Top 30 Female Disney Villains

From her first scene, it’s clear that she’s not to be trifled with. Helga is beautiful, tough, and no-nonsense, which makes her a pretty likable character … that is, until she betrays the hero. It turns out that she’s not just an adventurer – she’s willing to destroy an entire ancient civilization in order to sell their magic crystal to the highest bidder. Like most Disney villains, she eventually gets what’s coming to her, though her demise is a little anticlimactic. When you partner up with a traitor, you can’t be too surprised when the tables turn against you.

From the perspective of the main character, she might be the most terrifying antagonist in Disney history. That makes it especially fitting that she’s introduced like a horror villain. Darla isn’t a traditional bad guy. She doesn’t have a nefarious plan, and she’s not trying to hurt the fish on purpose. That actually makes her even scarier. She’s not evil – she’s more like an agent of chaos. That said, she’ll probably grow out of this fish-killing phase. In the meantime, she needs adults around her who will stop enabling her behavior, and who know better than to buy pets who have been kidnapped from the wild.

If you don’t like dogs, you’re automatically the villain. Hey, we don’t make the rules. When Jim Dear and Darling go on vacation, they leave Lady and the new baby in the care of Aunt Sarah. She immediately banishes Lady from the baby’s room, and things only get worse from there. The woman is completely unreasonable at every turn. Because of her, a rat nearly gets to the baby, and the Tramp winds up in the dogcatcher’s clutches, where he almost meets an untimely end. The next time Jim Dear and Darling need some time away, we hope they get someone else to watch the house.

Although she initially comes across as kind of terrifying, Gabby turns out to be more sympathetic than most Disney villains. She wants what most toys want: to be loved by a child. The difference is that she’s willing to do anything to get it, even if it means getting her hands dirty. With her cadre of dummy henchmen, Gabby is like a crime boss, and the antique store is her turf. She holds Forky hostage in exchange for Woody’s voice box, and with a little help from the gang, her wish finally comes true. Her methods were underhanded, but we have to admit that seeing Gabby finally get her happy ending was pretty gratifying.

The title of this movie is a little misleading, since Ingrith is the one who’s actually evil. Although at first she seems welcoming – if a little rude – to Maleficent, she has a dark secret. She’s held a grudge against the fairies since she was young, and now she’s determined to eradicate them and take over their lands. She’s spent years waging a smear campaign against Maleficent and building an arsenal of iron weapons to use against the fae folk. This sequel subverts our usual ideas about good and evil. The villain is no longer an ugly old crone, but is instead portrayed by the beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer and is clothed all in white. It’s a good lesson for young viewers: don’t be deceived by appearances.

In the previous film, “Dead Man’s Chest,” Tia Dalma seemed to simply be a voodoo witch who happened to have the information the main characters needed to find the Flying Dutchman. However, in “At World’s End,” we learn that she’s actually the sea goddess Calypso, who was bound in human form by the pirate lords after she and Davy Jones betrayed each other. Captain Barbossa frees her, assuming she’ll help him to defeat his enemies. Instead, the enraged goddess disappears into the sea, summoning a massive maelstrom that nearly devours everyone. Honestly, we can’t blame her. Being stuck inside a human body for eternity sounds pretty dreadful.

Thanks to her technical genius, she turns out to be quite a daunting villain. Evelyn has had a grudge against superheroes ever since they failed to save her parents during a home invasion. Now, she’s determined to ruin their image, to ensure they’ll never be legalized again. Using hypnotic goggles, she’s able to get an entire army of supes under her control. It’s only thanks to the Incredible kids, including the extremely overpowered Jack-Jack, that her plan fails. With just a bit more luck, she might have successfully subdued every supe and made superheroes a thing of the past.

This villain origin story gave us an even bigger, badder antagonist in the Baroness. She’s vain, selfish, controlling, and … kind of iconic. It’s understandable that Cruella would look up to her as a sort of role model, until she learns how evil the Baroness actually is. She doesn’t just treat everyone around her as an inferior – she’s an actual murderer. The Baroness’s true colors come out when Cruella begins showing her up, stealing the spotlight at fancy balls and drawing the attention of the press. Yet somehow, she’s still delightful to watch every time she’s on screen.

