All-Time Greatest Horror Scream Queens, Ranked

No horror movie is complete without its female star, who is often some sort of scream queen or “final girl” who survives through the end while everyone else is bloodily massacred. Usually, the audience is rooting for her. But why is she called a scream queen? Well, when you’re the star of a horror movie, it makes sense that there would be a lot of screaming involved. From creature features to slashers, here are the greatest horror scream queens of all time, ranked.

1. Jamie Lee Curtis

Curtis still looks amazing and starred in the recent revival of the Halloween franchise, but the Golden Globe winner has also starred in “The Fog,” “Prom Night,” and even the Ryan Murphy show titled “Scream Queens.” If there ever was a true queen of the genre, Jamie would be it.

2. Linda Blair

Linda Blair will remain one of the most horrifying scream queens of all time due to her role in the 1973 scary movie “The Exorcism.” The possession thriller featured lots of screaming, projectile vomiting, and 360-degree head-turning. She showed up again in the sequel, and also was a reporter in “Scream.”

3. Samara Weaving

This Australian actress and model certainly appreciates the morbid. Starting with her presence on “Ash Vs. Evil” dead, she soon helped the Shudder original Mayhem as well as the gory, but comedic The Babysitter satanic horror franchise on Netflix, as well as a stunning performance as a bride with in-law issues on “Ready or Not.”

4. Sarah Michelle Gellar

Many would argue that Samara Weaving is inspired by one of the OG scream queens herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Featured in horror flicks such as “The Grudge,” “Scream,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and her iconic role as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Gellar has nailed the genre since the late ‘90s.