8 Goth Actresses Who Defined ’90s & ’00s Movies—From Winona Ryder to Rose McGowan
With their all-black outfits, dramatic makeup and sighing pronouncements about the utter meaninglessness of existence, goth girls have long been a pop cultural staple—and once October comes around, it's truly a goth's time to shine.
Goth girls were especially prevalent in nostalgic movies of the '80s, '90s and '00s like Beetlejuice, The Addams Family and The Craft, and spooky season is the perfect time for rewatching these dark yet comforting classics. Here's a look at eight of our favorite goth actresses who defined darkness onscreen.
Her most goth movies: Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Black Swan (2010), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
What she's said about being goth: "I credit Tim Burton and [Beetlejuice] for launching my career. They didn't have to do much with me to make me look the way that I did; I looked very much the same as Lydia . I was super pale and I had dyed my hair L'Oréal blue-black."
Her most goth movies:The Addams Family (1991), Addams Family Values (1993), Casper (1995), Sleepy Hollow (1999)
What she's said about being goth: "Wednesday [Addams] to me felt like who I could be when I didn't have to put it on for other people . . . I was very much used to performing for people even before I was an actor. It was sort of the youngest-child thing I would do . . . With Wednesday, there was no emotion , no nothing, and for me that was great, because it felt like I could just relax and not do any work at all."
Her most goth movies:Hackers (1995), Foxfire (1996), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Maleficent (2014), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
What she's said about being goth: " I was quite dark when I was young. I was a punk, not the popular kid—going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things: That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Her most goth movies:Fight Club (1999), Big Fish (2003), Corpse Bride (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
What she's said about being goth: "I don't like the music particularly, I've got no goth records . Is it the predominant black? The make-up? And the whiteness? The white thing."
Her most goth movies:The Craft (1996), Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Wild Things (1998), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022)
What she's said about being goth: "I don't believe in set spells or any set religion, but I believe we all have energy we can focus . . . I believe in darkness , but not the devil."
Her most goth movies:The Doom Generation (1995), Scream (1996), Jawbreaker (1999), Planet Terror (2007)
What she's said about being goth: "When I lived in Europe, I was usually pretty exalted for the way I looked. I had minions who would run and get me candy. Those kids would say, 'Right on!' But when I moved to Oregon and entered my goth phase with spiky black hair, kids threw things at me. Those people would laugh hysterically."
Her most goth movies:Return to Oz (1985), The Craft (1996), American History X (1998), The Craft: Legacy (2020)
What she's said about being goth: "I'm a fan of horror but I'm not like a superfan, it just kind of worked out that way. I'd love to find something that really inspires me and a type of role that's different from what I've played before. That's another thing. I think a lot of people began to think of me as the go-to person for the really heavy parts because I went for those, and from what I'm told I did them well."
Her most goth movies:The Faculty (1998), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Identity (2003), The Grudge (2004), Zodiac (2007)
What she's said about being goth: "[I was known for playing] angsty teenagers with too much eye makeup."
This story was originally published October 6, 2024, 7:00 PM.
