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Feb 28, 2024 · The femme fatale is one of the most classic tropes in cinema, featuring iconic and memorable characters. Here are the best femme fatales in movie history.
- EW Staff
- Catherine Tramell, Basic Instinct (Sharon Stone) A male fantasy transformed into a nightmare: a bisexual nymphomaniac who might sleep with or kill you, played by Sharon Stone.
- Suzanne Stone Maretto, To Die For (Nicole Kidman) Blind ambition meets blonde ambition. Suzanne (Nicole Kidman) wants fame at any cost—and she's just delusional enough to get it.
- Claire Underwood, House of Cards (Robin Wright) Behind every great man, there's a great woman (Robin Wright). And behind every Machiavellian power-monger politician, there's a partner just as nefarious.
- Bridget Gregory, The Last Seduction (Linda Fiorentino) Beware of a woman in trouble. Manipulative and brilliant, Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) is a big New York City fish in a small-town pond.
- Bettie Page
- Joanna Hiffernan
- Wallis Simpson
- Marchesa Luisa Casati
- Cleopatra VII Philopator
- #6 Isadora Duncan
- Mary I, Queen of England
- Mae West
- Lady Godiva
Imagine the world without Madonna’s enchantment with bondage gear or her provocative book entitled “Sex”. Then, imagine the world without Rihanna’s obsession with all things leather or the iconic picture of Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. That’s just a tiny portion of what the world would not have if it wasn’t for Bettie Page, the so-called “Queen of ...
Back in the day, artists’ models, especially those who posed nude, were considered little better than prostitutes. When it comes to the name of Joanna Hiffernan, she might well have outstood all her fellow models. Born in Ireland, Hiffernan got involved with the American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler. The artist’s family did not approve of ...
Wallis Simpson was an American socialite, born in 1896 and who had died in 1986. She was first married to a US naval officer, Win Spencer, but eventually the marriage ended in divorce. Wallis then went for a second marriage, with a British shipping executive, Ernest Simpson. Allegedly, around the time of this second marriage, she also became involv...
An Italian heiress and muse, Marchesa Luisa Casati lived exactly the way she preached, or as her famous saying goes: “I want to be a living work of art.” Throughout her life, she never ceased to enchant the hearts of her European contemporaries. A femme fatale living in the first half of the 20th century, Marchesa was an astounding and extravagant ...
Cleopatra is most likely one of the most famous ruler of the ancient Egypt, and among the most famous female rulers in the history of the world. As the last active ruler of ancient Egypt, she was survived as a pharaoh, for a very short period of time, by her son Caesarion (the nickname meaning “Little Caesar”). Once her reign was through, Egypt bec...
Although born in California, Isadora Duncan spent most of her adulthood in Western Europe and the Soviet Union. Her life ended abruptly and much too soon, but she has remained one of the world’s most renowned and important dancers. This woman broke rules, subverted traditions, and reimagined dance as a form of sacred art. Duncan brought a particula...
Probably the first thing to pop up in your mind when somebody says “Bloody Mary” is the lavish cocktail made with vodka, tomato juice and combinations of various spices. However, before the cocktail came to prominence, it was Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland who was the real “Bloody Mary”. She reigned the British Isles from 1553 until her death...
She was one of the most iconic American figures of early-days Hollywood, and her career as an actress, singer, playwright, and comedian spanned over seven decades. Aside from that, Mae West was a sex symbol of the era. Double entendres overwhelmed the scripts she produced, for which she was frequently censored. West became famous in New York even b...
Last but not least, according to legend, Lady Godiva rode naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry, her body covered only by her long beautiful hair she wor. The legend of this fabulous nude ride first emerged during the 13th-century. According to the common version of the story, Lady Godiva took pity on the citizens of Coventry who were gr...
- Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbra Stanwick) – Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) Often imitated, yet never surpassed. Based on James M. Cain’s novel of the same name, Billy Wilder’s noir classic brought audiences one of the most memorable villainesses in Phyllis Dietrichson, profoundly brought to life by Golden Age actress Barbra Stanwick.
- Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner) – Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan, 1981) Loosely based on the noir classic Double Indemnity, the neo-noir film Body Heat would opportune Kathleen Turner a career defining role as the seductive man-eater Matty Walker.
- Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) – Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) In one of the most diligently crafted films on this list, Chinatown is a neo-noir film that embraces post-modernism.
- Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) – Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992) Catherine Tramell is undisputedly the raunchiest entry on this list due to a certain infamous leg crossing scene.
Mar 1, 2024 · 5. Body Heat – Matty Walker. Matty Walker is easily one of the best femme fatales of all time. Drawing inspiration from classic femme fatales like Cora Smith and Phyllis Dietriechson, Kathleen ...
May 8, 2023 · The femme fatale is arguably the most recognizable element of film noir. Many famous actors played femme fatales during noir's golden period, from Barbara Stanwyck to Rita...
