What happened to 7 of the best leading ladies of classic horror

Born Ingoushka Petrov, Ingrid Pitt is a fixture of classic horror cinema, working with Christopher Lee in mind-being folk thriller The Wicker Man (1973), starring as Countess Elisabeth in the historically-rooted drama Countess Dracula (1971) and as the seductive Carmilla in The Vampire Lovers (1970). 

It’s fair to say the nicknamed Queen of Gothic Horror was comfortable in a candlelit corridor. One of her most notable features came just five years after she first appeared onscreen in an uncredited role: the 1968 war epic Where Eagles Dare cast Ingrid alongside the likes of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. She continued to appear onscreen until 2008 in Sea of Dust and died just two years later at the age of 73 after suffering heart failure.

Stephen King’s Carrie has become such an iconic cultural touchstone that you don’t have to have read the book or watched either of its adaptations to know exactly what happens with pig’s blood and a prom dress. In 1976, Sissy Spacek brought the telekinetic teen to life. The Oscar-winning actress has an impressive portfolio of work, including a starring role in Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), plus credits in 5-time Oscar nominated psychological drama In the Bedroom (2001) and Oscar-winning drama The Help (2011). 

Sissy most recently appeared in the BAFTA-nominated thriller Die My Love (2025) alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. While she continues to work onscreen, the actress prefers to keep her private life just that and occasionally appears on the red carpet with production designer husband Jack Fisk in support of his work.

One of Carolyn Jones’ best loved roles was in the Vincent Price horror, House of Wax (1953), and just 3 years later she appeared in another of the genre’s iconic offerings, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). 

She is perhaps best known, however, for her role as Morticia Addams in the horror-adjacent sitcom The Addams Family which ran between 1964 and 1966. She later starred in hundreds of episodes of class-based sitcom Capitol and 4 episodes of Fantasy Island. The Oscar-nominated actress passed away in 1983 from colonic cancer at just 53 years old.

Neve Campbell put the Scream in Scream Queens when she starred as Ghostface’s first target, Sidney Prescott, in the 1996 horror. The same year, Neve was cast as Bonnie, one third of The Craft’s teen witch coven which protagonist Sarah Bailey befriends. The actress returned to the Scream franchise a total of 6 times, including her most recent role in Scream 7 (2026) when a killer turns his attention on her daughter. 

Neve has also appeared in series like Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, House of Cards and The Lincoln Lawyer. She confirmed her return for the franchise’s seventh instalment in March 2024, writing on her Instagram: “It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned.” 

Before Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, there was Mae Clarke and Boris Karloff. The Frankenstein (1931) actress starred opposite Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein and, complete with both a veil and a wedding dress, is chased by The Creature. 

Mae first appeared in 1929's Big Time and continued working until 1971. She died 21 years later, but made her mark on culture with opposite James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931).

The Rosemary's Baby actress brought young newlywed Rosemary Woodhouse to our screens in 1968, one half of a young couple who move into a new apartment in Central Park West, with hopes of starting their own family. 

Mia Farrow fronts this psychological horror together with onscreen husband and 3-time Oscar nominee John Cassavetes. Since, she's appeared as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1974) and has worked on unsettling features like The Omen (2006) and Netflix series The Watcher (2022). 

Jamie Lee Curtis has established herself throughout the years as one of the industry's greats. But before taking on the role of Lindsay Lohan's mother in Freaky Friday or joining Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd in Trading Places, Jamie was fighting back against Halloween killer Michael Myers. 

The actress appeared as final girl Laurie Strode in Halloween and Halloween II, returning after an extended break for Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002). Sixteen years later, Jamie returned again for a close run of films on Laurie's next generation: Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022).