...

Rosalyn Rosenfeld

The only thing softening Jennifer Lawrence's unabashed chaos in American Hustle is her impeccable comedic timing. As the unpredictable Rosalyn Rosenfeld, Lawrence turns every scene into a disaster waiting to happen. The performance earned her the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress at the 2014 ceremony.

Sally Bowles 

Liza Minnelli's Golden Globe and Oscar-winning lead role in Cabaret stops short of being an outright villain, but she is complicit in Nazism through her political apathy. Her active refusal to take a stand is a study in how fascism depends on the complacency of ordinary citizens to run unchecked. 

Lydia Tár

Cate Blanchett's Lydia Tár wields power as expertly as she conducts an orchestra. Brilliant but deeply abusive of her authority, she is one of modern cinema's most fascinating cautionary tales. Blanchett won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for this performance.

Lisa Rowe

Few supporting characters have ever stolen a film quite like Lisa Rowe. Charismatic, manipulative, and utterly unhinged, Angelina Jolie's performance earned her both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. What's even crazier? The character is based on a real person. 

Katharine Parker

There's no game of thrones like climbing a corporate ladder. Sigourney Weaver's Katharine Parker smiles, schemes, and steals her way up the ladder in Working Girl, rewarding her the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress as one of the greatest workplace antagonists of the 1980s.

Norma Desmond

As a faded star who refuses to relinquish her hold on popularity and loses her grip on reality, Gloria Swanson gave one of cinema's greatest performances in 1950's Sunset Boulevard. Sadly, she was snubbed for an Oscar for this role but she did take home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama). 

Regan MacNeil

Who's more villainous than the devil herself? While Regan is not the enemy, the entity Pazuzu possessing her certainly is. Evil truly took one of its most terrifying forms on screen with The Exorcist, handing Linda Blair the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Marla Grayson

You couldn't go lower than preying on the elderly. Rosamund Pike won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for her deliciously wicked turn as the con artist you'd hate to death. 

Aileen Wuornos

Patty Jenkins' Monster presents Aileen Wuornos with empathy, but it never ignores the brutality of her crimes. Charlize Theron's performance captured both humanity and horror of the serial killer, earning her both Golden Globe and Oscar victories for Best Actress.

Nurse Ratched

Mildred Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest remains the Golden Globe and Oscar standard for cinematic villainy. She doesn't need supernatural powers, wealth, or violence to dominate others—only institutional authority and an unwavering belief that she knows best. That's what makes her so terrifying and why she remains one of the greatest villains in film history.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Dress as Morticia Addams

All Hallow's Eve is fast approaching. From now until the macabre occasion, Cautionary Women will give you tips and tricks on what is Halloween all about: dressing up! To start, let's try to get the look of Morticia Addams, one of the reigning queens of Halloween. Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams Now Morticia, the iconic matriarch of the Addams Family, is scarcely the evil woman pictured here at Cautionary Women. She is rather something of a paradox: scary-looking but kind (in the way she knows how), intimidating but approachable (again, in the way she knows how). She is just eerie, not evil. Carolyn Jones as Morticia Yet Morticia can give any superbly nefarious queen a run for her money. Whether on TV, film, or anywhere The Addams Family franchise is splayed, Morticia commands attention with her spine-tingling style. Sure she may be fundamentally good and all, but try running into her on a solitary road at night. Here's how to be Morticia Addams for...
3 comments
Read more

How to Dress as Bellatrix Lestrange

With the closing of the Harry Potter movie series in July, Bellatrix Lestrange has emerged as the woman to be for Halloween 2011. Who wouldn't want to be her? Witches are the empresses of Halloween. Wickedest of wicked witches, Bellatrix is not above placing Cruciatus hexes on you. Here's how to dress up as Bellatrix for Halloween: 1. Wand Get into character with a Harry Potter wand. Your Bellatrix getup is incomplete without it. Like its owner, Bellatrix's wand can be described as "unyielding." Her first and more iconic of two wands is curved and made of walnut, with dragon heartstring for core. You can make do with intricate  wand replicas . 2. Costume Bellatrix is often clad in a black dress with detached sleeves held on to the top by way of strings. A leather-looking corset also girths her. You can get a good bargain on ready-made Bellatrix costumes here .  But you'd be surprised how easy it is to DIY Bellatrix's costume using ol...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Dress as Madam Mim

Photo via Heider Carlos Eat your heart out, Mystique. The magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone has the shapeshifting business down pat. With powers of transfiguration rivalled only by Merlin and Maleficent, Madam Mim is a one-size-fits-all Disney villain. This is the sorceress with the ability to turn herself from this: To this: Madam Mim can reverse ageing and shed weight for the fraction of time it takes Ursula to morph into Vanessa. In hindsight, Mother Gothel should have just asked Mim for tips instead of committing all those crimes in pursuit of rejuvenation. Hair via New Republic Be beautiful, lovely and fair, have some silvery voice, but never forget the long purple hair! The lavender wig is essential if you intend to channel the scourge of Camelot. If you want to be skinny Madam Mim, go for the longest wig . The older, plumper Mim would opt for a shoulder-length one . Either way, give the wig a little tousle for that truly ...
Post a Comment
Read more