From Janet Leigh to Keke Palmer: 20 of the Most Iconic Scream Queens

Fay Wray

Fay Wray, who died in 2004 at the age of 96, is widely considered Hollywood’s inaugural scream queen. Wray was best known for starring in 1993’s King Kong, the first film to start the titular giant ape. Wray’s Ann Darrow is Kong’s main victim, and famously ends up in his grasp as he scales the Empire State Building. In their review at the time, Variety called the movie a "96-minute screaming session” for Wray, while Roger Ebert, decades later, praised the movie’s “creepy awe.” Other King Kong movies would abandon horror for adventure, but the first was genuinely terrifying. “I’d become Hollywood’s scream queen without even realizing it,” Wray said of King Kong in a 1989 interview, per Indiewire.

But Wray’s scream queen credits started before King Kong. In 1932, she starred in Doctor X and The Most Dangerous Game. Other horror flicks for the actress included 1933’s The Vampire Bat and Mystery of the Wax Museum and 1934’s Black Moon.

Janet Leigh

It’s one of the most famous scenes in cinema: Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane is murdered by Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates in a shower in Psycho. The movie earned her an Oscar nomination — and a reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest screamers. 

Leigh, who died in 2004, also appeared alongside her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis in 1980’s The Fog and 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. But her role in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho loomed largest of all. “If an actor can be remembered for one role, then they’re very fortunate,” she told Woman’s World in 1984.

Still, the role — and filming her death scene — made an impact on her, too. “I stopped taking showers and I only take baths,” she told the outlet.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis established her own horror bona fides in 1978’s Halloween, in which she played one of horror’s greatest heroines, Laurie Strode. Strode survived the terror of murderer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) and Curtis, 65, would return as the character in six Halloween sequels, wrapping up the character’s arc in 2022’s Halloween Ends.

“You call me the scream queen. I don't call myself that, but I get it,” Curtis wrote in a 2022 essay for PEOPLE. “Not the queen part. The scream part.” Curtis wrote that when they began filming the film, she “discovered a natural instinct.” She explained, “No one teaches you how to be frightened. How to cry. And, by the way, there's no acting class for screaming.”

The Oscar winner would also appear in Halloween director John Carpenter’s 1980 horror flick The Fog as well as horror movies like Prom Night, Terror Train and Roadgames. In 2023, she appeared in the family-friendly horror comedy Haunted Mansion.  

Sigourney Weaver

"In space, no one can hear you scream.” That was the tagline of 1979’s Alien, which starred Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, whose spaceship is invaded by a violent xenomorph. The horror film, directed by Ridley Scott, used the claustrophobia and darkness of the spaceship — and the vast void of space — to ratchet up the tension.

Weaver, 75, reprised her role in three Alien sequels. Other installments in the Alien franchise have mixed different amounts of horror into the story, with some preferring a more typical action mode, but Alien — and Weaver’s performance — remains the franchise’s benchmark. She would also appear in other horror movies, including 2011’s The Cabin in the Woods and the horror-infused Ghostbusters movies.

Linda Blair

There are few films as seminal in the horror genre as The Exorcist. Linda Blair was 12 when she auditioned to play Regan MacNeil in the movie. Regan becomes possessed by a demon after playing with an Ouija board, and her mother, played by Ellen Burstyn, tries to save her from its grip. The film became a sensation and was the first horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Blair also returned for 1977’s  Exorcist II: The Heretic, which was less successful. 

Blair, 65, later appeared in horror movies like Stranger in Our House, Hell Night, Witchery and Dead Sleep. She also reprised her role in a small cameo in 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer. She told PEOPLE returning to the part was “bizarre” but “really incredible.” 

She became involved with the movie, she said, when she was asked to be an advisor who could help the cast and crew protect the child actors who would appear possessed on screen. “It's a very horrible creature to play. It's mean, it's evil, it's horrible," she explained. "So I just wanted to make sure they were okay."

Adrienne Barbeau

Adrienne Barbeau first established herself as the daughter of Bea Arthur’s character on Maude, and then John Carpenter cast her in his made-for-TV horror flick Someone's Watching Me. Barbeau, 79, and Carpenter also fell in love and married, and she appeared in his 1980 horror classic The Fog as well as 1981’s Escape from New York (the duo divorced in 1984). Other horror films for the actress included 1982’s Creep Show and Swamp Thing, 1987’s Open House and 1990’s Two Evil Eyes. 

Barbreau’s most tricky horror costar? The titular fog. She told Roger Ebert in 1980, “It wasn’t pleasant to work with the fog, and that’s an understatement. They made it out of kerosene and water. It was smelly and sticky and the entire production was permeated with it.”

The other problem was that once the fog came into a scene, they couldn’t get it out. “We had to act backwards in some scenes: They’d blow the fog in and have us move in reverse, and then reverse the film to create the illusion that the fog was retreating. I had one scene in which I had to move from terror to apprehension to interest to indifference, so they could then reverse it for the fog,” she explained.

