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13 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 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 Globes for Most Villainous Female Characters go 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.

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.

Ginger McKenna

Sharon Stone's turn in Casino is a glamorous hustler whose beauty, manipulation, and self-destructive impulses leave devastation in her wake. She's a tragic femme fatale whose toxic choices unravel everyone around her. Stone won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for the unforgettable 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.

Diana Christensen 

Television has never had a colder executive than Faye Dunaway's Diana Christensen, who turns human suffering into primetime entertainment. Long before "clickbait" entered the lexicon, Network imagined a media executive willing to sacrifice anything for viewers. Dunaway's chilling performance first earned her the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, then an Oscar. 

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. Although Swanson ultimately lost the Oscar, she took home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Minnie Castevet

Don't let the grandmotherly smile fool you. Ruth Gordon's Minnie Castevet is the nosy neighbor from hell—or rather, one working for it. She mothers the Satanic coven that gaslights the titular heroine in Rosemary's Baby into giving birth to the Antichrist. Gordon's sinister performance earned her both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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 in I Care a Lot. 

Annie Wilkes 

Misery loves cockadoodie company. Kathy Bates takes fangirling to terrifying new heights as Annie Wilkes, the obsessive superfan who imprisons and tortures her favorite author in the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's Misery. One of cinema's most unforgettable psychopaths, the performance earned Bates the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama before winning her the Oscar as well.

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 the humanity and horror of the serial killer, earning her both Golden Globe and Oscar victories for Best Actress.

Nurse Ratched

Louise Fletcher's portrayal of 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.

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