20 of the most iconic queen bees in film and TV

Regina George is the obvious answer for a list like this. She’s the blonde bombshell from Tina Fey’s Mean Girls who causes chaos at North Shore High School by releasing “The Burn Book” — a bright pink yearbook-style album full of gossip and rumors about her classmates. 

Scandal would not have been the same without Kerry Washington playing Olivia Pope — the glamorous and sophisticated “fixer” everybody in Washington D.C. loved so much. 

Some would say Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf wasn’t popular; she was feared. Either way, she was her school’s elite mean girl who used some petty and childish tactics to take her foes down. 

Kim Possible saving the world one supervillain at a time while balancing life as a high-school student makes her the ultimate queen bee. 

If there’s a high-school queen bee that could rival Regina George, it’s Libby Chessler from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. “Grooming, shopping, and social climbing are grand traditions that will never die,” she said during an episode. Truer words were never spoken. 

Glee’s head cheerleader, Quinn Fabrey, is truly iconic. There’s no way somebody could look at their instructor and say, "You're a really good teacher, Mr. Schue, even if everyone is calling you a man-wh*re,” and not gain my respect. She’ll give it to you straight, no chaser, but deep down, there’s a heart that cares about her friends and peers.

There are mean girls we hate and mean girls we love to hate, and Isis from Bring It On falls into the latter category. When watching the film for the first time, it could be easy to see Gabrielle Union’s character as the villain; however, in a 2021 interview with Good Morning America, she pushed back against the viewers’ perspective, adding the actual villains of the film were the apparent messages of cultural appropriation and privilege. "The leader of a movement to make these suburban girls accountable for the theft of our hard work is called a villain? I think that's very, very telling," she said. 

Professor McGonagall is the friend and confidant we all need in our lives. She stood up for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of Hogwarts’ students against Dolores Umbridge (an evil half-blood witch temporarily overseeing the school) and Harry’s other detractors, including Snape. 

We love to hate Santana Lopez from Fox's Glee. She was unapologetic, brutally honest, and all-around that girl. Plus, she sang circles around her fellow glee-mates. 

Do we even need to explain this one? Just listen to her song “Fabulous” to get the gist. 

It’s okay to admit you didn’t see this one coming — neither did we! But after deep reflection, DW’s character in the childhood series Arthur was a complete drama queen and absolute realist. DW would make a great addition if there were ever a cartoon iteration of the Real Housewives. 

London Tipton ran a tight ship inside the Tipton Hotel, including keeping Mr. Moseby and high-profile guests like Tony Hawk and Chris Brown in line. 

Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada is special. She plays an influential magazine editor of the largest fashion publication in New York and is admired for her ability to get things done. Streep won the Golden Globes Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture in 2007.

Liz Gilles is no stranger to playing powerful women. She starred as Lucy — the classic mean girl and “diva” — at age 15 in the Broadway musical 13. Later, she gained even more notoriety for portraying Jade West in Victorious on Nickelodeon. However, her most iconic queen bee role has to be Fallon Carrington in the reboot of Dynasty.

Ryan Murphy got it right when he created the fictional mean girl Chanel Oberlin in the original series Scream Queens . Played by Emma Roberts, Chanel is the stereotypical popular college girl with an entourage of sorority sisters to follow. 

We have to show love to the leads in John Tucker Must Die. They devised an epic plan to expose the school’s biggest player by using the town’s new girl to destroy his character and heart. Iconic behavior if you ask us. 

Taraji P. Henson’s character in the Fox series Empire is a legend. She’s bold, outspoken, and totally over-the-top. But on the flip side, she’s caring and loyal to a fault. In 2015, Henson described her character, saying, “... she’s actually my Sasha Fierce,” referring to Beyoncé’s alter-ego. “... she’s totally different from me. I can’t go around flying off the handles saying what I want to say; I would get railed for it" (h/t IndieWire).

At some point during the run of the popular Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, we couldn’t help but root for the cunning younger sister of the lead characters who loved pranking her brothers more than anything. 

Elle Woods’ story is nothing short of inspirational. A “cheerful, fashion-obsessed” Delta Nu sorority sister turned Harvard Law grad, Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of this snappy optimist dressed in pink will live on forever. One of our favorite moments from the 2001 film is when Elle describes why her client Brooke was innocent of murder. “Happy people just don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t,” she said confidently. 

If you want to watch the characterization of the ultimate queen bee, Cher Horowitz from Clueless is your girl. She rules the scene, sets it ablaze with her killer fashions, and Beverly Hills’ quick-witted No. 1 diva.