Top 10 Lifetime Villainesses of 2025 (Part 1: #10 - #6)

Five years. It's hard to believe that this is my fifth year compiling this list. I love Lifetime films with a passion and have for about a quarter-century now. Those who read my stories wonder when I start really preparing the list. When do I exactly start the process of elimination in my mind as I watch Lifetime's amazing movies? No, the answer's not January or February. It's usually around Stanley Cup Playoff time--late spring/early summer.

This year was easy, but it didn't start out that way. The first months of the year didn't see too many good candidates for the year-end list, but it picked up later on. Usually, in years past, there's good candidates year-round. If I had to think of a reason for this, I think it's because Lifetime Movie Club hasn't really delivered as many original films as they usually did in years past. That's a bit of a factor right there.

Even so, 2025 delivered, and I mean delivered in the Lifetime villainess category. So for the fifth straight year, here's the first half of the year-end list ranking the top 10 best Lifetime villainesses:

10. Ellen Parker (I Am Your Biggest Fan)

Lifetime really went some surprising routes in 2025, delivering plotlines and settings that I never expected. I Am Your Biggest Fan, which aired on May 3, was one such movie, and the plot centered on a former TV child star, Delilah Douglas, who works as a teacher and has left her TV past behind. At least she did, until she met waitress Ellen Parker, who is a big fan of Delilah's show, From the Hart. Though, actually, calling Ellen just a "big fan" would be like calling the Super Bowl "just a game."

Delilah finds herself getting harassed nonstop due to her refusal to participate in a reboot of her show, and she accepts Ellen's offer to hide out at her place. Delilah instantly sees that Ellen's "fandom" is an obsession (and even that is an understatement). Ellen worshipped the show, and really worshipped Delilah and her character, Chelsea Hart, and the discovery was followed by an entire second half where Ellen kept Delilah prisoner while acting out her show, with the added revelation that Ellen killed her bickering parents because they weren't like the Hart family.

In this film, Lauren Cole played psycho fan Ellen Parker, and her performance was so amazing. There were moments where she comes across as semi-sympathetic, but Cole is able to throw those moments out the window and dive gracefully into Ellen's sadism and obsessive demeanor. That, as well as Meghan Carrasquillo's best performance as a Lifetime movie heroine, made this movie absolutely amazing.

9. Emily Turner (The Nanny Sees All)

As the Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs marched on, Lifetime movie fans were treated to this film, The Nanny Sees All, on May 16. Grace Anderson returned to the town of Rivertown and served as a nanny for the prominent Turner family, but she ends up finding herself involved in quite a twisted murder mystery. The film portrays town mayor Alex Turner (Chris Violette, aka Blue Ranger Sky Tate on Power Rangers SPD) as being immensely shady, but if there's one thing that politics in fiction has taught me, it's this: behind a suspiciously shady guy is a dangerously cunning woman.

The film's progression revealed that both halves of the Turners strayed from the marriage, but it was wife Emily Turner's affair with Grace's future husband that resulted in the birth of her son, Andy, who she tried to pass off as Alex's. It was also revealed that Alex had his own affair with Andy's previous nanny, Victoria Fremont, and it was Victoria's friend, Yasmin Davis, who found out everything. Emily knocked off Yasmin prior to the film's events, and withing the film, she killed Victoria and housekeeper Louise while also threatening Grace to back off. That is one hell of a villainous scorecard!

Julia Borsellino was spectacular as the evil Emily Turner in this; she played off Emily's charm very well for the most part, and absolutely shined when it came to Emily's unmasking as an unhinged and murderous madwoman! Lifetime, please put her in more films!

8. Kelsey Montgomery (My Family's Killer Affairs)

Another year's worth of longtime Lifetime film actresses finally playing villainesses saw Kabby Borders in that group for 2025. January 24 gave us My Family's Killer Affairs, and in this film, Borders portrayed Kelsey Montgomery, who served as the paternal aunt of co-main protagonist Janell Montgomery. She was also in a relationship with Carter, who works for Kelsey's brother, Matthew Montgomery, but as it turned out, Carter was messing around with Matthew's wife, Gabi. Oh boy.