We love a good redemption arc. Like Mulan, Xianniang was ostracized for refusing to submit to a woman’s typical role. She went on to become a powerful witch with the ability to shapeshift, and she joins Böri Khan in his attempt to overthrow the emperor and rule China. She sees herself in Mulan, and even suggests that the two join forces. When Mulan refuses, Xianniang admires her even more. When she realizes that Khan will never give her the respect she craves, she turns on him, ultimately sacrificing herself in a heroic gesture.

Speaking of noble sacrifices, this warrior princess is willing to do anything to protect her clan. The Fang tribe has been less prosperous than the Heart tribe since Namaari was a little girl. She betrays her best friend Raya to steal Heart’s dragon gem, thinking it will make things better for her own tribe. As Sisu the dragon correctly points out, Namaari didn’t really want to cause harm. She was just looking out for the interests of her tribe. Her mother, Chief Virana, is also prepared to go to extremes to safeguard Fang. But in the end, it’s Namaari’s self-sacrifice that saves all of the tribes.

Many Disney villains have plans to take over the world, rule the cosmos, become immortal gods – you know, all that cartoony stuff. But then there are some villains, like Madame Medusa, who are all too realistic. Medusa is a greedy and temperamental woman who runs a seedy pawn shop in New York. That is until her obsession with diamonds brings her south to Devil’s Bayou in search of a massive one called the Devil’s Eye. When she is too large to reach its hiding place, Medusa returns to New York, kidnaps an orphan named Penny, and brings her to New Orleans so she can retrieve the diamond. In a way, a violent kidnapper is much scarier than any would-be world conqueror.

Few Disney villains are as physically intimidating as Te Kā. Composed of lava and flames, she is a colossal figure who towers over Moana and Maui, crawls around like some type of animal, and has a very creepy, skull-like face. It’s all enough to frighten adult viewers, let alone young children. But there’s also a tragic backstory behind this horrifying villain, giving her some welcome complexity. Te Kā was once known as Te Fiti, and she provided the gift of life. However, Maui stole her heart in a misguided attempt to impress humanity, and as a result the goddess unleashed her rage on the whole world.

2016’s “The Jungle Book” proved one of the finest live action Disney remakes (if you even want to call it live action). In a break from the original depiction of this character, here Scarlett Johansson lends an eerie vocal performance to the now-female snake. Mowgli comes across her creepy domicile after running from Shere Khan, and the setting works wonderfully in building character and setting the mood. Kaa herself is a terrifying creation – a 30-foot long python who hypnotizes Mowgli with her slithery voice in an attempt to eat him. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Baloo, Mowgli would have been snake grub. The scene was unsettling enough in the 1967 original. The convincing CGI makes it petrifying.

Scar was a mean son of a gun, and he directly influenced a number of other lions to be just like him. The worst of them all is Zira. Zira was one of Scar’s most devoted followers while he led the pride. When he died, Zira and Scar’s other supporters were banished and became known as The Outsiders. Like Scar before her, Zira is a very conniving and heartless creature. She doesn’t even love her own children, seeing them more as political tools and puppets. It’s only when they show an understanding of her evil plans that Zira displays affection and pride. She’s a nasty lion and a worthy successor to one of Disney’s most iconic villains.

Played by Mandy Moore in her film debut, Lana Thomas is a stereotypical bully character who would be right at home in “Mean Girls.” She is a beautiful cheerleader and a popular student, and her power within the high school social circle allows her to torment Mia. Lana takes pride in her unpleasant personality, and viewers quickly grow to hate her. The end of the film proves wonderfully cathartic, though, when Mia smears chocolate ice cream over Lana’s beloved cheerleading uniform, resulting in a whiny and satisfying outburst. There’s something very gratifying about watching a bully get their comeuppance.

Madam Mim is the antithesis to Merlin, the yin to his yang. Like Merlin, Madam Mim is an incredibly powerful wizard, and her talents rival – and arguably even best – Merlin, who is supposedly the most powerful wizard in the whole world. Mim is annoyingly arrogant, but her talents generally back up her boisterous personality. She is a practitioner of dark magic, and she uses said magic for sadistic purposes. Perhaps her greatest talent is shapeshifting into a massive dragon, which serves as a scary visual reminder of her power and a representation of her evil.

