Who are the 6 Scream Queens of 2024? From Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress Jenna Ortega, and The Substance’s Margaret Qualley

Dec 24 , 2024

Scream Queens (from left) Jenna Ortega, Sydney Sweeney and Mia Goth. Photos: @jennaortega, @sydney_sweeney, @miagoth0/Instagram

Goodbye, ‘final girl’: contemporary horror movies, featuring Gen Z and millennial actresses such as Mia Goth and Lupita Nyong’o, are paving the way for a new era of leading ladies

Cheesy horror fixtures are a dime a dozen: the chainsaw-wielding psychopath, the murderous mutant resulting from a lab experiment gone wrong and, perhaps most recognisable, the anaemic face of a damsel in distress, mouth agape in anticipation of an award-worthy scream.

A “scream queen” is an actress known for her appearances in horror films, often as a central character. She is not to be confused with a “final girl” – another horror trope, where a woman, after having dealt with the monster/killer/otherworldly form, is the last one standing and the only one left to tell the tale.

The horror genre would be incomplete without these leading ladies. Here are five of our favourite gen Z and millennial darlings, from Sydney Sweeney to Jenna Ortega.

1. Sydney Sweeney

Actress Sydney Sweeney, who made a splash in Euphoria and The White Lotus, stars in this year’s scary-nun film Immaculate. Photo: AFP

Sydney Sweeney recently added her star power to the scary-nun subgenre of horror, garnering much attention for her lead performance as Sister Cecilia in Immaculate, released in March.

The movie is a triumph for fans of splatter films, with its use of in-your-face gore sure to make viewers squirm in their seats – although, yes, it also explores women’s rights to bodily autonomy.

Sydney Sweeney as Sister Cecilia in Immaculate. Photo: AP

While perhaps best known for her turns in Euphoria and The White Lotus, Sweeney is not new to horror films, having been cast in leading roles in Along Came the Devil (2018) and Nocturne (2020). She also played a sexy vampire with Megan Fox in Netflix action-horror movie Night Teeth (2021).

2. Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o’s performances in horror films have bolstered her scream queen appeal. Photo: @lupitanyongo/Instagram

Lupita Nyong’o shot to stardom almost immediately after she completed her master’s degree at Yale University with her award-winning performance in 12 Years a Slave. While the film is full of horrific reminders of the past, the Kenyan-Mexican actress has proved her ability in classic horror films too. Her roles in Jordan Peele’s Us (2019) and in Little Monsters (2019) have solidified her scream queen status.