Modern horror scream queens
The scream queen title used to be a bit of an insult — shorthand for an actress who got chased around a house and little else. That’s dead. The current crop of horror leads are the ones carrying A24 and Neon’s biggest box office numbers, winning Oscars on the side, and in at least one case co-writing the movie they’re screaming in.
Below are ten actresses who’ve defined genre filmmaking over about the last decade, with the body stats, training details, and production facts behind the performances. Heights and weights are the figures most commonly listed in press and casting materials — approximations, not medical records.
1. Mia Goth
Image: LucaFazPhoto / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nobody else in this era has a run like Ti West’s trilogy. Goth played both Maxine and the elderly Pearl in X (2022), headlined Pearl — which she co-wrote with West — and closed it out with MaXXXine in July 2024. X and Pearl were shot back-to-back in New Zealand in 2021 while the crew was in COVID quarantine.
The London-born actress (October 26, 1993) stands about 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) and weighs about 115 lbs (52 kg). Her non-West horror résumé is just as deep: A Cure for Wellness, Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, Infinity Pool, and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
2. Anya Taylor-Joy
Image: Harald Krichel / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
She was 18 when she shot The Witch, the 2015 Robert Eggers film that essentially built A24’s horror brand. Then came Split, Morgan, Thoroughbreds, Glass and Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho.
Born April 16, 1996, in Miami and raised in Buenos Aires and London, she’s around 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) and about 119 lbs (54 kg). She trained as a ballet dancer as a kid, which shows in how precisely she moves on camera.
3. Jenna Ortega
Image: Danielle G. Campbell / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ortega was in X, Scream (2022) and Scream VI inside an 18-month window, then Wednesday made her a global name. She followed with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in 2024 and Death of a Unicorn in 2025.
Born September 27, 2002, in Coachella Valley, California, she’s one of the shorter leads here at about 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) and around 108 lbs (49 kg). She learned cello and fencing for Wednesday and did much of the dance work herself.
4. Maika Monroe
Image: Eva Rinaldi from Abbotsford, Australia / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It Follows (2014) made her an instant genre icon, and Longlegs (2024) made her a box office one — the Neon release pulled in over $100 million worldwide on a reported sub-$10 million budget. The Guest and Watcher sit nicely between them.
Born May 29, 1993, in Santa Barbara, she’s about 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) and about 123 lbs (56 kg). Before acting took over she competed professionally in kiteboarding and lived in the Dominican Republic to train — which is why she’s genuinely athletic on screen.
5. Samara Weaving
Image: Eva Rinaldi / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ready or Not (2019) is the modern survival-horror blueprint, and Weaving spent most of it sprinting through a mansion in a shredded wedding dress with a crossbow. She also did Mayhem, The Babysitter films, and the near-silent Azrael in 2024.
The Australian actress was born February 23, 1992, and is listed at about 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) and 121 lbs (55 kg). She’s Hugo Weaving’s niece. A sequel, Ready or Not: Here I Come, brings her back to the role.
6. Melissa Barrera
Image: GabboT / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Barrera led the Scream relaunch as Sam Carpenter in 2022 and again in Scream VI, then went straight into Radio Silence’s vampire-ballerina film Abigail in 2024 and the horror-musical Your Monster.
Born July 4, 1990, in Monterrey, Mexico, she’s about 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) and around 121 lbs (55 kg). She trained in musical theatre at NYU Tisch, which explains the singing in In the Heights before her pivot into slashers.
7. Sophie Thatcher
Three years, four horror projects: Yellowjackets as young Natalie, The Boogeyman (2023), Heretic opposite Hugh Grant (2024) and Companion (2025). That’s about as fast a genre ascent as anyone’s had.
Born October 27, 1996, in Chicago, Thatcher is listed around 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) and about 119 lbs (54 kg). She’s also a working musician — her EP Pivot & Scrape came out in 2024 — and has an identical twin sister, Ellie.
8. Lupita Nyong’o
Jordan Peele’s Us (2019) asked her to play two people in the same frame, and the rasping voice she built for Red became the most-discussed performance detail of that year. She returned to the genre for A Quiet Place: Day One in 2024.
Born March 1, 1983, in Mexico City to Kenyan parents, she’s about 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) and about 115 lbs (52 kg). She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave in 2014.
9. Mikey Madison
Her Amber Freeman in Scream (2022) is one of the best Ghostface reveals of the franchise, and she’d already burned alive as Susan Atkins in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Horror got her noticed before Anora got her the Best Actress Oscar in March 2025.
Born March 25, 1999, in Los Angeles, Madison is listed around 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) and about 110 lbs (50 kg). She trained in horseback riding competitively as a teenager and has a twin brother.
10. Jessica Chastain
Three serious genre swings: Mama (2013), Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015), and Beverly Marsh in It Chapter Two (2019). That last one included a blood-flood sequence reportedly using thousands of gallons of fake blood — one of the largest ever staged for a film.
Born March 24, 1977, in Sacramento, Chastain is about 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) and around 121 lbs (55 kg). She’s a longtime vegan and Juilliard-trained, and won the Best Actress Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
What ties this group together isn’t the screaming — it’s that horror became the place serious actresses go to do their most physical, most demanding work. Goth co-writes hers. Monroe does her own running. Nyong’o, Chastain and Madison all have Academy Awards. The genre stopped being a stepping stone a while ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the biggest modern horror scream queens?
Mia Goth, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jenna Ortega and Maika Monroe lead the current generation, headlining A24 and Neon’s most successful genre releases of the last decade.
Who tops the list of modern scream queens?
Mia Goth ranks first thanks to Ti West’s trilogy — she played both Maxine and the elderly Pearl in X (2022), co-wrote Pearl, and closed the series with MaXXXine in July 2024.
What criteria were used to rank these horror actresses?
The list weighs genre impact over roughly the last decade, box office performance, creative input beyond acting, and the physical training behind each performance.
Which modern horror film was the biggest box office surprise?
Longlegs (2024) starring Maika Monroe grossed over $100 million worldwide on a reported sub-$10 million budget for Neon.
Who is the shortest actress on the scream queens list?
Jenna Ortega is the shortest lead featured at about 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) and around 108 lbs (49 kg).
Are the heights and weights listed accurate?
They are the figures most commonly cited in press and casting materials — approximations for reference, not verified medical measurements.
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Last Updated: October 9, 2026 | Source: Healthy Celeb
