Top 20 Mean Girls in Movies

A more modern take on the mean girl trope, Madison doesn’t have a shred of kindness or decency in her heart. This wannabe reality tv star is a firm believer that your reputation in high school means everything. As such, she does whatever it takes to remain popular, and is not above manipulating and humiliating others to do so. The worst part of all is that she really seems to take pleasure in doing it. She is especially cruel towards protagonist Bianca, who soon starts to develop a connection with Madison’s on and off boyfriend, Wesley. Simply put: she is as shallow as it gets.

Straight out of the classic bully trope, Cokie torments everyone around her because she’s insecure. She’s hardly the nicest friend to the people she supposedly likes and seems to really despise the Baby-Sitters’ Club. Her pranks are cruel, especially when she tries to get between Mary Anne and Logan. She’s just plain mean and very conceited, so we’re happy to see her get her comeuppance when Jackie Rodowsky hits a home run, which sends the ball hurtling toward Cokie as she sits in a tree.

Tris is the chalk to Nick’s cheese. She’s mean, heartless, and dumps the genuinely sweet Nick on his birthday… and throws out the mix CDs he’s made her. She unintentionally pushes Norah and Nick together when she taunts Norah about being single, but the moment she sees their connection, jealousy takes over and she decides she wants him back. Her most scheming moment is when she waits for Nick by his car and tries to seduce him with a sexy dance. However, Nick drives off, wiping whatever feelings he had for Tris away.

Any group arrogantly self-titled, “The Pretty Committee” is hardly going to be anything but egotistical - and anyone who leads them is bound to be the worst of the bunch. Massie was hardly the nicest person to begin with, but her ambition to be the Queen B drives her to jealousy when Claire unsettles the status quo. Massie goes out of her way to make Claire miserable, only to end up having the tables turned on her. She’s left friendless and learns that it’s better to have no friends over many friends that hate you.

She’s the high school ‘it’ girl who still hasn’t grown out of her mean streak. In a series of flashbacks, we see the horrible ways Christie used to torment Romy and Michele in high school and when they meet again at the reunion, it seems she’s still stuck in the past as she continues to taunt and humiliate them even ten years on. But, this time Romy and Michele walk away with their heads held high after finally confronting her and exposing her for the high school has-been she’s become.

#15 : Betty Rizzo “Grease” (1978)

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Rizzo starts off as the quick-witted Pink Ladies leader and Sandy’s gentle nature just gets on her nerves. She revels in the drama when reuniting Sandy and Danny and doesn’t hesitate to make fun of Sandy during their girly sleepover. She appears uninterested in Sandy’s summer love story and interjects with snarky comments before kicking Patty off the bench. While Rizzo comes across as cold and uncaring, this bad girl wins major sympathy points when she confesses that she’s really just trying to cover up her insecurities.

#14: Hilary Faye “Saved!” (2004)

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Her holier-than-thou attitude might have you fooled, but as soon as anyone challenges her faith, Hilary Faye sheds her sheep’s clothing and exposes herself for the mean girl she truly is. Self-righteous, judgemental, intolerant, and hypocritical, she’s an awful friend and an even worse sister with no patience for her disabled brother, who she cares for reluctantly. When prom doesn’t pan out as she hoped, she crashes her car into a Jesus effigy in a fit of rage, causing his head and her world views to come tumbling down.

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but it’s Elle’s shiny, pink exterior that rubs Vivian up the wrong way when they first meet. Well, that and probably that she’s Warner’s ex. For most of the film, she’s pretty nasty to Elle, excluding her from their study group, trying to humiliate her at a party, and accusing her of sleeping her way to the top. However, by the end of the film, even Vivian can’t resist Elle’s charm and the two become best friends, leaving Warner a distant memory.

#12: Jennifer Check “Jennifer’s Body” (2009)

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Jennifer isn’t just your average selfish, narcissistic, popular cheerleader. Yeah, she may not have been the nicest before being offered up as a sacrifice to Satan, but once she becomes possessed by a demon, she is so much worse. Superhuman strength, speed and the power of levitation might sound ideal, but since she must feed on human flesh to survive, no one is safe. The film takes the idea of the sexual predator to a new level since Jennifer seduces guys before feeding on them to keep herself strong.

Just when the students of Westerburg thought the tyranny was over, Heather Duke’s reign of terror begins. She’s verbally and mentally abusive and her cruelty knows no bounds. After Heather Chandler’s death, she becomes the new alpha, ruling with an iron fist - and no one, not even Heather McNamara, is off limits as a victim of her ruthlessness. As quickly as her hold on the school begins, it also ends however, as Veronica decides to free the school from the hands of the mean girl once and for all.

#10: Taylor Vaughan “She’s All That” (1999)

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In the interest of increasing her own popularity profile, this queen bee leaves her boyfriend Zack for a sleazy reality star. Her actions lead the heartbroken Zack to bet his friends that he can transform the nerdy Laney Boggs into the prom queen. Well, that makes Taylor jealous with a capital-J – especially when Laney ends up winning Zack’s heart and competing against her for the crown. But, while all her scheming does briefly tear Laney and Zack apart and wins her the title she so desired, ultimately this mean girl is exposed for who she really is. She may have ve gotten the crown, but Laney got the king.

