They may be the meanest person in their circle, but we love them, and love to hate them!
In pop culture, no teen, rom-com, or even horror movie is complete without a mean girl.
Mean girls are iconic - and no I’m not just talking about the movie. They are usually the villains we love rooting for and come with their own set of super stylish, minions and quirks. Secretly, some of us even want to be them.
While TV mean girls are usually if not always the villains, their actresses are not. In fact, plenty of them is played by the nicest people on earth. Mean Girls writer and famous comedienne Tina Fey once said it took a sweetheart to play mean people even.
Don’t believe us? Here are 18 iconic means girls who are super sweet in real life.
#1 Regina George - Rachel McAdam
Source: CBS Photo Archive / Getty Image
And evil takes the human form in Regina George! But not Rachel McAdam. One of the nicest actresses in Hollywood, Rachel is loved for her positive, and principled demeanor off-screen. Woody Allen even wrote a special part for her in his movie Midnight in Paris, based on everything nice thing he heard about her.
Source: Brian De Rivera Simon / Via Getty Images
#2 Blair Waldorf - Leighton Meester
Source: Life and Style
Leighton Meester makes Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf more than your typical preppy, scheming, fashionable queen bee. Which highlights her immense acting talents, as she is nothing like her character. Her costar Penn Badgely and Taran Killam has openly expressed their love for her. She is also an active volunteer, serving on the boards of various humanitarian organizations such as Feeding America and Many Hopes.
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#3 Daenerys Targaryen - Emilia Clarke
Source: Glamour
The final season of Game of Throne sees Daenerys going down the megalomaniac road of her mad ancestor, but actress Emilia Clarke is anything but! The actress is quite a jokester and an avid baker, something her castmates could attest to. Nathalie Emmanuel who played Missandrei even said Emilia stood up for her when an actor made a rude comment about her costume on set.
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#4 Santana Lopez - Naya Rivera
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Oh how we miss Santana's impossible reading people to filth! But her actress, Naya Rivera, was one of the sweetest people you could meet. One of the most uplifting people you could meet, her former castes all shared a very sweet memory of her on her passing.
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#5 Amber Von Tussle - Brittany Snow
Source: imago images/Mary Evans
The bratty and selfish Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray is nothing like Brittany. Her co-star in the movie Michelle Pfieffer even fell in love with her sweet personality when they first met! A long-time supporter of many charities, Brittany Snow is one of the most generous celebrities out there. She even co-found the Love is Louder movement, a non-profit dedicated to stopping bullying in schools.
Source: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
#6 Quinn Fabray - Dianna Argon
Source: Michael Devault
Dianna plays the infamous Quinn Fabray in Glee, who love reading people to filth in the calmest, sweetest and soundest delivery you would ever hear. Which makes sense, since the cast consistently highlights her as the sweetest cast member. A super private person, you aren’t likely to read about her in tabloids. Dianna instead loves sharing what she loves reading and watching online.
Source: John Shearer/Getty Images
#7 Eleanor Sung-Young - Michelle Yeoh
Source: Consciously
Uptight matriarch Eleanor Sung-Young in Crazy Rich Asian is definitely an in-law nightmare, but not acting legend Michelle Yeoh. Offset, she's "kind," "lovely," and "funny," making friends across the film industry, like director Paul Feig, Henry Golding, and Jackie Chan.
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#8 Nikki - Kristen Bell
Source: imago images/Mary Evans
If you have watched Burlesque, then you’d probably recognize the mean girl top dancer Nikki with the five-alarm bitch routine as Kristen Bell. On the other hand, Kristen is an all-around wonderful and incredibly relatable human being in real life! All her co-stars adore her, and she calls ill children and sends them notes as Elsa from Frozen, and she once housed Josh Gad's family during Hurricane Irma!
Source: Christopher Polk/Getty Images
#9 Multiple Mean Girls - Julie Gonzalo
Source: imago images/Everett Collection
The go-to mean girl of the 2000s, Julie Gonzalo plays evil arch-nemesis to Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story and Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday, respectively. But her humility and sweetness shine in everything she does in real life. She and her Christmas with the Kranks costar Jamie Lee Curtis even bonded during filming - "she wanted to be with me, and I was flattered and amazed."
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#10 Chastity - Gabrielle Union
Source: Insider
The eye-rolling, the sass, and the attitude, Gabrielle Union has it all in 10 Things I Hate About You, and delivers it with an extra snap! But she is also an avid fighter against racism in the industry, speaking out for her costars and black women in general. Gabrielle is also an activist and an ardent champion for assault survivors.
Source: Variety
#11 Fiona - Jennifer Coolidge
Source: The List
We all know Jennifer thrives when given a horrible persona to play up to, but this A Cinderella Story star is far from the wicked, egotistical stepmother she portrays. Co-star Hilary Duff, Rose Byrne, and Ariana Grande are her avid fan, referring to Jennifer as her "new best friend" and “national treasure” after working together.
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#12 Emily Fields - Shay Mitchell
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Pretty Little Liar‘s Emily Fields is a snob and a lowkey biatch who we love to hate. But Shay is nothing like that, actually is pretty darn likable. Her Pretty Little Liars co-stars Ashley Benson and Troian Bellisario remain close friends, describing Shay as a "great friend, philanthropist, and parent."
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#13 Sharpay Evans - Ashley Tisdale
Source: Seventeen
High School Musical’s Sharpay Evans might be more intense than mean, but she definitely gives the other characters' hell to get her way. Ashley, on the other hand, is quite down to earth Sharpay, according to Ashley, is the polar opposite of her, and co-stars Vanessa Hudgens and Patricia Heaton can agree more.
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#14 Jessica Stanley - Anna Kendrick
Source: moviefone
Okay, we cheated. Anna’s character, Jessica Stanley, is not exactly mean, but quite obnoxious. Her co-stars adore her — Ester Dean described Anna as her "dream celebrity best friend," Aubrey Plaza stated that they were "all over one other on the set of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," and
Justin Timberlake stated how much fun it was to work directly with Anna on their film Trolls!
Source: Jason Merritt/TERM/Getty Images
#15 Lucy "Tom-Tom" Wyman - Judy Greer
Source: ecuavisa
Judy has a knack for playing dubious characters, such as Kitty Sanchez in Arrested Development and Lucy "Tom-Tom" Wyman in 13 Going on 30, yet this beautiful lady behind these ridiculous caricatures is actually quite kind! Nat Faxon, a frequent collaborator, has described her as "frighteningly easy to work with." She and her co-star Jennifer Garner are true BFFs even!
Source: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images
#16 Sue Sylvester - Jane Lynch
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Unscrupulous Coach Sue Sylvester is an equally sweet and awful person, especially when it comes to club New Direction. But Jane lynch is nothing like her. Her castmates have nothing but kind words to describe her. Jane and Jennifer Coolidge, who co-starred in Best in Show in 2000, have remained friends to this day.
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#17 Kathryn Merteuil - Sarah Michelle Gellar
Source: Getty
Cruel Intention’s Kathryn Merteuil is truly and iconically evil, and not in a fun way. Co-stars Michelle Trachtenberg and Ryan Phillippe have said Sarah, however, is nothing like the cinematic bitchy roles she plays on screen. Sarah, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair even went to watch the Cruel Intentions musical together!
Source: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
#18 Miranda Presley - Meryl Streep
Source: Vanity Fair
It’s quite a surprise that OG boss bitch Miranda Presley in the iconic The Devil Wears Prada is played by the esteemed and sweet Meryl Streep, isn’t it? Meryl has nothing in common with Miranda. There are a lot of interviews where her coworkers just feel blessed to work with such a wholesome person.
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