Movies Gallery 30 of the greatest femme fatales EW lists the best femme fatales who have successfully seduced audiences across film and TV history. By EW Staff Updated on March 6, 2024 09:12AM EST Trending Videos Close this video player Robin Wright on 'House of Cards'; Nicole Kidman in 'To Die For'; Angelina Jolie in 'Tomb Raider'; Anne Hathaway in 'The Dark Knight Rises'; Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct'. Photo: David Giesbrecht/Netflix; Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Stephen Vaughn; Ron Phillips/Warner Bros.; TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collections You can't take your eyes off them — and you'd better not turn your back on them, either. Femme fatales have been compelling moviegoers since the silent era of cinema, and have taken many different shapes over the years. From classics like Barbara Stanwyck's murderous Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity to Sharon Stone's playful and dangerous Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct during the '90s erotic thriller boom to Robin Wright's power-hungry politician on Netflix's House of Cards, there's nothing quite like a devious dame. Check out our list of femme fatales that continue to haunt our dreams, ahead. 01 of 30 Catherine Tramell — Basic Instinct (1992) Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct'. TriStar Pictures A stereotypical male fantasy transformed into a nightmare: a bisexual nymphomaniac who might sleep with or kill you, played by Sharon Stone. 02 of 30 Suzanne Stone Maretto — To Die For (1995) Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon in 'To Die For'. Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Blind ambition meets blonde ambition. Suzanne (Nicole Kidman) wants fame at any cost — and she's just delusional enough to get it. 03 of 30 Claire Underwood — House of Cards (2013–2018) Robin Wright on 'House of Cards'. David Giesbrecht/Netflix 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. (With better hair, too.) 04 of 30 Bridget Gregory — The Last Seduction (1994) October Films/Courtesy Everett Collection Beware of a woman in trouble. Manipulative and brilliant, Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) is a big New York City fish in a small-town pond. 05 of 30 Jane Smith — Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'. Stephen Vaughn An assassin (Angelina Jolie) hunting her assassin husband (Brad Pitt), who never stood a chance. 06 of 30 Nikita — La Femme Nikita (1997–2001) Peta Wilson on 'La Femme Nikita'. Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection A wrongfully accused innocent forced into a world of double-crossing agents and crisscrossing alliances. Nikita's (Peta Wilson) a tough trained superspy — and her greatest endurance challenge is how she holds onto her soul. 07 of 30 Meredith Johnson — Disclosure (1994) Demi Moore and Michael Douglas in 'Disclosure'. Brian Hamill A lady boss who sexually harasses straight white men, Meredith (Demi Moore) is a post-feminist cartoon, but Moore makes her an enthralling antagonist. 08 of 30 Amy Dunne — Gone Girl (2014) Rosamund Pike in 'Gone Girl'. Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox What happens when the perfect metropolitan New Yorker cool-girl goes domestic? Spoiler: You wouldn't like her when she's angry. Played by Rosamund Pike. 09 of 30 Selina Kyle — Batman Returns (1992) Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Batman Returns'. Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Witness the healing powers of the psychotic break, as a shy lonely assistant (Michelle Pfeiffer) gets reborn into a proud, unafraid, wild creature of the night. 10 of 30 Selina Kyle — The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Anne Hathaway in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Ron Phillips/Warner Bros. The Catwoman legend reimagined for the Recessionary era. Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle is an amoral streetwise antihero searching for a new beginning — by any means necessary. 11 of 30 Mystique — the X-Men movies (2000–2019) Rebecca Romijn in 'X-Men'. 20th Century Fox/ Everett Collection Covered in blue body paint, speaking only the bare minimum of dialogue, the model-turned-actress (Rebecca Romijn) gave the shape-changing mutant balletic grace. She's Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name with fewer clothes and fewer names. 12 of 30 Sil — Species (1995) Natasha Henstridge in 'Species'. MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection Sil (Natasha Henstridge) positively demands going all the way on the first date. in this case, "all the way" means "give birth immediately to an alien-human-hybrid monster." 13 of 30 Lara Croft — the Lara Croft movies (2001–2003) Angelina Jolie in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'. Alex Bailey/Paramount Pictures Indiana Jones in skintight short shorts. Only Jolie could bring the bodacious videogame adventurer to life. 14 of 30 Gemma Teller Morrow — Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014) Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal on 'Sons of Anarchy'. Prashant Gupta/FX Lady Macbeth was a no-talent rookie compared to Queen Gemma (Katey Sagal). She'll do anything for her family — and anything to her family. 