We’ve seen this trope before – many times – but it’s stills just as maddening: the cheerleader picking on the geek. In this case, Lana’s the popular one, and Mia Thermopolis is the frizzy-haired, bespectacled unpopular one. But, what Lana and everyone else at school don’t know is that Mia is actually a princess, and when the public finds out, the Genovian royal becomes a media darling. But does this mean girl back down? No! Lana only wants to humiliate her more by setting a trap for her with the paparazzi. And, while the half-naked tabloid pictures of Mia are so embarrassing she considers giving up her title, Mia musters up enough courage to give Lana her just desserts – literally.

Every school has its overachievers, but how far will they go to get what they want? Reese Witherspoon plays the smart but arrogant Tracy, who’ll stop at nothing to become student body president. Her teacher Jim wants her to lose, partly because he’s upset that her affair with his best friend cost him his job and family and partly because he just finds her annoying. Tracy’s not your typical movie mean girl because she’s not the leader of a specific group of friends; but there’s no doubt that her actions are self-serving and mean to all involved. And unfortunately, despite Jim’s best efforts, Tracy Flick is also proof that mean girls can finish first.

#7: Lucy ‘Tom-Tom’ Wyman “13 Going on 30” (2004)

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She starts off as a bully, mean girl and clique leader, and Lucy never grows out of her mean streak. In 1987, she pranks the sweet and naïve Jenna Rink at her birthday party. This sets off a chain of magical events that lead Jenna into the future as a successful magazine editor. Somewhat shockingly, the girls are best friends and co-workers, and Jenna’s become as mean as Tom-Tom just by association. But turns out, Lucy’s still up to her old tricks, willing to betray her friend just to climb the corporate ladder. Lucy is proof that you may encounter mean girls anywhere – even at the office.

#6: Nancy Downs “The Craft” (1996)

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This teen’s not just a mean girl; she’s a real witch. Nancy comes from a broken home, which clearly affects her relationships and views on life. However, as head of a coven, she proves to be more than a little volatile and power-hungry, casting spells with little regard for human life. Once she convinces her friends to partake in a ritual called the Invocation of the Spirit, the full extent of her wickedness is revealed. Lives are ruined, bodies pile up and the consequences become increasingly negative, and Nancy is at the center of it all. Using physical and emotional torment to defeat those who go against her, this is one mean girl that can only be stopped by magic.

Queen bee Courtney is the most popular girl at Reagan High School, as well as the leader of the “Flawless Four” – and she wants to keep it that way. So, when a prank she plays on her friend Liz goes south and ends in Liz’s death, Courtney goes to great lengths to cover it up. And if that means sullying the innocent and kid-hearted Liz’s reputation, so be it – actually, even better. So what if she has to call her dead friend a promiscuous alcoholic, corrupt others to keep them quiet and blackmail her friends? Remorse is for ugly girls. This is high school, after all, and nothing’s more important than your reputation.

An infamous movie mean girl, Chris teases the shy but powerful Carrie when she gets her first period – talk about rough. But at least she doesn’t get off scot-free: the compassionate gym teacher ends up punishing Chris and the rest of the class for what they did to Carrie, eventually suspending the mean girl from school and preventing her from going to prom. Well, as we’ve learned, mean girls sure do like them some retribution, so Chris enlists her boyfriend to help her exact revenge on Carrie in one of the most classic horror film scenes ever. And, while Chris isn’t there to see the results of her cruel prank, she’s still in the thoughts of her former target.

#3: Regina George “Mean Girls” (2004)

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Her name literally means “queen”: could the crown for movie mean girl go to anyone else? The popular Regina George is both envied and feared by her classmates. She isn’t above mistreating new girl Cady Heron, her best friends, and even her own mom – as long as benefits her rep. But before long, Cady’s queen bee, and when the former leader of the Plastics falls prey to mean girl tactics herself, she unleashes chaos on the entire school by flooding it with the secrets that the plastics spent years collecting. A brush with death finally changes her wicked ways, but even so, Regina George is not only synonymous with the term “mean girl,” she’s also a queen bee icon.

This evil socialite proves that money can’t buy you class – or a conscience. Kathryn is addicted to coke and has an intense flirtation going with her stepbrother Sebastian – and that’s putting it mildly. In an effort to put her manipulation skills to good use, she bets Sebastian that he can’t seduce the innocent Annette, who is a virgin. If she wins, she gets his Jaguar. If he wins, he gets to sleep with Kathryn. But, although Ms. Merteuil thinks she’s pulling the strings in this scenario, genuine emotions get in the way, and ultimately, her actions backfire and everyone gets to see Kathryn for who she really is. Oh, and she does NOT get the Jag. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Marianne Bryant, “Easy A” (2010) The Leader of the Cross your Heart Club Can Be Pretty Judgmental Tania Degano, “Muriel’s Wedding” (1994) Condescending and Rude, She Believes That Some People Are Just “Not on Her Level” Crystal Allen, “The Women” (1939) This Adulteress Feels No Shame For Her Misdeeds Amber Von Tussle, “Hairspray” (1988) Her Criticism Towards Tracy Knows no Bounds Amber Mariens, “Clueless” (1995) There’s a Reason Why Cher Can’t Stand Her

This croquet-loving clique leader is as hated as she is popular – and she’s VERY popular. And, although she only appears in a few scenes, she definitely makes her mark. Abusive both verbally and mentally, Heather Chandler rules her group with an iron fist. So, when Veronica decides she wants out of the Heathers, it’s not as easy as saying, “see ya!” In fact, Queen Heather is the kind of person who’d try to ruin your reputation for just such a reason. So, as you can imagine, that inspires such hatred that Veronica decides to bring her down by any means necessary – even if it means killing her. But dead or alive, this mean girl will haunt your dreams.