The 10 Famous Actresses That Started Off as Scream Queens

Jamie Lee Curtis is applauded for her incredible comedic acting in Freaky Friday (2003) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). But this talented actress started her acting career as a babysitter in Halloween (1978). As the film's final girl, she becomes a star in the Halloween franchise.

While many fans know Patricia Arquette from her stunning performance in the 12-year project Boyhood (2014), her first big film was the third A Nightmare on Elm Street. Arquette plays a young survivor of Freddy Krueger's attack, and she is slated to stop the killer in his tracks.

The actress Jessica Lange is known for her award-winning performances in Tootsie (1983) and Blue Sky (1995), but many fans still remember Lange's start on the big screen in King Kong (1976). Lange plays the gorgeous love interest in the film and is often clutched in King Kong's massive hands one-hundred feet in the air.

Most fans know Rooney Mara from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) as Lisbeth Salander, the intelligent and mysterious investigator. But what they may not realize is Mara starred in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street as a teenager stalked by a crazed killer in her dreams.

This Friends (1994-2004) star began her Hollywood career as a teenager who unleashes the spirit of a vengeful leprechaun on a hunt for his stash of gold. The creature feature Leprechaun (1993) was the first and only horror film in which Aniston played a part.

The bright Renée Zellweger is famous for her charming roles like Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) and Vanessa Bloome from Bee Movie (2007). But Zellweger started her acting career as a scream queen in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. That horror film remake is also where Matthew McConaughey got his big break.

Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn (2011), which launched her into stardom. But many of her fans may not know that fifteen-year-old Williams' debut feature film was Species: The Awakening, a horror film about a violent and beautiful half-human half-alien who goes on a quest to find a sperm donor.

Holly Hunter is famous for portraying Grace Hanadarko, a passionate and damaged police officer in the hit series Saving Grace (2007-2010). However, Hunter's career started nearly twenty years prior when she played Sophie in the summer camp slasher The Burning.

What other famous actresses started their careers as scream queens?

Sharon Stone is famous for playing femme fatale characters like Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992) and Carly Norris in Silver (1993). But nearly a decade before she became a household name, Stone starred in Wes Craven's Deadly Blessing. This horror film follows a woman trapped in a cult who must uncover the secrets behind her husband's life and death.

Known for her wide range, Mila Kunis starred in everything from Black Swan (2010) to That '70s Show (1998-2006) to Friends with Benefits (2011). But before being cast in any of those productions, Kunis appeared in Piranha as a young girl threatened by mutant piranhas that the government accidentally released in a local river by a resort.