Best Movie Bitches – When Leading Ladies Play Nasty

Are these the nastiest gals ever to grace the big screen? From a sex-crazed teen toying with her step-brother to a wicked queen who'd happily cut out your heart, here's the Her.ie pick of five bad-ass movie bitches. 

Ravenna – Snow White and the Huntsman

Kristen Stewart may have bagged the title role but this recent movie based on the classic fairytale absolutely belonged to Charlize Theron as the wicked Ravenna. Poor Ravenna’s been taught from birth that her looks are her only way forward in life, so her mother must shoulder some of the blame for this deranged but beautiful movie bitch who plans to steal the heart of the only woman more beautiful than she to gain immortality. 

Miranda Priestly – The Devil Wears Prada 

She may not have gone quite as far as removing your heart, but working for Miranda Priestly may have resulted in the loss of your soul. Poor Andy Sachs didn’t look like she stood a chance as the earnest journalist who didn’t care much for fashion, but Meryl Streep’s Miranda wasn’t long whipping her into shape with a string of acerbic put-downs. Plus, she was the super quiet kind of bitch, which we all know are the scariest of all…

Kathryn Merteuil – Cruel Intentions 

More of a Mean Girl than Regina George could ever dream of, Sarah Michelle Gellar vamps it up as Kathryn in this late nineties teen movie gem, based on Dangerous Liaisons. Leaving broken hearts in her wake, Kathryn manipulates the naïve Cecile just to get revenge on her ex and attempts to seduce her sex-obsessed step-brother who has finally found true love, all the while carrying her drugs stash around in a cross necklace. Classy.

Jadis – The Chronicles of Narnia

There’s just something about Tilda Swinton that makes her a little frightening at the best of times, and that quality was put to excellent use in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We knew since reading the books in childhood that The White Witch was a total wagon, (who the hell cancels Christmas FFS?), and Tilda excels in bringing the cold-hearted monster to life in the 2005 movie adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Mildred Ratched – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Has there ever been a more terrifying example of a health-care professional? Louise Fletcher won an Oscar for her portrayal of tyrannical Head Nurse Ratched in this classic 1975 film. Ratched ruled Oregon State Hospital with an iron fist, and her diabolical treatment of patients went unchecked until Jack Nicholson’s Randle McMurphy took her on. Not a woman to be undermined, it was always destined to end in tears.