15 Most Iconic Female Characters in Tim Burton Movies

After watching Tim Burton‘s first dive into a television series with Wednesday and Jenna Ortega‘s deliciously deadpan portrayal, Wednesday now can be added to one of Burton’s most iconic female characters. From Catwoman to Angelique, throughout his feature films, he has delved into female heroes, villains, and misunderstood teens, and while many of his films have male leads, the female characters have complexity in their motives and emotions.

Tim Burton’s visual style isn’t the only aspect that makes his films unique, as his characters have deep emotional motives which always add warmth to his gothic style. With themes of unrequited love, revenge, and death, Burton is able to bring emotion, softness, and love to his female characters – even the villains.

15 Delores (Monica Bellucci)

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ (2024)

Played by Monica Bellucci, Delores is the most recent edition of the list. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the surprisingly good sequel to the horror comedy classic, only coming out this year. However, she’s also the one who does the least. There is a lot of lost potential in the vengeful ex-wife of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). Through her, we see the origins of our ghost with the most, but there’s not much to her beyond her “woman-scorned” obsessive pursuit of revenge.

So, why is she on the list? While she may not have done much, she certainly looked amazing doing it. If you look online, you’ll see that Delores’ look was replicated for 2024’s Halloween season. The stitched-together look and the stylish black dress, not to mention Bellucci’s natural magnetism, there’s a reason why so many viewers gravitated to her. While looks aren’t everything, serving them so well can get you far. — Rhianna Malas

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14 Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer)

‘Batman Returns’ (1992)

Tim Burton’s first two Batman movies were iconic for their mix of comic book visuals and the gothic Batman style. Before Christopher Nolan produced his more realistic version of a superhero film, Burton’s quirky yet complex portrayal of Catwoman played by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns is iconic.

Catwoman’s meek and shy persona as Salina Kyle is juxtaposed with the Frankenstein-esque suit she creates when saved by her beloved cats after being pushed out a window. Her delicately balanced character shows both a sympathetic and dangerous side that epitomizes Burton’s unique female characters.

13 Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder)

‘Beetlejuice’ (1988)

Beetlejuice is an iconic late-80s fantasy horror film that captured families’ imaginations with Micheal Keaton‘s deliciously villainous Beetlejuice, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin‘s naive ghosts, and Catherine O’Hara‘s modern artist. However, it was Lydia played by Winona Ryder that lives on in everyone’s memories as the misunderstood angsty gothic teen.

Forever attending a funeral, Lydia stands out among her artsy city family and the newly renovated home. Her melancholic and dramatic personality at such a young age makes her the perfect conduit for all things strange and unusual. She softens as she tries to help the Maitlands and even though she eventually ditches the all-black attire, she finally feels normal in the house of the living and the dead.

12 Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara)

‘Beetlejuice’ (1988)

The real star of the original Beetlejuice and still one of the best performances of Catherine O’Hara’s storied career. The self-obsessed artist and avant-garde stepmother to Lydia Deetz is reminiscent of one of the greatest television characters of all time, Fleabag’s Godmother (Olivia Colman): Women played by incredible character actresses whose skills are painting and screaming at the tops of their lungs.

This is a hilariously unhinged character, who manages to frighten the undead Maitlands with her unconventional taste in decorating. But despite falling into the wicked stepmother trope, she isn’t all the way evil. She’s struggling in her new role and relationship with Delia, including her sudden move from the city to suburbia. By the end, they all make it work, leading to her and Lydia having an uneasy alliance in the sequel. — Rhianna Malas

11 The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter)

‘Alice in Wonderland’ (2010)

Tim Burton’s re-imagining of Lewis Carroll‘s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was a colorful and unique delve into the possibilities that the classic story developed. One of the main female characters that really made an impression from the classic Disney film Alice in Wonderland and pushed even further by Burton, is The Red Queen.

Played by the great Helena Bonham Carter, The Red Queen is the ultimate spoiled brat in an adult’s body, even though her head is twice the size it should be! This small (well… large) detail made The Red Queen visually epitomize her conceited and arrogant nature even before she shouts “Off with his head!”.

10 Sally (Catherine O’Hara)

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)

Tim Burton’s story and vision were brought to life by director, Henry Selick in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The stop-motion animated film is a mix of Christmas and Halloween vibes, and for many, a yearly tradition. Its musical numbers and unique style only add a backdrop to the likable Jack and Sally, voiced by Chris Sarandon and Catherine O’Hara.

Sally is the sweet voice of reason throughout Jack’s crisis of identity. Her unanswered love for Jack doesn’t stop her from looking out for him as his attempts at being Santa Claus goes south. Her strong and persistent nature makes her not only an iconic character but ultimately the hero in the end.

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9 Veruca Salt (Julia Winter)

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (2005)

In another re-imagining, Tim Burton tackled the popular story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with his famous juxtaposition of colorful and happy music with the rotten children and nightmarish circumstances that take place in the factory.

Veruca Salt played by Julia Winter is the quintessential spoiled brat that Burton is so good at depicting. However, in his creative take on the classic story, Veruca is almost villainous in her wide smile and brashness when she jumps over the gate to take one of Willy Wonka’s trained squirrels, only to be deemed a ‘bad nut’!

8 Violet Beauregard (AnnaSophia Robb)

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (2005)

Something that is done very effectively in 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is modernizing the four rotten children who received the golden tickets when needed. The videogame-obsessed Mike Teevee (Jordan Fry) is great, but even better was AnnaSophia Robb’s turn as Violet Beauregard.