A confrontation between Kelsey and Gabi ended with the former killing the latter, but that wouldn't be the last time she'd kill. She knocked off Thomas (Janell's boyfriend) due to the fact that the found out the truth, and after we see her ranting to Carter, we see a fantastic reveal that sees an unhinged Kelsey wield a knife and even threaten to harm her niece and also stab her brother accidentally (Matthew survived). Borders' first heel turn on Lifetime was so beautiful; her performance as psycho Kelsey was delicious and epic! I truly hope she does the villainess thing again, it's clear that she's good at it!

7. Aurelia Durand (Do Exactly As I Say)

The film, Do Exactly As I Say, centered on the wealthy Durands and their personal chef, Helen, who suddenly finds herself in a perilous situation when her daughter, Penny, is taken. She is ordered to obtain Roman Durand's technology as part of her mission to save her daughter, and it's this quest that Helen learns that Roman had been dealing with companies connected to pollution and fracking, despite the fact that the company portrays themselves as being so green and environmentally sound.

So yeah, Roman's full of shit, but remember what I said. Behind every shady guy is a dangerously cunning woman. In this case, it's two. House manager Tiffany is revealed to be plaguing Helen, but she is later knocked off by the biggest evil head of this proverbial Hydra, none other than Roman's wife, Aurelia Durand. Aurelia co-owned the company, but she was not only angered by Roman's misdeeds, but by Roman's affair and his refusal to divorce him. We saw a woman, later identified as Jane Newman, knocked off in the beginning of the film. Turned out she was Roman's mistress/employee, and they were set to sell the company. Oh, and Jane's death via smart car being hacked? That was Aurelia. She knocked off Tiffany in that same fashion, and had been holding Penny hostage, while also planning to kill Roman and set up Helen. Wow! Unsurprisingly, Aurelia meets a fatal end; killed by a knife she planned to use on Helen.

This film aired on August 24, with the evil and demented Aurelia Durand played by Stephanie Izsak. This is her second villainous role on Lifetime, and both of them have made year-end lists. That tells me that Izsak has really mastered this Lifetime villainess thing, and in this case, she plays a big boss who wastes no time eliminating anyone to get what she wants. I absolutely love villainesses like this; Izsak's Aurelia Durand was viciously wonderful!

6. Diane O'Conner (The Hockey Mom's Revenge)

Oh baby! I've been begging for a hockey themed Lifetime thriller for years now, and it took to the near end of the year for them to deliver! The Hockey Mom's Revenge aired on December 27, the final Saturday of the year, and among the number of things I loved about this film (other than the fact that the goal horn sounded a lot like the Colorado Avalanche's horn), was the film's villainess, Diane O'Conner. Diane is an ex-player turned hockey mom, as her son, Alex, is one of the top players on his team. Another top player is Ethan Williams, though the film portrays Ethan as Connor McDavid to Alex's Leon Draisaitl. Any parent would be proud to have a Draisaitl-type player. Diane is not a normal parent.

Diane lives vicariously through Alex, and she resorts to such immoral methods to make sure her son is the star. She drives a wedge btween Ethan and Alex, who are close friends. She sabotages the Zamboni to get the coach hospitalized because he wouldn't kiss her imaginary ring. Diane also planted booze in Ethan's locker to get him benched. Ethan's mother, Rachel Williams, learns about Diane's past history of sabotaging others to get ahead, but she makes the mistake of not only confronting Alex, but confronting Diane, who easily sets up Rachel by striking herself with a skate and claiming Rachel attacked her. Diane gets desperate and locks Ethan away in her quest, but Rachel takes down her foe and rescues her son.

Kate Dailey shined in this film as the maniacal Diane O'Conner. She's done quite a few Lifetime movies, and this isn't her first villainous role; she played villainess Paula in last year's Danger on Party Island. I think this tops that role, and no, it's not because of the hockey aspect, though it does help. Diane was ruthless, insane, dangerous, and very entitled. She felt she deserved to be on top--whether as a player or as a player's mom. Dailey is amazing as a heroine or a villainess, but as the latter, she is truly captivating!

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