Magic and Mayhem Celebrities Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Both, in some actresses’ cases!
In the late 1930s, onscreen witches made their mark on popular culture when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and The Wizard of Oz premiered in 1937 and 1939, respectively. What led to tons of iconic celebrity costumes (remember Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Barrymore’s Glinda the Good Witch Halloween looks?) also sparked a craze that hasn’t slowed down yet — onscreen witches, from The Wicked Witch of the West to Wanda Maximoff.
While witch content had a big moment in the ‘90s (think Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed and Practical Magic), the 2000s have shown us that modern fans are just as game for a little bit of magic. In recent years, movies and shows including American Horror Story: Coven, WandaVision, and The Witches have put spellbinding stars front and center.
In 2018, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiered on Netflix. Starring Kiernan Shipka, the show offered a darker look at the character Melissa Joan Hart made famous. Existing in the same universe as Riverdale, the series also went to show that any fandom can go crazy for a bit of sorcery.
“The whole concept of witches was that women were speaking up for themselves and fighting for their rights,” Mädchen Amick, who plays Alice Cooper on Riverdale, once said. “The whole concept of witchcraft came into play to hold down women and women’s empowerment.”
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Even if they don’t play them on screen, many celebrities are into all things witchy.
“It would be no surprise to anyone I am not weirded out by ghosts or spirits. I am basically a witch,” Lorde told The Daily Telegraph in June 2017. Stevie Nicks, who played a version of herself on American Horror Story: Coven, has also shared her familiarity with the concept of magic.
“I believe in magic. Because my life, I think, has been very magic, and magical things have come true for me time after time after time,” she once said.
Scroll to see a list of actresses who have played witches in movies and TV through the years:
Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Both, in some actresses’ case! In the late 1930s, onscreen witches made their mark on popular culture when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and The Wizard of Oz premiered in 1937 and 1939, respectively. What led to tons of iconic celebrity costumes (remember Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Barrymore’s Glinda the Good Witch Halloween looks?) also sparked a craze that hasn’t slowed down yet — onscreen witches, from The Wicked Witch of the West to Wanda Maximoff. While witch content had a big moment in the ‘90s (think Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed and Practical Magic), the 2000s have shown us that modern fans are just as game for a little bit of magic. In recent years, movies and shows including American Horror Story: Coven, WandaVision and The Witches have put spellbinding stars front and center. In 2018, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiered on Netflix. Starring Kiernan Shipka, the show offered a darker look at the character Melissa Joan Hart made famous. Existing in the same universe as Riverdale, the series also went to show that any fandom can go crazy for a bit of sorcery. “The whole concept of witches was that women were speaking up for themselves and fighting for their rights,” Mädchen Amick, who plays Alice Cooper on Riverdale, once said. “The whole concept of witchcraft came into play to hold down women and women’s empowerment.” Even if they don’t play them on screen, many celebrities are into all things witchy. “It would be no surprise to anyone I am not weirded out by ghosts or spirits. I am a witch,” Lorde told The Daily Telegraph in June 2017. Stevie Nicks, who played a version of herself on American Horror Story: Coven, has also shared her familiarity with the concept of magic. “I believe in magic. Because my life, I think, has been very magic, and magical things have come true for me time after time after time,” she once said. Scroll to see a list of actresses who have played witches in movies and TV through the years:
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Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for AMC
Dr. Rowan Fielding
Actress: Alexandra Daddario
Show: Mayfair Witches
Year: 2023
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Sabrina Spellman
