The evil stepmother is a trope as old as stories themselves. They were popularised in a plethora of Fairy Tales, and even more so when Disney began producing their animated films. It's a trope as old as cowboys are iconic. The idea of an awful stepparent is an old narrative trope that sees a resentful stepmother or stepfather hating their stepchildren.
Representation of stepmothers has steadily been improving in recent years, as has the idea of parental figures and guardians. Yet, there remain some depictions of awful stepmoms that nobody wants as family members, and would much prefer the very quotable Minions.
8 Mother Gothel – Tangled
As the main antagonist in Disney’s Tangled, Mother Gothel proves herself as quite the awful mother. Gothel is an atrocious, selfish woman, who has retained her youth through hundreds of years of dark magic, and the healing properties of golden flowers. Her protective and obsessive behavior over Rapunzel is what makes her so criminal.
Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel after the child had the golden flower’s powers transferred to her hair. Unable to cut the hair without losing its power, Gothel keeps Rapunzel locked away in a tower. Hoarding her long hair for immortality. Her love for Rapunzel is false, and she only cares for the hair in the young girl’s possession.
7 Other Mother – Coraline
Also known as The Beldam, this motherly disguised woman takes the appearance of Mel Jones, the mother to Caroline. She is noted for her button eyes and caring behavior. This soon changes into something horrifying, but luckily she never becomes a gruesome slasher character.
From what begins as a loving Other Mother, to a demonic and horrifying figure, this character is certainly the worst that has to offer. Nobody would want an arachnid stepmom, especially if said arachnid stepmom wants to eat the very soul within the person’s body.
6 Elsa Schneider – Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusade
Perhaps quite the cheat for best stepmothers, Elsa Schneider never really became Indiana Jones’ stepmother, but her seduction of Indiana’s father, Henry Walton Jones, allowed her to get closer to him, and extract information relating to the Holy Grail. The idea of Elsa using both father and son is something expected from a wacky Martin Short comedy.
What makes Elsa such a horrid stepmother to Indy, isn’t just the fact that she tried to burn the duo alive, but the fact that she is a proud member of the Nazi party. Since the Indiana Jones films take place in the 40s, this Austrian art historian will do anything to further the goals of history and the fascist rule of the Nazis.
5 The Evil Queen – Snow White, and the Seven Dwarfs
Disney’s 1937 animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs saw The Evil Queen as the first-ever Disney villain in the animated canon. This character is iconic as she is the worst stepmother. Being the stepmother to Snow White, she exhibits a great and insane jealously for the young woman, for her beauty is unsurpassed.
Disguising herself as an old and decrepit woman, she provides Snow White with a poisoned apple, to do away with her innocent and unknowing rival. The Evil Queen’s desire to be the fairest of them all makes her truly the most wicked of them all.
4 Queen Narissa – Enchanted
There’s a running theme in Disney movies where they love an evil stepmother. Queen Narissa follows that category for 2007’s Enchanted. Here, Narissa is the Queen of Andalasia, as well as Prince Edward’s stepmother. After the death of Edward’s father, Narissa was left as ruler. Fearing for her status as Queen, she distracted Edward by having him hunt trolls every morning.
Narissa is beautiful, as she is selfish, cruel, and manipulative. Her desires are her own, and she will manipulate anyone that gets in the way of her goals. She refuses to let Edward be happy with a perfect bride and vows to destroy the girl that Edward has fallen for.
3 Beverly Barrish-Burns – Tommy Boy
This buddy adventure comedy film follows the owner of an auto parts factory’s son to save the business. After passing away, the son must utilize his full incompetence to ensure his father’s legacy remains intact. Beverly Barrish-Burns is a con artist who has inherited a controlling interest in the company, and luckily for audiences, isn't a character with jump scares.
Her marriage to Big Tom is scandalous, and she simply wanted to marry him to gain wealth from his business. She is selfish and exhibits strong criminal actions to get what she wants. She does, however, falter, as her marriage was bigamous since she is still legally married to Paul.
2 Meredith Blake – The Parent Trap
As the central antagonist in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Meredith Blake stands out as a brash, young and spoilt gold-digger. This character seeks to marry the gentle Nick Parker for his wealth. Nick’s children, Annie and Hallie, mock the woman and call her Cruella Da Vil for her clothing, and sophisticated and antagonistic personality.
Rich and spoiled, Meredith is wholly unlikeable and reveals her true colors to Nick’s children as greedy and manipulative. She even confirms that she is marrying just for money, throwing love away for a few dollars more, and trying to sabotage Nick’s relationship with his children.
1 Lady Tremaine – Cinderella
Perhaps the definition of “The Evil Stepmother”. Lady Tremaine seeks nothing more than to put Cinderella in her place. In the 1950s animated feature, Cinderella, Lady Tremaine is immediately presented as cold-hearted, and emotionally abusive to her stepdaughter, Cinderella, who is the highly likable protagonist.
As a socialite, Lady Tremaine demands higher status by marrying off one of her daughters to Prince Charming, or another such bachelor of nobility. Her bitter jealousy causes her to try and stop Cinderella from finding true love with Prince Charming.