Heather Langenkamp

Heather Langenkamp became horror royalty thanks to her role as Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, released in 1984. She returned for 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and 1994’s Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and years later she flexed her horror muscles on television in American Horror Story: Freak Show and director Mike Flanagan's The Midnight Club. Next year she’ll also appear in Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck.

Langenkamp spoke to PEOPLE this summer about the original film, which turns 40 this November. “Wes had a completely new idea — like he did many times in his career — about what we wanted to bring to the screen. And it was a version of horror that a lot of people called a slasher," the 60-year-old actress remembered. The movie was a “very daunting experience” for her, she added.

She also told PEOPLE that she would love to return to the franchise, the way Curtis and Campbell have both done in recent years. "Once you've played such a strong character, such as Sidney or Laurie, that character really never leaves you," she said. "I don't know about those other ladies, but I certainly look to Nancy Thompson for personal inspiration at times."

Neve Campbell

Craven was also the mind behind the Scream franchise, which takes a satirical, meta approach to the horror genre. The characters in Scream are aware of the typical genre conventions of a horror film and try to purposefully fight against them — with some success. Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott became the franchise’s star in the first film, as she fought off the killer known only as Ghostface — until she learned it was actually her boyfriend and his best friend (ouch).

Campbell, 51, returned for the first five sequels but did not appear in Scream 6 because of contract issues. She will reprise her role in Scream 7. "Those movies have been such a big part of my life and it means so much to me, and I was sad to miss the last one, to not be a part of it," the actress told PEOPLE in June. "I was really grateful that they came back to me in a respectful way. I think that means a lot to women and to society. I'm grateful to be able to step in into Sidney's shoes again and tell her story."

"I meet a lot of fans who say her strength has helped them get through tough times, and it means more than I could ever have imagined to some people," she said. 

While Campbell may be best known for the Scream franchise, she also appeared in The Craft and an episode of the horror TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Drew Barrymore

A scream queen doesn’t need a lot of screen time to make an impact. That’s what Drew Barrymore showed in 1996’s Scream, in which she plays Ghostface’s first victim, Casey Becker, in the movie’s opening scene. Barrymore revealed on a 2020 episode of Hot Ones that she specifically wanted to play a character who dies early.

"In the horror film genre, my biggest pet peeve was that I always knew the main character was going to be slugging through at the end, but was going to creak by and make it,” she explained. “What I wanted to do is to take that comfort zone away."

But her Scream death is not her only moment in the genre. Her other horror film credits include 1980’s Altered State, 1984’s Firestarter, 1985’s Cat’s Eye and 1989’s Far From Home — plus the horror sitcom Santa Clarita Diet.

Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer’s horror journey began with 2014’s Animal. Then, beginning in 2015, she starred in Ryan Murphy’s horror comedy series Scream Queens. In 2019, she came back to horror with the TV series Scream: Resurrection. 

But her crowing horror achievement (so far) has been 2022’s Nope. The 31-year-old actress plays Em Haywood in the movie, the charismatic sister of Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ. 

Palmer told Indiewire about how she approached Nope’s horror scenes. “I don’t think you practice it. I think you feel it in the moment, because it’s also like a weird and insane scenario,” she said. 

On set before filming the movie’s climax, she said. “I was running around crazy on the set. I was just running around crazy. I felt like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. I was just jumping up and down and just trying to really get myself to maintain the adrenaline of what Emerald was feeling in those last 20 minutes of the movie.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar was the queen of ‘90s horror TV with her starring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But she also has made a mark on the genre on the big screen. In 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, Gellar, 47, plays Helen Shivers. Though Helen is killed by the end of the movie, Gellar’s turn in the film remains iconic. She told POPSUGAR in 2022, "As an actor, you hope to make film and television that people remember and that you have a legacy. The fact that people are still watching and still enjoying and still remaking and all of that, it's great."

Gellar also appears as a victim in Scream 2 and stars in 2004’s The Grudge.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt starred as Julie James in I Know What You Did Last Summer and its 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The 45-year-old might reprise her role in a new sequel, and she told Entertainment Tonight in May that she’s "honestly terrified" to return because "it's 26 years later."

She added, that if the movie happens, she’ll happily bring Julie "back with 26 years of angst, knowledge, kickassery, which I'm turning into a word, and have some fun."

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts has done a handful of horror films, but 2002’s The Ring is what cemented her place as horror royalty. In it, the 56-year-old plays a journalist who discovers a cursed videotape that kills its viewers within seven days.