15 of 30 Ginger Knowles — Swordfish (2001) Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman in 'Swordfish'. Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection The perfect vehicle for Halle Berry's sultry-sweet charisma, Ginger's less femme fatale than femme mystérieuse. That smirk could be deadly. 16 of 30 Lucinda Harris — Derailed (2005) Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen in 'Derailed'. Chuck Hodes/The Weinstein Company Successful, married, beautiful — and bored. Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston) is a tantalizing siren for a man looking for excitement. 17 of 30 Kathryn Merteuil — Cruel Intentions (1999) Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Cruel Intentions'. Melissa Moseley Before Mean Girls, she was the meanest girl. Sarah Michelle Gellar's prep-school puppet master is villainous on a Biblical level. Literally: She keeps cocaine in her crucifix! 18 of 30 Cersei Lannister — Game of Thrones (2011–2019) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lena Headey on 'Game of Thrones'. Helen Sloan/HBO Men are such boys. Westeros needs a good, firm hand. Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is a Queen. 19 of 30 Xenia Onatopp — GoldenEye (1995) Famke Janssen in 'GoldenEye'. MGM Home Entertainment A Soviet agent (Famke Janssen) running rampant through the post-Cold War superspy private sector. James Bond's met so many women, but how many of them literally have killer thighs? 20 of 30 Samantha Caine/Charly Baltimore — The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Geena Davis in 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'. New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection An amnesiac small-town schoolteacher (Geena Davis) finds out she's got a mysterious espionage past. She's Jason Bourne for desperate housewives. 21 of 30 The Bride — the Kill Bill movies (2003–2004) Uma Thurman in 'Kill Bill Vol. 1'. Andrew Cooper/Miramax Left for dead on her wedding day — shot by her unborn baby's dad! — the blood-splattered Bride (Uma Thurman) awakes seeking vengeance. Just your average cowboy samurai assassin. 22 of 30 Sarah Walker — Chuck (2007–2012) Yvonne Strahovski and Zachary Levi on 'Chuck'. Jordin Althaus/NBC Every nerd's dream: a badass secret agent (Yvonne Strahovski) with a heart of gold. The central joke of Chuck is that the title should actually be Sarah. 23 of 30 Lynn Bracken — L.A. Confidential (1997) Kim Basinger in 'L.A. Confidential'. Courtesy Everett Collection A sex worker cut to look like Veronica Lake, Lynn (Kim Basinger) is the femme fatale gone meta: an alluring Hollywood dreamgirl who dreams of a regular, old-fashioned private life. 24 of 30 Saffron — Firefly (2002) Christina Hendricks on 'Firefly'. FOX An oft-married con woman with the power to seduce the whole solar system. A defining role for pre-Mad Men Christina Hendricks, who plays Saffron like a chameleon. She's whatever you want — and you'll do whatever she desires. 25 of 30 Aeon Flux — Aeon Flux (2005) Charlize Theron in 'Aeon Flux'. Paramount Pictures Because every totalitarian postapocalyptic dystopia needs at least one gun-totin', jump-kickin', rebel acrobat (Charlize Theron). 26 of 30 Phyllis Dietrichson — Double Indemnity (1944) Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in 'Double Indemnity'. Paramount Pictures/Archive Photos/Getty One of the most iconic femme fatales in film history, Phyllis (played with cool perfection by Barbara Stanwyck) persuades an insurance agent to murder her husband for the life insurance — and tries her damndest to get away with it. 27 of 30 Ellen Berent Harland — Leave Her to Heaven (1945) Gene Tierney in 'Leave Her to Heaven'. Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection Ellen Berent Harland (Gene Tierney) is another classic femme fatale whose obsessive love for her new husband leads to murderous consequences for anyone who gets in the way. 28 of 30 Lorraine Broughton — Atomic Blonde (2017) Charlize Theron in 'Atomic Blonde'. Jonathan Prime/Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection Charlize Theron portrays an icy cool spy with a lethal touch as she hunts down a list of double agents in this sleek action thriller. 29 of 30 Dorothy Vallens — Blue Velvet (1986) Isabella Rossellini in 'Blue Velvet'. De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) exists in an abusive environment in this violent film noir, but don't be fooled — she also has a kind of agency as she draws naive Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) into her web. 30 of 30 Cassie Thomas — Promising Young Woman (2020) Carey Mulligan in 'Promising Young Woman'. Focus Features Carey Mulligan plays a woman out for revenge against the people she deems responsible for her best friend's suicide in this incendiary thriller. Related content: Charlize Theron says she'll 'f--- anybody up' who goes after drag queens: 'No more room for hate’ Sharon Stone recreates iconic Basic Instinct moment for powerful GQ Woman of the Year speech Michelle Pfeiffer has one specific bit of advice for new Catwoman Zoë Kravitz