Actress: Kiernan Shipka
Show: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Year: 2018-2020
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Credit: Sony Pictures
Frankie, Tabby, Lourdes, and Lily
Actresses: Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone and Zoey Luna
Movie: The Craft: Legacy
Year: 2020
Credit: Disney+
Wanda Maximoff
Actress: Elizabeth Olsen
Show: WandaVision
Year: 2021
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival
The Witch of the Wood
Actress: Anya Taylor-Joy
Movie: The Witch
Year: 2015
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Grand High Witch
Actress: Anne Hathaway
Movie: The Witches
Year: 2020
Credit: YouTube
The Grand High Witch
Actress: Anjelica Huston
Movie: The Witches
Year: 1990
Credit: Frank Connor/Disney
Maleficent
Actress: Angelina Jolie
Movie: Maleficent
Year: 2014
Credit: Michele K. Short/FX
Fiona Goode and the Coven
Actresses: Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts, Jamie Brewer, Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe
Show: American Horror Story: Coven
Year: 2013-2014
Credit: Peter Mountain
The Witch
Actress: Meryl Streep
Movie: Into the Woods
Year: 2014
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Winifred Sanderson
Actress: Bette Midler
Movie: Hocus Pocus
Year: 1993
Credit: Lifetime
Wendy, Ingrid, Joanna, and Freya Beauchamp
Actresses: Madchen Amick, Rachel Boston, Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan Tatum
Show: Witches of East End
Year: 2013
Credit: ROTH FILMS/ WALT DISNEY PICTURES / Album
Glinda the Good Witch
Actress: Michelle Williams
Movie: Oz the Great and Powerful
Year: 2013
Credit: Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection
Hermione Granger
Actress: Emma Watson
Movies: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and its seven sequels
Years: 2001-2011
Credit: ABC/AUTUMN DE WILDE
The Evil Queen
Actress: Lana Parrilla
Show: Once Upon a Time
Year: 2011-2018
Credit: Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Sally and Gillian Owens
Actresses: Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman
Movie: Practical Magic
Year: 1998
Credit: Viacom Productions/courtesy Everett Collection
Hilda, Sabrina and Zelda Spellman
Actresses: Caroline Rhea, Melissa Joan Hart, and Beth Broderick
Show: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Year: 1996-2003
Credit: Everett Collection
Alexandra Medford, Jane Spofford, and Sukie Ridgemont
Actresses: Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer
Movie: The Witches of Eastwick
Year: 1987
Credit: Justin Stephens/The CW
Bonnie Bennett
Actress: Kat Graham
Show: The Vampire Diaries
Year: 2009-2017
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
Queen Narissa
Actress: Susan Sarandon
Movie: Enchanted
Year: 2007
Credit: Viacom / courtesy Everett Collection
Phoebe, Prue and Piper Halliwell
Actress: Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty, and Holly Marie Combs
Show: Charmed
Years: 1998-2006 (Milano and Combs); 1998-2011 (Doherty)
Credit: Marie Weismiller Wallace; SMPSP
Evanora
Actress: Rachel Weisz
Movie: Oz the Great and Powerful
Year: 2013
Credit: ABC/ROBERT VOETS
Joanna Frankel, Roxie Torcoletti, and Kat Gardener
Actresses: Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, and Jaime Ray Newman
Show: Eastwick
Year: 2009
Credit: DISNEY CHANNEL/courtesy Everett collection
Alex Russo
Actress: Selena Gomez
Show: Wizards of Waverly Place
Year: 2007-2012
Credit: David Gray/The CW
Cassie Blake
Actress: Britt Robertson
Show: The Secret Circle
Year: 2011-2012
Credit: John Bramley/Warner Bros. Pictures
Ridley Duchannes
Actress: Emmy Rossum
Movie: Beautiful Creatures
Year: 2013
Credit: Everett Collection
Samantha Stephens
Actress: Elizabeth Montgomery
Show: Bewitched
Year: 1964-1972
Credit: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Bonnie Hyper
Actress: Neve Campbell
Movie: The Craft
Year: 1996
Credit: courtesy Everett Collection
The Wicked Witch of the West
Actress: Margaret Hamilton
Movie: The Wizard of Oz
Year: 1939
Credit: 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Willow Rosenberg
Actress: Alyson Hannigan
Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Year: 1997-2003
Credit:
Louise Miller
Actress: Robyn Lively
Show: Teen Witch
Year: 1989
Credit: Central Independent Television PLC/courtesy Everett Collection
Miss Cackle, Miss Hardbroom, and Mildred Hubble
Actresses: Charlotte Rae, Diana Rigg, Fairuza Balk
Movie: The Worst Witch
Year: 1986
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