Scream Queens: Which Horror Movies Made These Actresses Famous?

Scream Queens: Which Horror Movies Made These Actresses Famous?, The notion of "scream queens" might bring to mind blood-soaked damsels in distress, but not all female protagonists in horror movies are helpless victims.

Take, for example, the recently released remake of "Carrie," starring this "Kick-Ass" young actress. At first, Carrie White is a shy and guarded high school student with an overbearing mother (played by this veteran flame-haired actress) and harboring a potentially deadly gift. But when pushed too far by her taunting classmates, the victim becomes the victimizer in this classic revenge tale.

Check out our gallery of notable actresses and see if you can guess which memorable horror flick turned them into a bona fide scream queen.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Seemingly ubiquitous thanks to her role as a spokesperson for this healthful yogurt company, Curtis herself comes from Hollywood royalty: Her father was actor Tony Curtis, and her mother was this notable scream queen. A-list pedigree aside, she’s proven herself a formidable actress in drama, comedy and action films. But it was her start in the horror genre that got her noticed, especially her feature-film debut in this slasher classic.

Linda Blair

A former child actress, Blair skyrocketed to fame after appearing in this landmark horror film. Blair subsequently parodied her iconic role in a hilarious spoof film starring Leslie Nielsen.

Mia Farrow

Before becoming the muse of this famous bespectacled director, Farrow turned heads as the protagonist of this Roman Polanski-helmed classic about a woman who starts to believe she's carrying the spawn of Satan.

Sissy Spacek

She won an Oscar in 1981 for her portrayal of country legend Loretta Lynn in this affecting biopic, but Spacek's haunting portrayal of a timid high school student pushed to the breaking point by her jeering classmates in this iconic horror film garnered her first Academy Award nomination.

Neve Campbell

The lovely brunette first gained attention as Julia Salinger in "Party of Five" and for a supporting role in this witchy teen thriller. But it was her portrayal of a teen trying to outsmart a masked killer in this definitive '90s horror flick that made her a star.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

She currently plays a sexy single mother leading a shocking double life in this hit Lifetime show, but Hewitt first shot to fame in the '90s as the protagonist of this slasher film about four friends haunted by the consequences of trying to cover up a hit-and-run murder.

Milla Jovovich

Trading the catwalk for the silver screen in the late '80s, Jovovich impressed viewers with her diverse range, easily moving from action to drama  to comedy . But it was her lead role in this horror-action franchise based on a popular video game that cemented her status an international star.

Sigourney Weaver

Despite her serious training as a stage actress at Stanford and Yale, Weaver's breakout role came when she was cast as the fearless leader in this action thriller set in outer space about a crew responding to a distress call in space, only to be met with a terrifying foe.

Margot Kidder

Before she was cast the beloved Lois Lane in "Superman," Kidder made her first starring turn in this disturbing Brian De Palma thriller about separated conjoined twins who harbor a diabolical secret.

Janet Leigh

Already a star thanks to her notable performances in films like "Little Women" and "Touch of Evil" , Leigh's most memorable role was of a woman on the run who finds refuge in the wrong motel in this iconic Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Jessica Lange

With her breakout performance in "American Horror Story," Lange has reinvented herself into a scream queen matriarch. But it was the actress' big-screen debut in this 1976 remake of a classic that first garnered her attention for being a temptress of terror.

Elizabeth Olsen

Some know her as the younger sister of these famous twins, but Olsen has made a name for herself as a formidable budding actress. Her career really took off with a lead role in this chilling movie about a girl who finds herself trapped in her family's lakeside vacation home.

Jennifer Connelly

Fans mostly associate her with stirring dramatic roles in films like "Requiem for a Dream" or "Little Children," but Connelly was also a darling of the '80s thanks to "Labyrinth." Before going head-to-head with David Bowie in the cult classic film, she gave a hair-raising performance as a girl with the ability to communicate with insects in this Dario Argento flick.

Drew Barrymore

Barrymore's beginnings as a child actor before her tumultuous adolescence were punctuated with some great performances, as evidenced in films like "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial." But her star turn as a girl with pyro-kinetic powers in this film based on a Stephen King novel made her a force to be reckoned with

Catherine Deneuve

Considered one of France's greatest actresses, Deneuve's breakthrough performance in Roman Polanski's psychological thriller about a schizophrenic young woman made viewers and critics alike take notice of her talents.

Heather Langenkamp

Fans of director Wes Craven's most famous films will definitely recognize Langenkamp as the protagonist who appears in three installments of the horror franchise about a killer who haunts his victims' dreams.

Kate Beckinsale

After getting her start in film with a part in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of this Shakespearean classic, Beckinsale made a name for herself with some memorable performances in indie films , dramas , and romantic comedies  But it was her lead role in this supernatural blockbuster about the secret war between vampires and werewolves that made her an action superstar.

Danielle Harris

A prolific child actor who appeared in blockbuster films like "Free Willy" and "Daylight," Harris has reinvented herself into a preeminent scream queen, starting with a supporting role in Rob Zombie's remake of this classic horror film.

Asia Argento

Argento was practically born a scream queen, considering her father is legendary Italian horror director Dario Argento. She's starred in a number of his films, most recently "Dracula 3D" and "Mother of Tears." But it was her lead role in her father's 1993 film that got her noticed as an actress to contend with.

Sheri Moon Zombie

This former model became a full-blown scream queen when she was cast in husband Rob Zombie’s 2003 directorial debut about a sadistic serial killer family living in the backwoods of Texas.

Shelley Duvall

Already a successful actress thanks to her roles in several Robert Altman films like "Nashville" and "3 Women", one of Duvall's most memorable performances was in this 1980 Stanley Kubrick thriller as the wife of a troubled author driven mad by the spirits in a hotel.

Adrienne Barbeau

Barbeau was known primarily as a TV actress thanks to her stint on the '70s sitcom "Maude," but her breakthrough into film was in this scary 1980 John Carpenter flick about ghosts terrorizing a small fishing town.

Tippi Hedren

Discovered after appearing in a TV commercial on "The Today Show" in 1961, Hedren jumped from modeling to acting when she made her film debut in this suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock movie about a town besieged by flocks of ferocious fowl.

Jennifer Carpenter

Best known for playing the sister of a serial killer on "Dexter," Carpenter made viewers and critics alike take notice with her star turn in this chilling 2005 film about the death of a young girl who underwent an extreme exorcism.

Geena Davis

Remembered for her notable roles in films like "Beetlejuice" and "Thelma & Louise," it's possible Davis never would have gotten those parts had it not been for her memorable performance as the love interest of Jeff Goldblum this 1986 David Cronenberg film about a scientist who accidentally splices his genetics with a winged insect.

Renée Zellweger

An Academy Award-winning actress with an impressive resume of films under her belt (including "Jerry Maguire," "Chicago" and "Cinderella Man"), Zellweger gave one of her most interesting early performances in this 1994 sequel to a '70s slasher film.