The 20 Best Horror Movie Scream Queens, Ranked By Fans

The horror scream queen to end all scream queens, Jamie Lee Curtis has made a career being the defining factor for genre films, with her specialty being a knack for picking the absolute best horror franchises. From her remarkable work as Laurie Strode throughout the Halloween franchise to starring in the hit television show Scream Queens, Jamie Lee Curtis has firmly established herself not only as one of the best scream queens of all time but as one of the most beloved and important figures horror has ever had.

Famous Horror Roles

• Halloween Franchise (1978-2022)
• The Fog (1980)
• Prom Night (1980)
• Terror Train (1980)
• Scream Queens (2015-2016)

Neve Campbell may have only had one truly defining horror franchise under her belt, but that is all that she needed to thrust herself into the hearts of horror fans around the globe as one of the best scream queens to ever live. Her work on the hit Scream franchise over the last two decades as Sidney Prescott showcased one of the strongest, best, and most impressive final girls in horror history, and has helped etch Campbell into the lexicon of beloved and adored horror scream queens.

Famous Horror Roles

• Scream Franchise (1996-2022)
• The Craft (1996)
• The Dark (1993)
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1994)

The original scream queen and one of the most important women in the history of horror, Janet Leigh defined what it meant to be a horror scream queen with her superb and revolutionary turn as Marion Crane in Psycho. A true blue movie star, Leigh helped put weight, gravitas, and respect into the horror genre, and her willingness to shock and appeal to audiences helped define horror as we know it today. While she may have never starred in any other huge horror projects after this, her importance to the genre can never be understated, as she was arguably the first big movie star to help shape the horror world, and wasn't afraid to enter this dangerous and macabre genre.

Famous Horror Roles

• Psycho (1960)
• The Fog (1980)
• Halloween: H20 (1998)
• Night of the Lepis (1972)

Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, movie fans would be hard-pressed to find a more beloved and adored horror scream queen than Sarah Michelle Gellar. Starting off the new as the iconic and incredible Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michelle Gellar would star in two of the most popular and beloved slashers of all time in Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and then top it all off with a run at The Grudge franchise. Throughout this decade-long period, she was a massive figure in the horror world, and while her contributions to the genre may have stopped, there is no doubt that during this ten-year stint, Sarah Michelle Gellar was the queen of horror scream queens.

Famous Horror Roles

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
• Scream 2 (1997)
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
• The Grudge Franchise (2004-2006)
• Scooby-Doo Franchise (2002-2004)

While she may not work in front of the camera nearly as much as horror fans would love anymore, there is no doubt that Heather Langenkamp but the work throughout her career is considered one of the greatest horror scream queens of all time. Her magnificent and terrifying work in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise helped quickly make Langenkamp a fan favorite in horror communities, but most impressive and loved by horror fans is the fact that she never turned her back on the genre. Even while starring in very few projects, she works as a producer, effects artist, and role model for newcomers to horror, and is constantly trying to lift the genre to greater heights.

Famous Horror Roles

• A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise (1984-1994)
• Shocker (1989)
• Hellraiser Judgement (2018)
• Truth or Dare (2017)
• The Demolitionist (1995)

Linda Blair's turn as Regan in The Exorcist solidified the young actress as a superstar in horror for all time, regardless of if she ever starred in a single other horror film again, but luckily for the horror world, she continued in smaller bit parts and dedicated her life to this strange and dark world. The Exorcist is often regarded as one of the scariest and more dreaded horror movies of all time, and it is in no small part thanks to Blair and her fascinating performance. 

Famous Horror Roles

• The Exorcist (1973)
• Exorcist III: The Heretic (1977)
• Hell Night (1981)
• Savage Streets (1984)
• Scream (1996)