Top 10 Lifetime Villainesses of 2021 (Part I: #10 - #6)

I've been a fan and viewer of Lifetime movies for two decades, and I can honestly say that 2021 gave us the best batch of films in a while. It definitely gave us the best collection of villainesses that I have ever seen; very amazing and deliciously evil ones who were played by some immensely talented actresses. I have the unenviable task of picking out the 10 best ones from this year, and it is definitely not easy, but I've managed to do it. This story features the first half of the top 10, and they are as follows:

10. Dianne (Desperate Widows): Desperate Widows (aka Mommune) gave us Lifetime film regular Allison McAtee as Dianne, the operator of a commune that served as a shelter for mothers and daughters, which included widowed Paige Judson and her daughter, Allie. Dianne welcomed Paige and Allie to her "mommune," and displayed a warm demeanor to the pair, but in true Lifetime fashion, it turns out that all is not as it seems.

As the film's midpoint began to reveal, Dianne was the mastermind of a human trafficking operation, and she had a pair of female cohorts in her criminal ring, in the form of Kianna and Willow. It was the latter of the pair who revealed that Dianne turned to crime as a response to the financial ailment of her commune, and she was holding another mother-daughter pair, Elizabeth and Melissa, captive due to the fact that they witnessed a transaction. Dianne was quite a ruthless villainess, as we see her make plans to send Paige and Allie off as well, though, of course, she is ultimately defeated.

This film aired on March 7, 2021, and to no surprise, Allison McAtee truly shined as Dianne. McAtee played Dianne's warmth very well, but in regards to her character's true colors, McAtee acted out Dianne's ruthless nature to perfection. This was McAtee's third time playing a Lifetime villainess; she played the psychotic Kathleen Strickland in 2016's The Wrong House, and Tanya Jackson in 2020's Deadly Mile High Club.

For Dianne's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

9. Hailey Michaels (Deadly Dating Game): March 14 gave us Deadly Dating Game, and this film made me a fan of actress Jillian Murray, who played Hailey Michaels in the film. Hailey was the producer of a radio show known as Love on the Air, which was hosted by main protagonist Shannon Baker, who was being subjected to aggressive stalking throughout the film. The stalking became murder when Ian, a man who won a date with Shannon in a contest organized by Hailey, ended up as a victim, and it was believed that Shannon's ex-boyfriend, Gavin Newman, was the culprit.

Gavin ended up cleared when Hailey informed Shannon that the stalker had been caught, but after more sinister occurrences took place, it was ultimately revealed that Hailey was behind everything, as she had desired to become the new host of Shannon's show, but her main desire was wanting Gavin to herself. Hailey stalked Gavin during his date with a woman named Evelyn, who she later killed, and she murdered Ian and set everything in motion to prevent Shannon and Gavin from getting back together. Hailey also murdered her boss after he reneged (in her mind) in his promise to have Hailey become the new host, but her attempts at Shannon ultimately failed.

I truly loved Hailey Michaels; she was deranged, jealous, and ambitious. Jillian Murray played her very, very well; she's done the villainess thing before, and we will see her do it again in Killer Stepmom!

For Hailey Michaels' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here, and click here for my review on the character.

8. Jillian (Deceitful Dating): The subject of my very first story on Vocal was Lisa DiGiacinto's character, Jillian, from Deceitful Dating, which aired on April 23. Jillian was the close friend of the Logan family; she was actually the best friend of Sarah Logan, who died prior to the film's events. She remained close with widowed John Logan and his daughters, Chelsea and Sophie, though the film saw John begin a relationship with Alice King, much to the dismay of Chelsea.

Chelsea's antipathy towards Alice increased when a woman matching Alice's description brutally attacked Chelsea's friend, Rose. Alice became the main suspect in that attack, as well as the murder of her ex-husband Troy, though by that point, Chelsea began to have doubts about Alice being a murderess. She was right to have them, as Chelsea found out that the true villainess was under her nose the whole time: none other than Jillian.

Jillian had been in love with John, but masked her feelings due to her friendship with Sarah. She stated that she saw Sarah's passing as her chance to show John that she was the right woman for him, but when he started seeing Alice, Jillian committed her crimes in an attempt to frame Alice and portray her as a psychopath. Even after referring to Chelsea as a daughter to her, the evil Jillian attempted to kill her to mask her secret, but she met a fatal end thanks to Alice. This was an amazing role for Lisa DiGiacinto; I truly loved Jillian as a deranged villainess, and I loved DiGiacinto portrayal of Jillian's maniacal demeanor during the climax.

For Jillian's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

7. Jordan Smith (Waking Up to Danger): On the first day of August, Lifetime gave us Waking Up to Danger, which gave us a terrific villainess in the form of Jordan Smith, played brilliantly by Erin Boyes. Jordan was introduced as the best friend of main protagonist Arianna Moore, who was survived a car accident but had problems regaining her memory. Though she appeared to be a good friend and happy to see Arianna alive, it turned out that Jordan fell into one of my favorite tropes: Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.

Jordan was revealed as an adulteress and a villainess early in the film, as it was uncovered that she was having an affair with Arianna's husband, Rick Moore. An early scene revealed that she caused Arianna's accident, as she tampered with the brakes in an attempt to kill her, and once Arianna's mother, Lucy, became an obstacle, the villainess attempted to kill her as well (she failed). Jordan revealed her true colors to Arianna as she attempted to burn down her house with Arianna in it, and the climax saw her actually hold Rick at gunpoint, while revealing her desire to become the mother to Rick and Arianna's daughter, Isabella.

Jordan Smith was your typical psychotic and obsessed villainess, and Boyes' performance in that role truly stole the film. As I said in my review, I truly hope we get a sequel which sees Jordan continue her maniacal obsession and go all out in her attempt at revenge on Arianna--that really needs to happen!

For Jordan Smith's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

6. Valerie Hudson (A Professor's Vengeance): September 27, 2021 was a very happy and terrific day for me. For one, I cheered loudly as the Green Bay Packers actually managed to win in Santa Clara against the San Francisco 49ers, and hours later, I watched A Professor's Vengeance, which featured a phenomenal villainess in the form of Valerie Hudson, played by Crystal Day. Valerie was the wife of professor Daniel Hudson, who was established as an adulterer, as he had a previous affair with main protagonist Nicole Atkins, as well as another student, Rebecca Reese.

As the film's climax revealed, Valerie turned heel after learning about Rebecca and Daniel, doing so by killing Rebecca. She also began stalking Nicole, and later killed Nicole's boyfriend, Brandon Davis, with Nicole believing that Daniel was behind everything. Nicole's visit to the Hudson home saw a distraught Valerie inside, as Daniel had apparently committed suicide. However, Nicole found out the truth when she saw Valerie in the school's security video, and a confrontation saw Valerie admit to not only killing Rebecca and Brandon, but Daniel as well, and later attempt to kill Nicole with the same thing she used on her first two victims: an overdose of ketamine, which ended up causing the villainess' own demise when Nicole fought back against her.

As I said in my review, what I loved the most about Valerie Hudson was that not only was she scorned and bitter, she never really hid it. It made it that much easier to figure out that Valerie was the villainess, and in regards to Valerie's ultimate reveal, Crystal Day portrayed Valerie's madness and insanity very, very well. Can we please see Crystal Day play more Lifetime villainesses?

For Valerie Hudson's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

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Click here for Part 2!