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5 Most Intimidating Female Antagonists in TV Shows, Ranked

5 Most Intimidating Female Antagonists in TV Shows, Ranked
Image credit: Legion-Media/HBO

Female villains are their own genre of gorgeous: they’re often the type of character you love to hate and can’t get enough of, and the actresses who play them tend to pull off the most memorable performances ever.

5. Claire Underwood (House of Cards)

Mrs. Underwood is just as ambitious, power-hungry, and sharp as her husband — but a bit more subtle and intelligent, making her an even more formidable foe for anyone who stands in her way.

Claire Underwood doesn’t stop at anything to reach the top, and she’s scary at that: most of the time, people don’t suspect her true nature until it's too late.

4. Regina Mills (Once Upon A Time)

Known as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Regina Mills lives up to her fairytale name to its fullest. She’s vicious, unpredictable, and powerful — not a person you’d want to mess with. In her power lust, Regina will mull over anyone in her path.

Instead of being a stereotypical Evil Queen, though, she is surprisingly multi-layered, and by the end of the show, Regina pretty much redeems herself for her past.

3. Villanelle (Killing Eve )

Stepping away from power-hungry villains, Villanelle is a cold-blooded psychopath killer who takes deep pleasure in her terrific acts. For Villanelle, assassinations are a fun game, so she keeps her joyful and playful attitude around her victims.

Merciless, unstoppable, and straight-up terrifying, Villanelle takes her well-deserved (through ill means, of course) bronze on our list.

2. Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries )

If you’re looking for female villains to admire for their immense survival skills and instincts, Katherine Pierce is exactly your type. Nothing that could potentially stand between her own survival has survived itself, and this is not an exaggeration.

Katherine has exterminated thousands of people for standing in her way, and this is the only thought that reminds you to hate this evil woman instead of admiring her.

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Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones )

Perhaps the most complex female villain of all time, Cersei Lannister is undeniably the most threatening of the bunch: she’s manipulative, sharp, scheming, and merciless to anyone who she reckons can be a threat to her family or her reign.

Cersei’s brutality gets in the way of protecting her beloved children, and each time makes her even more ruthless than before — and she keeps fighting until the end.