Queens of Fear: Honoring the 10 Best Actresses Who Have Mastered the Art of Scares in This Generation (2024)

As for other early candidates for the Scream Queen title, consider Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis' mother, in Psycho, Barbara Steele in Black Sunday, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Horrible Doctor Hitchco*ck, The Long Hair of Death, Castle of Blood, and David Cronenberg's Shivers.

There's Veronica Cartwright as a little girl in The Birds, and her career comes full circle with her screams in Invasion of The Body Snatchers and Alien.

That's an excellent question. The definition is nebulous, but starring in multiple horror films or even just playing one iconic or impressive role that no one can ever forget in a horror film works too. And, of course, you have to scream your heart out.

This is not a comprehensive list, but just some more established talents. The genre is overfilled with gifted actresses willing to play in one of the most significant film genres: Lupita Nyong'o, Lauren LaVera, Kate Siegel, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Chelsea Islan, Victoria Pedretti, Carmen Ejogo, Wunmi Mosaku, Hitomi Kuroki, Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhrman, Sarah Lind, Betty Gabriel and more. Without further ado, welcome to Scream Queens: Generations!

Toni Collette is one of our heavy hitters in the category. She had starring roles in The Sixth Sense, Fright Night, and Krampus, but her crowning glory in horror is her work in Ari Aster's Hereditary.

As Annie in Hereditary, Collette is unforgettable. The way her face contorts when she screams with rage and pain cannot be ignored, and many of her scenes in the film have become the object of horror memes.

While it is true that Rebecca Hall has only starred in two horror films, they were two great horror films. The Night House and Resurrection were both tour de forces where she seemed to dominate the entire film.

Yes, Hall screams from deep inside her soul. Hall spent most of her career in theater and prestige dramas, but she has never looked down on the genre. That's what makes her so incredible as a Scream Queen. She means it, and she seems to enjoy working in horror truly.

Maika Monroe has frequently worked in the horror genre after first becoming known for the one-two punch of The Guest and It Follows, horror films that have become revered Millenial horror classics.

She followed her movies in 2014 with Villains and the stylish horror film Watcher, and Significant Other.

Monroe is a luminescent talent, seemingly fragile yet steely, but with a face full of emotion. She has no less than two new horror films in production; God Is A Bullet, directed by Nick Cassavetes, and Daddy Longlegs, directed by Oz Perkins.

Melissa Barrera has only just begun as an actress in horror. Still, she has already become a significant part of the genre's most influential franchises, Samantha "Sam" Carpenter in Scream (2022) and Scream VI.

Barrera has become a crucial part of Scream's history as the daughter of Billy Loomis. She also starred in the horror film Bed Rest.

In her portrayal of Sam, you see Barrera's talent as she flips back and forth internally between the madness her father gifted to her and Sam's innate goodness.

Mia Goth has been working in horror for most of her career. She seems very comfortable exploring the genre's heightened emotions and has no trouble rising to the occasion for what the roles require.

From A Cure For Wellness, and Luca Guadagnino's remake of Suspiria and High Life, to her star turn in the dual role of Maxine Minx and Pearl in X and as Pearl in the film of the same name in the same year.

Goth then blew minds as Gabi in Brandon Croneberg's Infinity Pool. If that wasn't enough, it was just announced that she would be joining the cast of Blade, the first Marvel Superhero Franchise and the only one about a horror anti-hero.

She will continue Ti West's trilogy of films that started with X with Maxxxine, which is currently filming.

Samara Weaving is an Australian actress who started in horror television on Ash Vs. The Evil Dead. She went on to star in the breakout hit Ready Or Not, The Babysitter, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and in Scream VI, she starred as Laura Crane in the classic Scream opening sequence.

Weaving has both worked in recognizable horror franchises and played the fan-favorite Grace le Domas, the bride who wouldn't give up, becoming the subject of horror memes.

Florence Pugh started in horror with Malevolent but became iconic with her role as Dani Ardor in Ari Aster's Midsommar.

Seriously, the memes and discussion of the film, including Dani's May Queen costume, the crying scene, and so many other moments in the movie relating to her character, haven't stopped in four years. Iconic might be a word that gets tossed around too much, but Florence Pugh as Dani is iconic.

Anya Taylor-Joy began her film career with Robert Eggers' new folk horror classic The Witch. If she had stopped there, her reputation in horror would have been assured, but she has also starred in Split, Marrowbone, Last Night In Soho, and The Menu.

Taylor-Joy has strength and fierce dedication to her roles that serve her well in the horror genre and a talent that cannot be denied.

Jenna Ortega is part of Gen Z and has already shown great promise in horror films. She started with Insidious: Chapter 2 in 2013 and The Babysitter: Killer Queen in 2020.

But two years later, Ortega joined the cast of Scream (2022) as Tara Carpenter and went on a roll playing more than memorable Scream Queens.

She was part of the horror comedy film Studio 666, Ti West's X , and American Carnage and took the title role of Wednesday in the Netflix series of the same name, all in the same year. That's a lot of horror in one annum. Ortega then returned to reprise her role as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI .

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