The competitive gum-chewer is turned up to eleven, with a snazzy blue jumpsuit that matches her mother (Missi Pyle) and shelves of trophies. Gum is an art and a sport for her, a challenge that no one matches her in, and she’s given a parental figure that continues to push that drive to keep winning. You can’t tell if her mother is living vicariously through Violet, or if Violet has overpowered her mother with her abrasive personality. Violet is given more of an edge than in the original film, where expertise crosses over into arrogance and obsession. Her fake friendship with Veruca Salt is also a nice touch, giving the winners more of a connection. All in all, it’s a great improvement to a fun character. — Rhianna Malas

7 Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest)

‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990)

Edward Scissorhands delved into the housewives of the 1950s, where lonely stay-at-home women and their gossiping ways ruled the street. In Tim Burton’s style, the houses are pastel colors with the looming mansion on the hill in black. When Peg (played by Dianne Wiest), the local Avon lady finds Edward (played by Johnny Depp), alone in the mansion, she takes him in without hesitation.

The family follows Peg’s lead without a question and she embraces Edward and his quirks like she would her own son. Although she is the ultimate mother figure, Peg is an outsider among the other housewives. Edward gets the mother he never had, and Peg finds a sweet soul in Edward much like her own.

6 Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz)

‘Dark Shadows’ (2012)

Fans of the original sixties soap opera Dark Shadows weren’t considerable fans of the Dark Shadows film, including myself. But despite my problems with the film, I did like the direction they took the resident angsty teenager, Carolyn Stoddard (played by Chloë Grace Moretz). What was originally a young woman whose only trait was “teenage girl,” who sometimes felt she was only there to make bad decisions, is given a full psychedelic makeover, with some lycanthropy to boot to make her a composite of other show characters.

Ramping up the sarcastic angst and raging hormones makes sense for a teen in her situation, forced into a blended family with her uptight family in her weird town. Everything from her fashion sense to her bedroom design and taste in music informs her character. Making her so into the counterculture of the late 60s makes so much sense for Carolyn’s character, so it’s nice that she gets to explore that further in the film. — Rhianna Malas

5 Nathalie Lake (Sarah Jessica Parker)

‘Mars Attacks!’ (1996)

Sarah Jessica Parker joins an ensemble of characters in Tim Burton’s quirky Mars Attacks! where she plays the easy-going but fashionable interviewer Nathalie. She and her beloved pooch, Poppy, are the first to be abducted by the unpredictable aliens from Mars.

While most of the characters have disturbing and well-written backgrounds, Nathalie is the most memorable. After being abducted and experimented on, a scene reveals her head being attached to Poppy’s body – it’s something that has stuck with fans ever since. Even through all this, in true Burton style, she is able to find love with fellow beheaded scientist Kessler (played by Pierce Brosnan), before their true demise – the ultimate love story for the ages!

4 Alma Peregrine (Eva Green)

‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ (2016)

Ransom Riggs‘ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series of novels seemed the perfect fit for Burton’s style of filmmaking. A story about a haven for youths with strange abilities with its fair share of nightmare fuel. While it did a little less well than expected, people still liked it, and the one character who exemplified the film’s sense of style was Alma LeFay Peregrine, played by Eva Green.

The headmistress of the Home for Peculiar Children, she’s a Ymbryne, one with the ability to both turn into a bird and manipulate time. She uses both to protect and keep the children in her charge, and there is an undeniable cool about her. With her inky blue updo which matches her fancy Victorian attire, it’s clear to see why the surrounding children both love and respect her with her endless charisma and care. — Rhianna Malas

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3 Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter)

‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ (2007)

One of the more brutal stories told by Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an adaption of the Tony-Award-winning musical. It mixes a love story with a slasher film in the setting of late 1800s London. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), opens a barber shop above the brash Mrs Lovett’s (Helena Bonham Carter) pie shop.

Mrs Lovett is another complex villain in the Burton-verse. Her sweet fantasies with Sweeney Todd show Burton’s penchant for mixing the charming with the dark. While Mrs Lovett’s unrequited love for Todd brings her success in her Pie Shop, it clouds her judgment and she follows him down his dark path of revenge, ultimately ruining them all.

2 Emily (Helena Bonham Carter)

‘Corpse Bride’ (2005)

In Corpse Bride, Emily, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, is another strong and wickedly funny character that is represented by Tim Burton as the outsider once more. Struggling with her identity of being a dead bride to the very much alive and otherwise engaged husband Viktor voiced by Johnny Depp, Emily’s somewhat relatable situation and her redeeming moment make her one of the most likable Burton characters.

With a tragic backstory and her new husband Viktor who is engaged to be married to someone else, Emily is a torn and conflicted character. Although she loves Viktor, Emily ultimately sacrifices herself for others and the melancholic final scene is a loving ending for such a tragic Burton character.

1 Angelique (Eva Green)

‘Dark Shadows’ (2012)

Back to the dark side of the Burton-verse, Angelique played by Eva Green is the Disney villain of Dark Shadows. Incredibly beautiful with a wicked smile, her uniquely Burton trait is her complex character which leads her to the path of evil. Her unrequited love for Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) pushes her to dedicate her life to taking down the Collins name.

After using her powers to transform Collins into a vampire, she creates a rival fishing company and becomes an extremely successful and fierce woman in her own right. However, in her bittersweet defeat, her vulnerability is revealed and shows how truly sensitive she was all along.

NEXT: The Most Visually Stunning Tim Burton Movies, Ranked