The overbearing warden character is a popular one in fiction, and Warden Louise Walker is a great example. Walker oversees Camp Green Lake, a children’s detention center that sees juvenile delinquents digging holes as punishment. Of course, there are ulterior motives behind the digging. Whatever Mr. Sir says, the kids are actually looking for a stash of buried treasure that once belonged to a Wild West outlaw. This is representative of the Warden’s very character. She is deceptively friendly on the outside, but she harbors ulterior motivations and a cold, dangerous personality. She utilizes what is essentially child slave labor, and she isn’t above poisoning her own employees with rattlesnake venom simply for wasting her time.

Based on C.S. Lewis’s iconic children’s novel of the same name, “The Chronicles of Narnia” contains a perfect adaptation of Jadis the White Witch. Excellently portrayed by Tilda Swinton, Jadis is the very personification of evil. She is the leader of Narnia, having usurped power over the world and subjected it to an endless winter. The winter is symbolic of Jadis’s character – harsh, cold, uncaring, and cruel. And like Warden Walker, the White Witch pretends to be nice when it suits her needs – especially when it involves manipulating young Edmund. Few characters in children’s literature are as menacing and heartless as Jadis the White Witch.

There are a few things that set Bellwether apart from other Disney villains. For one thing, she’s a sheep. For another, she wears adorable little outfits befitting her public office job. And finally, she has a distinctive high pitched voice provided by Jenny Slate. But make no mistake, she is a vicious sheep. From behind the scenes Bellwether carried out a plot to make the predator citizens of Zootopia seem like dangerous “savages,” so prey species like her could rule. Civilized creatures like Mr. Manchas were attacked with her night howler concoctions, turning them violent and resulting in discrimination against the predators of Zootopia. Bellwether is a truly disgusting villain, both in terms of actions and motivation.

This perennial Halloween classic is certainly a lot of fun, but it contains a dark undercurrent. That is in large part due to the Sanderson sisters. With a potion from Winifred’s Manual of Witchcraft and Alchemy, written by the devil and bound in human skin, the trio concoct a plan to regain their youth and beauty by sucking the life force from the children of Salem. Young Emily Binx becomes their first victim, but the villagers are able to stop them from doing further harm. For 300 years or so. One virgin with a lighter though and they are back in business and determined to finish what they started. Iconic as the Sanderson Sisters are, we can’t forget that they are the wickedest of witches.

This weirdly dark fantasy film serves as an unofficial sequel to the classic original, and it borrows elements from L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” novels. For example, Mombi is an amalgamation of both Mombi from “The Marvelous Land of Oz” and Princess Langwidere from “Ozma of Oz.” Mombi proves one of Disney’s scariest villains, altering her physical appearance by swapping out a collection of human heads. She eventually locks Dorothy in her tower with the hope of adding hers to the stock in the future. “Return to Oz” is often criticized for being too dark and unsettling. It’s no surprise, considering Mombi’s habits.

A definitive Disney film, “Cinderella” contains some of the greatest villains in the company’s history. The evil stepsisters are truly detestable pieces of work, and their mother, Lady Tremaine, is somehow even worse. Like Madame Medusa, Lady Tremaine is a very grounded Disney villain who doesn’t resort to world-ending schemes. Rather, she simply takes pleasure in psychologically tormenting her unfortunate step daughter, all because Cinderella is prettier than her biological daughters. The story of “Cinderella” has remained unendingly popular owing to its relatable nature, complete with a 2015 live action remake in which Cate Blanchett brought Tremaine’s domineering persona to life. Lady Tremaine is – unfortunately – one of Disney’s most tragically realistic villains.

2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” is the movie that kicked off the live action Disney remakes, earning praise for its visuals and grossing over $1 billion. It also contained a fantastic villain in the Red Queen. She is an amalgamation of Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen, the Duchess, and the Queen of Hearts (who herself was the villain of the 1951 original). Played by a very odd-looking Helena Bonham Carter, the Red Queen is a tyrannical ruler with a penchant for ordering executions. Anyone caught disobeying her rule is beheaded, and her paranoia means that no one is safe. She’s unpredictable, she’s dangerous, and she’s very, very crazy. In short, she’s the perfect Disney villain.

