25 of the greatest femme fatales

You can't take your eyes off them—and you'd better not turn your back on them. These devious dames will haunt your dreams, ahead.

Want more?: This gallery is an excerpt from EW's book, The Must List: Ranking the Best in 25 Years of Pop Culture, which is in stores and available for order online.

A male fantasy transformed into a nightmare: a bisexual nymphomaniac who might sleep with or kill you, played by Sharon Stone.

Blind ambition meets blonde ambition. Suzanne (Nicole Kidman) wants fame at any cost—and she's just delusional enough to get it.

Behind every great man, there's a great woman (Robin Wright). And behind every Machiavellian power-monger politician, there's a partner just as nefarious. (With better hair, too.)

Beware of a woman in trouble. Manipulative and brilliant, Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) is a big New York City fish in a small-town pond.

An assassin (Angelina Jolie) hunting her assassin husband (Brad Pitt), who never stood a chance.

A wrongfully accused innocent forced into a world of double-crossing agents and crisscrossing alliances. Nikita's (Peta Wilson) a tough trained superspy—and her greatest endurance challenge is how she holds onto her soul.

A lady boss who sexually harasses straight white men, Meredith's (Demi Moore) a post-feminist cartoon, but Moore makes her an enthralling antagonist.

What happens when the perfect metropolitan New Yorker cool-girl goes domestic? Spoiler: You wouldn't like her when she's angry. Played by Rosamund Pike.

Witness the healing powers of the psychotic break, as a shy lonely secretary (Michelle Pfeiffer) gets reborn into a proud, unafraid, wild creature of the night.

The Catwoman legend reimagined for the Recessionary era. Hathaway's Selina Kyle is an amoral streetwise antihero searching for a new beginning—by any means necessary.

Covered in blue body paint, speaking only the bare minimum of dialogue, the model-turned-actress (Rebecca Romijn) gave the shape-changing mutant balletic grace. She's Eastwood's Man With No Name with less clothes and fewer names.

She (Natasha Henstridge) positively demands going all the way on the first date. in this case, "all the way" means "give birth immediately to an alien-human-hybrid monster."

Indiana Jones in skintight short shorts. Only Jolie could bring the bodacious video game adventurer to life.

Lady Macbeth was a no-talent rookie compared to Queen Gemma (Katey Sagal). She'll do anything for her family—and anything to her family.

The perfect vehicle for Berry's sultry-sweet charisma, Ginger's less femme fatale than femme mysterieuse. That smirk could be deadly.

Successful, married, beautiful—and bored. Lucinda's (Jennifer Aniston) a tantalizing siren for a man looking for excitement.

Before Mean Girls, she was the meanest girl. Gellar's prep-school puppet master is villainous on a Biblical level. Literally: She keeps cocaine in her crucifix!

Men are such boys. Westeros needs a good, firm hand. Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is a Queen.

A Soviet agent (Famke Janssen) running rampant through the post-Cold War superspy private sector. James Bond's met so many women, but how many of them literally have killer thighs?

An amnesiac small-town schoolteacher (Geena Davis) finds out she's got a mysterious espionage past. She's Jason Bourne for desperate housewives.

Left for dead on her wedding day—shot by her unborn baby's dad!—the blood-splattered Bride (Uma Thurman) awakes seeking vengeance. Just your average cowboy samurai assassin.

Every nerd's dream: a badass secret agent (Yvonne Strahovski) with a heart of gold. The central joke of Chuck is that the title should actually be Sarah.

A hooker cut to look like Veronica Lake, Lynn (Kim Basinger) is the femme fatale gone meta: an alluring Hollywood dreamgirl who dreams of a regular old-fashioned normal life.

An oft-married con lady with the power to seduce the whole solar system. A defining role for pre-Mad Men Hendricks, who plays Saffron like a chameleon. She's whatever you want—and you'll do whatever she desires.

Because every totalitarian postapocalyptic dystopia needs at least one gun-totin', jump-kickin', rebel acrobat (Charlize Theron).