Over the years, there have been actresses who have been labeled as Scream Queens. Their roles in horror movies are legendary, and many of them keep getting cast in this genre due to how well they can pull it off and entertain viewers.
From well-known icons of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s to modern-day stars who are known for creepy television shows and films, this is a ranking of the top 10 scream queens of all time. Some of them are basically inseparable from certain franchises, a lot of them have starred in several big hits, and all of them are great at delivering those screams!
Ali Larter
Ali Larter has been involved in several well-known horror films and franchises. She was in House on Haunted Hill as Sara in 1999, and then she went on to star in Final Destination in 2000, as well as its sequel in 2003, as Clear Rivers.
She then appeared as Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Extinction in 2007, Resident Evil: Afterlife in 2010, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2016. Larter has also been in thrillers like Confess and sci-fi works like The Diabolical, making her a true scream queen.
Linnea Quigley
Linnea Quigley is a scream queen who has been in tons of scary movies, and while most of them were low-budget ones in the ‘80s and ‘90s, she belongs on this list.
She has had roles in flicks such as Graduation Day, Silent Night, Deadly Night, The Return of the Living Dead, Creepozoids, Night of the Demons, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings. While she may not be as popular as some of the other actresses here, she definitely found a niche and excelled within it!
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Another actress from the Final Destination franchise is Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Fans may remember her as Wendy from the third installment, as well as several other scary flicks, earning her a spot on this list.
In 2005, she was a young Evelyn in The Ring. In 2006, she was in Black Christmas as Heather Fitzgerald. In 2011, she was in The Thing as Kate. In 2016, she was in 10 Cloverfield Lane as Michelle. She has also been in movies such as Monster Island, Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino's contribution to Grindhouse), and in television shows like The Returned.
Katie Cassidy
Katie Cassidy’s parents are singer David Cassidy and model Sherry Williams, and she is another scream queen. In 2006, she was in The Lost as Dee Dee, When a Stranger Calls as Tiffany and Black Christmas as Kelli.
The next year, she appeared in remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and she has also appeared in scary movies such as The Scribbler and Wolves at the Door. When it comes to television, Cassidy took a starring role in Harper's Island, a mystery horror TV show, as well.
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is another popular scream queen. She was in The Amityville Horror as Chelsea Lutz in 2005. After that, she appeared in Wicked Little Things and The Eye. Later on, she starred in Let Me In as Abby.
In 2013, she was in the remake of Carrie as the title character, which was definitely a big deal within this genre. Last year, she was in Suspiria as Patricia. And in the new and animated version of The Addams Family, she will be the voice of Wednesday Addams, who may not be totally scary but is definitely kooky and creepy!
Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts rose to fame through a Nickelodeon show called Unfabulous, and from there, she went on to appear in several family friendly movies like Nancy Drew, Aquamarine and Hotel for Dogs.
In 2011, though, she landed the role of Jill Roberts in Scream 4, and after that, she seemed to really stay on this scary path for which she is now known. She was Chanel Oberlin in the show Scream Queens, she is one of the main stars of American Horror Story, and she will be in the upcoming horror movie The Hunt, which will also star Hilary Swank.
Danielle Harris
Danielle Harris is another known scream queen who has appeared in several scary movies. She was in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers as Jamie Lloyd in the ‘80s, and then she returned to the franchise in 2007, as Annie Bracket in Halloween and in Halloween II in 2009.
Her other creepy flicks include Left for Dead in 2007, The Victim in 2011, Hallows' Eve in 2013, See No Evil 2 in 2014, Camp Dread in 2014, Camp Cold Brook in 2018, Between the Darkness in 2019, as well as the upcoming film Redwood Massacre - Annihilation.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar was in two popular horror flicks, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, in 1997. From there, this scream queen went on to star as Karen in The Grudge from the year 2004, as well as its sequel in 2006.
She was in The Return as Joanna from the year 2006, as well as in Possession as Jess from the year 2008. Additionally, she portrayed the title character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Daphne in the Scooby-Doo movie. These characters also had to be ready for anything!
Neve Campbell
In the early ‘90s, Neve Campbell appeared in thrillers and horrors like The Dark, I Know My Son Is Alive and The Forget-Me-Not Murders. Then, in 1996, she officially became a scream queen when she starred in Scream as Sidney Prescott and in The Craft as Bonnie.
Of course, Scream was followed by a sequel the following year, a third installment in 2000, and a fourth film in 2011. And while Campbell has appeared in other exciting TV shows and flicks since then, she will always be known as Sidney Prescott!
Jamie Lee Curtis
And then there is Jamie Lee Curtis. In 1978, she first played Laurie Strode in Halloween. That same year, she was in The Fog, Terror Train and Prom Night. After that, she went on to appear in Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch (well, her voice was in it but uncredited), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection and last year’s Halloween.
She was also in the television series Scream Queens as Dean Cathy Munsch, and she will be playing Laurie again in Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.