One of Disney’s most creative and self-aware efforts, “Enchanted” is a live action comedy that sees a prototypical Disney Princess being transplanted in modern day New York City. Likewise, the film’s main antagonist, Queen Narissa, is the prototypical Disney villain, a combination of Maleficent and the Evil Queen from “Snow White.” Like Maleficent, Narissa is a master of dark magic and can turn into a dragon. Like the Evil Queen, she displays skill in alchemy and makes poison apples in the hopes of killing Giselle. And of course all this hatred stems from a desire to cling to power. By serving as a tribute to the Disney villain archetype, Narissa displays their best – or, rather, worst – traits.

Mother may indeed know best, but we wouldn’t recommend listening to Mother Gothel. Gothel is an old, creepy crone who locked away Rapunzel to harness the power of her magic hair. Rapunzel’s hair harbors the healing properties of the Sundrop Flower, allowing Gothel to retain a youthful appearance. She brainwashes Rapunzel into fearing the outside world and keeps her trapped in the tower for nearly twenty years, taking on a matronly personality and utilizing subtle tricks like guilt trips to keep Rapunzel an obedient “daughter.” We’re not sure what’s worse, kidnapping, imprisoning, and gaslighting a child for decades, or doing it all for the sake of vanity.

Despite Disney entering a bit of a Dark Age around the new millennium, Yzma remains one of the company’s most popular villains. She shares many similarities with Disney villains of old, wishing to usurp the throne from Emperor Kuzco and utilizing some magical potions to carry out her nefarious deeds. But what sets Yzma apart from the others is the comedic way in which she’s depicted. She often resorts to overly-elaborate plans, grows increasingly irritated with the dim-witted Kronk, and has a comically eccentric personality. And many of her catchphrases have become popular within the pop culture vernacular. In many ways, Yzma is the most unique Disney villain of the modern era.

Cruella de Vil is easily one of Disney’s best baddies. No matter what version it is, whether it’s the Glenn Close iteration from the 1996 adaptation or the Emma Stone one from the 2021 origin story, Cruella de Vil remains a captivating character. It’s hard to say just what makes her so endlessly interesting. Maybe it’s her complete insanity and being the very embodiment of selfish greed. Maybe it’s her psychotic motivation of kidnapping puppies for the sake of a luxurious fur coat. Or maybe it’s just her unique physical appearance, complete with her signature black and white hair. Either way, Cruella de Vil has remained a Disney icon for half a century.

Despite being released before World War II, “Snow White” and its characters have remained quintessential Disney properties. Perhaps it’s the quality of the story and characters themselves, or perhaps it’s the fact that “Snow White” was the first full-length Disney film. As such, The Evil Queen holds the distinction of being the first Disney villain, and she remains one of the best. Her physical appearance is iconic, complete with her purple gown and black cloak, and her poison apple scheme remains one of the most famous in the Disney canon. Furthermore, while often misquoted, she gave us one of the most recognizable lines in all of movie history

With her six squid tentacles and devious agenda, Ursula is both physically and morally revolting. She often strikes dubious deals with the merpeople of the sea, later turning them into creepy polyp figures that inhabit her underground lair. She also provides one of the scariest climaxes in Disney history, as she uses Triton’s trident to grow to a massive size. It makes for a blood-chilling visual, and it renders both Eric and Ariel completely powerless. Ursula’s flamboyant personality is also quite unique within the Disney canon, with popular drag queen Divine being a major source of inspiration for the character. And, let’s be serious, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is an absolute banger.

Perhaps the most iconic Disney villain of all time, Maleficent serves as the very embodiment of evil. It’s in her very name, after all. The 2014 movie provides a very interesting twist on the “Sleeping Beauty” story by telling it from Maleficent’s perspective, but the original incarnation will forever remain the greatest. Everything about her is timeless and classic. There’s her physical appearance, which includes the instantly recognizable black and purple outfit and yellow eyes. There are her magical powers, which includes the ability to turn into a massive, fire-breathing dragon. And of course there’s the horned headdress that makes her look like a demon, perfectly representing her Devilish character. With a title like that, we have to say, she nailed it.

Which Disney villain is your favorite mistress of evil? Let us know in the comments below!