But she actually took some convincing before she took the part. She previously told PEOPLE, ​​"I was having a real hard time with saying yes. I remember having this conversation with my agent, and he was like, 'I really, really think you should do this.' I said, 'I don't think I can. I'm just not sure. I just don't know.' I was really pushing back on it," she recalled. "Then he actually raised his voice and said, 'Just say yes. I'm telling you, trust me on this.' "

A meeting with director Gore Verbinski sealed the deal. "It turned out to be great! Who knew?"

Samara Weaving

Samara Weaving first made her horror mark in 2017s Mayhem and The Babysitter, but it’s 2019’s Ready or Not that turned her into an iconic scream queen. In the film, the actress, 32, plays a newlywed, Grace — whose husband’s family tries to kill her in a horrifying, chaotic blood bath.

“The biggest thing I wanted for Grace was for her to be very strong,” she told Refinery29 in 2019. “I didn’t want her survival skills to be an accident or a fluke, I wanted her to really think about the situation she was in and make decisions out of logic, instead of desperation ... I really didn’t want her to be a damsel in distress.”

Weaving’s other horror entries include 2023’s Scream VI and 2024’s Azrael.

Mia Goth

Mia Goth stars in one horror trilogy as two iconic characters. In 2022’s X, she plays both aspiring porn star Maxine and serial killer Pearl — using prosthetics to make herself appear old. Then, in 2023, she starred as Pearl in a prequel of the same name, set decades earlier. And to finish it out, in 2024 she returned as Maxine in MaXXXine. 

W Magazine asked Goth in 2023 if she thought she was good at screaming. “I think I am actually,” the 31-year-old said. “I have such a naturally high-pitched voice. I find it's quite nice to be able to become unhinged like that.”

Goth also appeared in the horror films Suspiria and Infinity Pool and is set to star in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein.

Maika Monroe

Maika Monroe made her entree into horror in a huge way in 2014, starring in The Guest and It Follows. She’s kept her scream queen status up with movies like 2018’s Tau, 2022’s The Watcher and 2024’s smash hit Longlegs.

Vogue wrote in July that the actress’ horror movies usually cast her as a “pretty, blonde, all-American” type, but Longlegs went somewhere different. Instead, the 31-year-old played a “a haunted, highly disciplined, intuitive weirdo.” She told the outlet, “I had to kind of tap into something different for this one.”

Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega began to enter into horror with a small role in 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2 and she appeared in 2020’s The Babysitter: Killer Queen. But in 2022 she broke out with starring roles in X and Scream 5. Her character of Tara Carpenter also returned for 2023’s Scream 6.

Ortega, 22, stars in the horror TV series Wednesday and 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. She told PEOPLE in February that to her, “horror is everything.”

“I would do horror until I die. It’s the best,” she explained. “I love horror [movies] because they encapsulate everything. They can be romantic, they can be funny, they can be dramatic, they can be scary. They're adrenaline-inducing and ignite passion in people, even scaredy-cats.”

Melissa Barrera

Melissa Barrera joined Ortega in 2022’s Scream 5 as her character’s sister Sam Carpenter. She also returned for the 2023 sequel. 

But the 34-year-old’s horror creds don’t end there. She also starred in 2022’s Bed Rest and 2024’s Abigail and Your Monster. Barrera told Decider in an Oct. 25 interview that it’s a “tremendous honor” to be called a scream queen. 

“I love horror. I’ve fallen in love with how much fun you have on a horror set — the things that you get to do that you don’t get to really do in all the other genres,” she said. “Like being covered in blood — I’m kind of addicted.”

Anya Taylor-Joy

Anya Taylor-Joy’s horror career began with 2015’s The Witch. Next came 2016’s Morgan and Split, 2017’s Marrowbone, 2019’s Glass and 2021’s Last Night in Soho. But 2022’s The Menu, which stars the 28-year-old as a woman who’s lured to a remote restaurant, lets Taylor-Joy luxuriate in an iconic final girl moment.

Last Night in Soho director Edgar Wright told British GQ in May why he thinks Taylor-Joy is such a great horror leading lady. “In so many famous horror movies, the reaction of an actor is as seared into your synapses as what they’re scared of, ” he said. “Anya has an incredibly expressive face. Hypnotic would be the other word.”

Vera Farmiga

Vera Farmiga’s horror journey began with 2009’s Orphan. Then in 2013, she began starring in The Conjuring franchise as Lorraine Warren, a character based on the real-life “paranormal investigator.” That same year, she began starring in the Psycho prequel series Bates Motel as well.

Farmiga, 51, explained why she liked doing a horror franchise so much in a 2016 interview with Collider, from when The Conjuring 2 was released. “A franchise, for me, is the chance to explore deeper characterization and, potentially, a slightly bigger paycheck, which is very alluring,” she explained. “I started off in television and continue to dabble in television, and I love deeper and deeper exploration of a characterization ... That’s why the most popular films are the ones that have sequels. It’s television for the big screen. So, yeah, I was hoping to do a sequel because I absolutely adore this character.”