The Top 10 Best Movie Queens

5. Cleopatra- Cleopatra

Despite being one of the most “problematic” of the movie queens on this list (Elizabeth Taylor doesn’t exactly pass as Egyptian) is one that I would be remiss not to mention. Despite all that I feel like there’s a lot of white ladies on this list and it’s only appropriate to mention one of the most famous Middle Eastern Queens of all time. The film depicts Cleopatra as one of the most beautiful women in the world who uses her beauty and cunning to convince good old Ceasar to help her rule Egypt. The film is far from historically accurate, but no one can deny that Taylor is breathtaking as the Queen of the Nile. That being said, I’d love to see a new take on this movie queen and if Hollywood is taking suggestions for actresses I’d throw Sofia Boutella’s name out there for the part.

4. The White Witch- The Chronicles of Narnia

I grew up reading The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was my jam. While so many aspects of the big screen adaptation left much to be desired, the film had one hell of a villain when it came to Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. While she might not have Queen in her title, there’s little room to dispute that was exactly what she was. Like Queen Ravena, she ruled through a combination of dark magic and brutality, casting all of Narnia into an eternal winter (with no Christmas). Playing the very personification of evil able to throw down with a Jesus allegory lion is no easy task, but Tilda Swinton definitely gives Aslain a run for his money. Of course, she’s no match for those meddling kids in the end.

3. Queen Amidala- The Star Wars Prequels

We’ve had a few movie queens based on real people, a few magical ones, and even a warrior queen, so it makes sense to include a sci-fi queen in here as well. Say what you want about the Star Wars prequels, but Natalie Portman was probably one of the best parts of those movies. There’s little doubting where Princess Liea got her defiant streak from. Queen Amidala might not have been the best when it came to diplomacy, often times trading in her crown for a blaster and getting into plenty of trouble with the help of the Jedi. However, without her the whole Star Wars universe wouldn’t have been possible. So, despite her questionable choice in MUCH younger men, I still say she’s one of the most important movie queens of all time.

2. Elizabeth II- The Queen

This list of movie queens has featured some incredibly talented actresses, but coming in at the number one spot is one of the best of all time. Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth II struggling with the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The Queen finds herself in quite a quandary as she’s faced with the death of the People’s Princess and has to decide how best to mourn her former daughter in law. The Queen is a film about the changing worldview of England’s monarchy and Elizabeth is torn between tradition and modern relevance. Needless to say, it’s a heavy film, but heavy films call for heavyweight actresses and Helen Mirren is tremendous in it. That’s probably why she ended up winning the Academy Award for her performance.

1. Queen Anne- The Favourite

Olivia Coleman turned in one of the greatest performances of the year as this English monarch. She’s not exactly the best queen per se, but that’s just because she’s batshit insane. Quite seriously her character is one of the most eccentric I’ve seen on the big screen in years. While the rest of the country is at war, she’s off eating cake until she pukes just so she can eat more (and you thought Marie Antoinette was bad). Though to be fair, her life is a pretty tragic one. To make matters worse, her best friend and most trusted advisor is a narcissistic bully that doesn’t think Anne is capable of ruling her country. Oh, and then there’s the fact that she’s being used as a pawn between two women vying for power. Then again, Anne seemed pretty happy just to be the center of attention for a while.

Honorable Mention: The Xenomorph Queen- Aliens

Honestly, this is probably my absolute favorite of all the movie queens out there. However, it didn’t feel right including her as one of the top 10 on this list. After all, she’s less of a monarch and more of a pissed off mama, which would definitely make her stand out among the other movie queens on this list. Still, I had to give this big bad alien a shout out.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to movie queens and as always, I’d love to hear who your favorites are and who you might have liked to have seen on this list. So, leave a comment below and make sure you check back from time to time to see how the rankings might change as new movie queens make their big-screen debuts. Don’t forget to share this list with your fellow movie geeks.